Private equity investments in public safety software leave rural fire departments with few affordable options

Fire department software may become too expensive 
for rural communities to buy. (Adobe Stock photo)

Rural fire departments have long relied on affordable software to track incidents and operations. But because of changes in software company ownership stemming from a flush of private equity investment "fire chiefs around the country are scrambling to manage shrinking options and soaring costs," reports Mike Baker of The New York Times.

Over the past decade, a handful of private equity firms have backed companies that are "aggressively investing in public safety systems, where tax dollars provide a steady source of revenue," Baker explains.

The fire-software services company, ESO, serves as an example. Investor dollars enabled ESO to buy up its competitors, shut them down, and push fire chiefs with few options to purchase ESO systems, which are priced significantly higher.

When the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department in northern Connecticut learned ESO had acquired its former software system and was shutting it down, ESO offered Norfolk an alternative system that "would raise the community’s costs from $795 per year to more than $5,000," Baker reports. Norfolk Fire scrambled and found a cheaper competitor, but shortly thereafter, ESO bought that company, too.

Volunteer fire departments are common, comprising 85% of the roughly 30,000 fire departments across the U.S., and many already struggle to maintain staffing and equipment standards. Norfolk's fire department has turned to using "silent auctions and karaoke fund-raisers to help sustain operations," Baker reports.

ESO maintains that its cost increases support innovation. But ESO improvements may never reach most rural fire departments; in fact, climbing costs could push some back to using paper records.

Rural homes and outer buildings often contain fire hazards; reducing risks begins with an inventory and smart planning

Lithium-ion batteries pose unique fire
risks. (Kumpan Electric photo, Unsplash)

In the event of a fire, call 911. While that's good advice, considering how much longer it can take firefighters to arrive at a rural fire scene, it's even more important for rural residents to do as much fire prevention and containment planning as possible. Donna Kallner for The Daily Yonder writes, "Let’s take a hard look at our stuff, whether we should rethink where and how we store things."

Leftover ammunition and firearms from hunting or sports are commonly found in rural homes, garages and sheds, and their storage requires careful attention. "The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute recommends that ammunition be stored in its original packaging or other packaging designed for the purpose (such as metal or plastic ammo cans) and separate from heat sources, open flames, and firearms," Kallner explains. For general and fire safety, before storing a firearm, remove all ammunition, including chamber rounds. 

Everyday electronics, such as cell phones or laptops, run on lithium-ion batteries, which pose unique fire risks including extreme heat, lethal gases and the ability to "reignite hours to days after appearing to be extinguished," Kallner adds. "Your rural volunteer fire department would definitely want a heads-up if they might be walking into a structure fire involving lithium-ion batteries."

Plan where flammable and combustible fluids will be stored. "What distinguishes flammable from combustible liquids is the temperature at which they give off enough vapor to ignite in the presence of an ignition source," Kallner explains. "An area that gets so hot you wouldn’t leave an infant or pet there is not suitable for flammable or combustible liquids. . . . Flammable and combustible liquids should be stored at least 10 feet away from any potential ignition source. . .that includes electrical outlets."

Preventing fires is the first goal, and having an early warning system in place in case of fire is the second goal. "We can plug only one charging device into an outlet at a time. We can shop for one of those flammable storage cabinets for the fuels for the lawnmower, string trimmer, and chainsaw," Kallner adds. "We can ensure that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are properly installed in all recommended areas, tested monthly, and replaced at least every 10 years. We can update our home fire escape plan and practice until shutting doors behind us is automatic."

Read all of Kallner's fire tips here.

A small town in Georgia answers a call to service and saves its volunteer fire department

Asst. Fire Chief Michael Moravek with mascot,
Fire Pup. (Photo by Jennifer King via the Echo)

Across the country, rural fire departments are struggling to attract, train and retain volunteer firefighters. In Oglethorpe County, Georgia, the small unincorporated town of Vesta had a fire department facing closure until they put a call out to the community for help, reports Makenzy Wolford of The Oglethorpe Echo. "Down to three volunteers and battling new state regulations, the station faced the possibility of extinction." That was four years ago. Now the Vesta Volunteer Fire Department is staffed with volunteers thanks to its residents' "overwhelming response."

Vesta Fire Chief Wayne King "wasn't even a volunteer firefighter four years ago," Wolford writes. "He, among the majority of the station’s current volunteers, were unaware the station needed help until Douglas Spencer spoke to the congregation of Vesta Baptist Church. . . . Douglas, along with his wife Nicole Spencer, were two of the remaining firefighters at the Vesta station. When the situation became dire, Douglas went to the church. . . . A dozen members, including King and now assistant chief Michael Moravek, chose public service that night."

Moravek told Wolford, “I’ve always wanted to do this. I’ve been living here for 25 years, and no one’s ever asked. I thought they didn’t need anyone else extra.” Wolford adds, "The once-grim station blossomed in the 3½ years since Spencer’s call to action. Handshakes, hugs and kind words flowed freely Saturday as the VFD hosted its annual barbecue fundraiser on the first day of deer gun season."

Firefighting requires physical stamina, extensive knowledge of fire and bravery, which is part of the reason why getting and keeping volunteers is difficult. Moravek told Wolford, "I was very surprised by the amount of training that we had to go through. Twelve weeks of training at night time. . . . And then it’s a continuous training experience.” Wolford reports, "Training and certification requirements are more involved and strenuous than many anticipated."

Like most rural communities, all of Oglethorpe County's fire departments are staffed by volunteers. Wolford adds, "The issue of staffing, like that Vesta faced, is not only a local problem. . . Nationally, fire departments are struggling to come up with a staff equipped to act as the community’s first line of defense against everyday emergencies."

An EMS system in Letcher County, Kentucky, could serve as a warning for other struggling rural emergency services

When rural fire departments struggle to make ends meet, taking out a loan to cover costs may make sense. But as emergency services in Letcher County, Kentucky, discovered, that can lead to serious problems.

"Letcher Emergency Medical Service is deep in debt and hemorrhaging money, with some employees saying they have missed paydays and a Chicago area lender with a history of lawsuits against it threatening to repossess everything the service owns," reports Sam Adams of The Mountain Eagle in Whitesburg, Kentucky. "Employees say most if not all of those who missed checks have now been paid, but some have left the ambulance service for other pursuits, worried there won't be any money to pay them."

A natural disaster followed by missteps that hurt Medicaid reimbursements is partly blamed for Letcher EMS's financial woes. "After the 2022 flood, Letcher EMS changed its mailing address from the destroyed firehouse and ambulance station to a board member's home," Adams explains. "When Medicaid figured out it was a residential address, it stopped sending checks. That problem ballooned into another one. No checks from Medicaid, no checks to employees and no money to pay debts."

Shawn Gilley, executive director of the service, agreed that the "service has had financial difficulties, but said he has partnered with an unnamed financial backer to pay off debts and try to keep the service open," Adams reports. "Beginning earlier this year, a man identifying himself as Paul Graver of First Government Lease in Northfield, Illinois, began calling The Mountain Eagle asking for information about Letcher Volunteer Fire Department and Kingscreek Volunteer Fire Department and trying to get the newspaper to write a story saying Letcher owed him money."

Grave "listed 11 ambulances and fire trucks as being subject to repossession in a phone call with the newspaper."

While Letcher EMS leadership admitted to borrowing from First Government Lease, it's difficult to say how much is owed or what equipment could be repossessed. "Gilley acknowledges that he borrowed the money. . .. Both [Gilley and Fire Chief Wallace Bolling] have said that First Government has no claim on the fire trucks," Adams reports. 

Letcher EMS is one of several EMS organizations that are financially entangled with First Government Lease. "Court records show fire departments from Warfield, Ky., Pigeon Roost, Ky., Pinecrest, Tenn., Clinton, La., Alexander, Ark., Scott County, Ark., and Illinois" are involved with the company, Adams writes. 

To bolster rural emergency response, fire departments are deploying drones as a helpful 'eye in the sky'

Kale Geiswite of New Berlin Fire Company flies a
drone. (Photo by Matt Jones, The Standard-Journal)

While some drones have been known to start fires -- intentionally and unintentionally -- they also are being used by rural volunteer fire departments, such as in Pennslyvania, to help emergency responders have "an eye in the sky," reports Matt Jones of The Standard-Journal, which covers central Pennsylvania. Paul Vavra, a chief pilot of the drone program at the Duboistown Fire Department, told Jones: "We started our program about six years ago here at Duboistown. . . At that point, we were the only ones in Lycoming, Tioga and Sullivan County doing drone work for fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement, other than the state police."

Since then, more counties have purchased or received donated drones to bolster emergency responder support. "In 2022, Kale Geiswite of the New Berlin Fire Company in Union County put in a request to the National Public Safety Drone Donation Program. He said the department was looking for a drone with thermal capabilities that could be used to respond to residential structure fires, wildfires and search and rescues throughout the tri-county area of Union, Snyder and Northumberland counties," Jones reports. Geiswite told Jones: "We made a video about how we were trying to start a drone program and what we were looking to do with it. Within four months, Duboistown reached out. .  .They donated our first drone."

The National Fire Protection Association, under code 2400, "provides standards for small unmanned aircraft systems that establishes 'minimum requirements for the safe operation, deployment, and implementation of sUAS including organization program criteria and considerations, professional qualifications for safety personnel, and elements of a maintenance program, per the organization's website," Jones writes. However, local departments have to develop their own protocols for volunteer training and drone dispatch requirements.

Rural Nebraskans look to the state for help with ailing emergency services

Rural Nebraskans often wait 25 minutes for an
ambulance. (Photo by Jonnica Hill, Unsplash)

Rural ambulance services have been short on volunteers for years, but in states like Nebraska, the situation has become so extreme with slowed response times and long drives to get medical care, residents are asking their state government to help, reports Adam Sanderford of the Nebraska Examiner. "Rural Nebraskans who wait longer than their urban peers for ambulances to arrive and then deliver a patient to a hospital told state lawmakers that many of their local emergency medical service providers need state help to stay afloat. . . . The interim study hearing sought by State Sen. Myron Dorn drew testimony from first responders and hospital groups. Many shared steps Nebraska could take to help smaller communities recruit, train and retain more emergency medical responders."

Volunteer fire and rescue squads are common in Nebraskan communities, but "many struggle to replace older helpers. Additionally, as the rural population ages, calls for service are up, adding pressure to the volunteers who remain," Sanderford writes. "Dorn said this means farmers and rural employees leave their jobs more often, making it harder to persuade a generation of young people to help. It's also harder to recruit volunteers from among younger adults who have children at home, busy with activities."

Nebraska is one of three states with the highest rates of rural residents living more than a 25-minute drive from where an ambulance is stationed, according to a national study by the Maine Rural Health Research Center. "More than 76% of the state's counties had some residents living at least that far from a station," Sanderford writes. "Dwyer told State Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair that no state has all the answers for providing rural EMS service. However, he said, many states spend more on addressing the issues than Nebraska. . . . In 2022, South Dakota earmarked up to $20 million for emergency medical services. This money appears poised to boost rural EMS service, from EMT training to helping smaller communities replace old equipment and access telemedicine."

At the hearing, rural first responders "called on the state to pay upfront for training new potential emergency medical responders and medical technicians instead of making them or their volunteer departments seek reimbursement," Sanderford reports. "Angela Ling of the Nebraska Hospital Association stressed the importance of the state seriously discussing the impact on rural rescue squads of inadequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements that leave EMS agencies fighting to make up the differences."

"One testifier, Wahoo EMS director Grant Anderson, called on the state to address in state law which levels of government should shoulder what costs of emergency medical services," Saderford writes. "Wahoo, pop. 4, 800, and Ashland, pop. 3,100, provide EMS services beyond the city limits, but only city taxpayers pay the costs beyond what fees cover. . . . Nebraska state law requires EMS service as an essential service, but it does not specify which level of government should fund the service." Commenting on the state's plans, Ling told Sanderford: “I do not have the solution but hope this is the beginning of a conversation.”

Too few volunteer firefighters is an acute crisis in rural places; The 'antiquated model' must change

Fire crews are a rural area's 'first line of defense' for most
emergencies. (Photo by Peter Crabtree, The Daily Yonder)

Rural fire departments have struggled to get adequate funding, volunteers, and employees, and the problem is getting worse. "A slow but steady decline in volunteers is catching up with America's small-town and rural fire departments," reports Caitlin Randall of The Daily Yonder. "Some solutions – like better funding, a different volunteer structure, and more publicity – aren't simple. And others – like the need for more jobs to retain young people – are beyond fire departments' control."

Wikipedia map

Randall's report focuses on a small fire department in Bennington, Vermont, pop. 15,400, working to put out a fast-burning brush fire "in one of the most remote corners of southern Vermont. By the time the first crew arrived, the fire had spread with shifting winds coaxing a rapid uphill burn. . . . With just seven volunteer firefighters available to tackle a wildfire that might torch hundreds of acres of mountain wilderness, a mutual aid request went out to four other departments, including one from across the state line in New York.

"Other crews responded, but they, too, were dealing with a depleted volunteer corps. As each new team scrambled up the rugged terrain, others stepped back, exhausted from time spent digging fire lines — dirt channels in the angled terrain — and tackling burning brush while carrying power tools and 40-pound water packs. It was grueling, dangerous work with little rest while the blaze burned on, in this case, for nearly eight hours."

The lack of volunteer firefighters is a nationwide problem, more acutely felt by rural areas, such as Vermont, where "88% of their fire crews are staffed mostly or entirely by volunteers," Randall explains. "Fewer and fewer people are joining their ranks, and long-time volunteers are aging out. The crisis isn't confined to Vermont. Nationally, 70% of fire departments are mostly or entirely volunteer, and the number of new recruits is also declining."

The National Fire Protection Association, which tracks the numbers of volunteer firefighters in the United States, says the numbers have dropped 17% over a five-year period, Randall reports -- "from about 815,000 in 2015 to 677,000 in 2020, the last year for which figures were available. It's in small towns and rural areas with fewer resources where the falloff in volunteering has been felt the most, in communities where firefighters are the first line of defense for everything from fires to car crashes to natural disaster rescue missions."

"Among the raft of recruitment and retention challenges facing volunteer fire departments, stringent training and certification guidelines top the list," Randall explains. Rural fire departments bear the added burden of needing more good-paying jobs to keep volunteer firefighters in town. 

Rabbi Howard Cohen, who served as fire department deputy chief in Bennington, told Randall, "We have huge respect for firefighters, but we need to acknowledge the fire service has been in a state of crisis for a long time. It’s an antiquated model that absolutely needs to change."

Emergency medical services aren't considered 'essential' in some states; 4.5 million people live in 'ambulance deserts'

Many states have yet to declare EMS as an 'essential service.'

(Photo by Ian Taylor, Unsplash)

If you're having an emergency, you can call 911, but that doesn't mean there's an ambulance or paramedics nearby to come to your aid. "Most states don't declare emergency medical services to be an 'essential service,' meaning the state government isn't required to provide or fund them," reports Nada Hassanein of Stateline. "Now, though, a growing number of states are taking an interest in recognizing ambulance services as essential. . . .Experts say the momentum might be driven by the pandemic, a decline in volunteerism and the rural health care shortage."

Smaller towns and out-of-the-way places face the most complex struggles. "The lack of EMS services is acute in rural America, where EMS agencies and rural hospitals continue to shutter at record rates, meaning longer distances to life-saving care," Hassanein writes. Longtime paramedic Brenden Hayden, chairperson of the National EMS Advisory Council, a governmental advisory group within the U.S. Department of Transportation, told Hassanein: "The fact that people expect it, but yet it's not listed as an essential service in many states, and it's not supported as such really, is where that dissonance occurs."

EMS services struggle partially because "there isn’t a sole federal agency dedicated to overseeing or funding EMS, with multiple agencies handling different regulations, and some federal dollars in the form of grants and highway safety funds from the Department of Transportation," Hassanein explains. "By contrast, police departments are supported and receive funds from the U.S. Department of Justice along with local tax dollars, and fire departments are supported by the U.S. Fire Administration, although many underserved areas also rely on volunteer firefighters to fill gaps."

"About 4.5 million people across the United States live in an 'ambulance desert,' and more than half of those are residents of rural counties, according to a recent national study by the Maine Rural Health Research Center and the Rural Health Research & Policy Centers," Hassanein adds. "The researchers define an ambulance desert as a community 25 minutes or more from an ambulance station."

Quick hits: Woolly mammoth found in Iowa; rural firefighters get a movie; check out agrivoltaics; Friday's civic games

Audience members at lasts year's Wisconsin Civics Games State
Championship at the State Capitol. (Photo by Julia Hunter, WNA)

The finals are tomorrow! Students from 13 high schools across the Dairy State will compete in the Wisconsin Civics Games state finals.. "Fifteen teams, each comprising up to four students, will face off in head-to-head matchups, answering questions about the state budget, local elections, legislative term limits, quorums, freedom of the press and other civics-related issues," reports Julia Hunter of, whose foundation sponsors the games/ "Each member of the winning team will receive a $2,000 scholarship to a Wisconsin college or university. . . .The games will be broadcast on WisconsinEye, and are expected to begin around 9 a.m. and conclude at approximately 3 p.m. . . . The WNA Foundation launched the Wisconsin Civics Games in 2018 in response to declining civics education and participation."

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"Odd Hours, No Pay, Cool Hat" is a new documentary about rural firefighters. "While the population is increasing, the number of volunteer firefighters is dwindling rapidly," reports Joelle Orem of The Scoop. "John Deere and the National Volunteer Fire Council recognize the deficit and have partnered to educate and recruit volunteer firefighters to the call through the film. . . . The idea for the film came from the rich heritage of community partnership. . . . Farmers and firefighters often work hand in hand to respond to emergency calls for service during snow and thunderstorms. Visit oddhoursfilm.com to watch the teaser."

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Older trees absorb and store carbon, but carbon isn't the only concern with older forests. "More than 60 percent of the trees managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management make up mature or old-growth forest. . . . A first-of-its-kind census shows that the two agencies are stewards of 112.8 million acres of mature and old-growth trees," Marianne Lavelle of Inside Climate News reports. "But it remains to be seen whether those rules will lead to greater protection for mature and old-growth stands on public lands, as some environmentalists have called for, or for more logging, thinning and prescribed burning by the Forest Service to control wildfire, disease and other climate-related threats."

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Does green energy always have to compete with land needs? Maybe not. Some Wisconsin researchers are looking at ways for the two have a more symbiotic relationship. "'Agrivoltaics,' the use of land for both agriculture and solar power, was at the center of a panel with a regulator and researchers recently hosted by the University of Wisconsin," reports Joe Schulz of Wisconsin Public Radio. . . . "The panel explored potential trade-offs between renewable energy and agriculture."

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Summertime can be glorious, but it can also be time to find a summer job. For rural young adults, there are quite a few options out there, reports Money magazine. "It’s helpful to start with a simple job so you can earn money and gain experience just from the added responsibility. . . . Instead of looking for available jobs, you can create your own. Offering yard work services is a great way to make your opportunities and serve your community." People with pets may be vacationing away from home and farm. If your familiar with rural animal or pet care, this could be a flexible, fun money maker.

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The woolly mammoth was an adult male in its mid 40s, 6-7 tons in weight, and
13 to 14 feet tall at the shoulder. (Photo by Daryl Marshke, University of Michigan)

Not every day do you find a 15,000-year-old animal skeleton in Iowa. "Of all the tiny spots in a sea of soybeans, Jim Bristle and Trent Satterthwaite hit the honey hole," reports Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. "When the pair of Midwest farmers dropped a backhoe bucket 8' below mature beans and felt the machinery groan and shift, they struck a massive, prehistoric beast hidden in blue clay and released the creature from a 15,000-year sleep. . . . Farmland is the vault of the unseen, and Bristle and Satterthwaite made one of the most unlikely scientific discoveries of the 21st century—a woolly mammoth skeleton alongside three telltale boulders."

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Rebecca the alpaca and her "fiber."
(H.L. Barnes, Successful Farming)

Experimental, whimsical, classic---domestically sourced fashion-fiber can be fabulous and expensive. "According to the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Americans spend more than 250 million dollars on fashion and accessories every year," reports Heather Lifsey Barnes of Successful Farming. "With the demand for local fiber growing, agriculture is positioned to partner with these influencers and connect them with how fiber is grown and raised." To give educators industry know-how, some North Caroline high and middle school teachers "Toured an alpaca farm, which gave teachers a hands-on look at the fiber growing on its source. At Venezia Dream Farm, owner Star Cash raises alpaca for their fiber. . . .Cash went to school to learn how to grade the fibers."

Rural volunteer firefighters in short supply; some states get involved in a usually local matter by offering incentives

Photo by Jen Theodore, Unsplash

Part of your job is to head into buildings that are on fire, billowing smoke, and incredibly HOT. Who wants that job?

"When firefighters show up to a blaze or medical emergency across much of the United States, they most likely are volunteers. It's also likely the department is understaffed, struggling to replace old equipment and facing uncertainty about its next generation of firefighters," reports Alex Brown of Stateline. "More than 80 percent of the nation's fire departments are made up entirely or mostly of volunteers, according to the National Fire Protection Association. . . . But participation has dwindled, from nearly 900,000 volunteers in 1984 to a low of 677,000 in 2020. Meanwhile, fire departments have responded to more than triple the number of calls over that same period."

"While some departments have brought on full-time paid firefighters to fill the gaps, [but] many communities, especially in rural areas, can't afford the cost of a professional fire service," Brown explains. Kimberly Quiros, chief of communications with the National Volunteer Fire Council, told Brown, "A lot of communities don't have the tax base and support to switch to a career staffing model."

Tania Daffron, an assistant chief of administration and planning in Bloomington, Indiana, told The Rural Blog that many communities have historically paid volunteers per "call or run -- the more runs, the greater the pay. . . . The stipends aren't necessarily new, but departments are trying to increase the amount to make it more worthwhile for the personnel to respond."

Brown reports, "Some states have begun their own response" to the firefighter shortage. "Lawmakers from both parties have advanced bills to provide financial benefits or tax breaks for volunteers or funding for new equipment in hopes of incentivizing firefighters to join up or stay in service." Mississippi encourages retention by creating an investment fund for each volunteer and putting in $500 for each year served. "Last year, New York lawmakers unanimously passed a measure enabling local municipalities to enact property tax breaks of up to 10% for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers," Brown reports. Assemblyman Kevin Byrne told Brown. "It's hard to get young members, and it needs to be sustainable so they can justify going to a call at 3 in the morning and leaving their loved ones. . . . That's where the property-tax exemption is meaningful and makes it easier for people to justify the work."

Part of addressing the shortage needs to include the danger and emotional toll of rescue work. Daffron said volunteer firefighters experience the same stresses as their urban counterparts: "Burnout is real, along with PTSD from accumulated trauma. . . .We are horrible at asking for help for ourselves, as 'We are the help'." She said hiring and retaining any firefighter is a juggling act to offer enough incentives for people to complete all the training, preparation and mental stress. In sum, is volunteering as a firefighter worth the risk and time involved? When asked "Why would someone want that job?" Daffron replied, "It's an opportunity to serve their communities and is one of the best, most rewarding jobs in the world."

Another fish fry? Why local emergency medical services have so many fundraisers; here's what you can do to help

Rural ambulance in Sweetwater, Wyoming
(Photo by Kim Raff, The New York Times)

Another fish fry, ticket raffle or silent auction? Many of us would like to take a hard pass, possibly for life. But those fundraising efforts are the life of some emergency medical services across rural America. "If you don't do the fundraising, how do you pay for equipment needed to keep those people safe on a job for which they receive no pay?" Donna Kallner reports for The Daily Yonder. "It all adds up. It also takes a toll. When unpaid volunteers spend so much time fundraising, they have less time available for training, equipment checks, and other tasks – including paperwork, without which you don't get funding."

Kallner provides a personal example: "My rural volunteer fire department just purchased a new self-contained breathing apparatus. Those air packs include a frame that holds a pressurized cylinder containing breathable air, a mouthpiece and a regulator. . . . It wasn't cheap. Each new 45-minute pack with a cylinder was $7,500, and spare bottles were $900 each. . . . It took two years of fundraising to raise the $50,000 needed to put that new equipment into service."

What some residents may not know is that fire services impact family budgets. Kallner explains, "What those households pay for homeowners insurance is directly related to the readiness and reliability of the fire department that serves them. That's true in other rural areas, as well. . . . . Homeowners' insurance rates factor in ISO ratings. Those are determined by the Insurance Services Office, which assigns fire departments a score between 1 and 10. A score of 1 is the safest bet that an insurance company won't have to pay out on fire claims. Any area over five driving miles from the nearest fire station is automatically rated a 10."

"Like the rural households they serve, rural volunteer firefighters often pay a premium for homeowners insurance based on where they live. But they show up to flip flapjacks to pay for National Fire Protection Association-compliant PPE and other equipment," Kallner points out. "In my area, the portion of annual revenues municipalities allocate to fire departments might cover what it costs to outfit one new firefighter in PPE and provide an air pack and a radio. The rest of the budget? Fundraising."

"Volunteer fire departments need all kinds of help, and it doesn’t all involve training to put on an air pack and enter burning structures. Sometimes it’s helping sell food and beverages or raffle tickets at community events," Kallner adds. "Next time your volunteer fire department hosts an open house, get pictures of the kids or grandkids with the shiny fire trucks, for sure. But also ask, how old is that truck? If you had to replace it, what would that cost? And what would it take to raise that money? Sticker shock about PPE and other equipment pales in comparison to fire apparatus. . . . We also need people brave enough to look at price tags and grant applications squarely, swallow their sticker shock, and say, 'How can I help?'"

Pandemic further stresses rural volunteer fire departments

A chief walks through his fire station in Ringgold, Va.
(Photo by Caleb Ayers, Danville Register & Bee)

Rural fire departments have struggled to get adequate funding, volunteers, employees and equipment, but the pandemic has made the situation worse.

"Rural firefighters have been on the front lines of the pandemic, tackling wildfires and vehicle accidents even as they transport ill and injured residents to hospitals," Aallyah Wright reports for Stateline. "Covid-19’s heavy toll on rural hospitals has extended to emergency responders, meaning firefighters are answering more medical calls than ever before. The increased workload, and the specter of vaccine mandates, has made recruitment even tougher."

The pandemic has traumatized rural firefighters and other health-care providers. "The mass death and suffering of the past 20 months has spawned a surge of post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, insomnia and substance use disorder among health care professionals of all kinds," Wright reports. "Answering calls at the homes of relatives, friends and neighbors—which many rural firefighters have had to do—magnifies the pain."

That's on top of difficulties rural fire departments already face, such as poor roads and communications infrastructure, increasingly frequent and more powerful wildfires, and state laws that can require volunteer EMTs to transfer patients to paramedics for more advanced treatment—without compensation.

That's a lot to ask a volunteer to endure, even those who feel called to serve their communities as fire fighters. "Of more than 1.1 million firefighters nationwide, 67% are volunteers who are not paid or receive a minimal amount to cover gas and other expenses, according to a 2021 fact sheet by the National Volunteer Fire Council," Wright reports. "Many of them are in rural America: Nearly 40% of communities with between 5,000 and 9,999 residents had all-volunteer departments as of 2018, according to a tally released last year by the National Fire Protection Association. In communities with between 2,500 and 4,999 people, the percentage of all-volunteer departments was 72%, and 92% in towns of less than 2,500."

Younger people are far less likely to volunteer at fire departments, several firefighters told Wright. Bob Timko, of the National Volunteer Fire Council's recruitment and retention committee, told her that volunteer departments need to work harder to recruit, possibly by partnering with local businesses: "[Young people] aren’t coming in the door ... I would challenge leadership to develop a program or use resources to educate people on what we do."

Quick hits: Fire-department funding model could help rural ERs; developers say new plant 'milk' tastes like real thing

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email heather.chapman@uky.edu.

The American West has 620,000 miles of fencing; that may threaten the migration of deer and other species. Read more here.

A recent study found rural Americans and Native Americans on average must travel the farthest to receive certified stroke care. Read more here.

A federal fire-department funding model could help rural emergency departments stay afloat. Read more here.

Developers of the newest plant-based milk alternative say it looks, tastes and behaves more like real milk than any other substitute. The brew is being sold at Whole Foods and will reach nearly 3,000 U.S. grocery stores this year. Read more here.

Jennifer Rocha picks peppers alongside her parents. She worked with
 them from high school through college. (Photo by Branden Rodriguez)

A new book tackles the issue of rural gentrification in a Washington tourism town. Read more here.

A recent graduate of the University of California, San Diego, wanted to honor her immigrant parents' sacrifices for her education, so she did her graduation photos in the Coachella Valley vegetable fields where they had all worked for years. Read more here.

For the first time since last July, the Agriculture Department's Economic Research Service has updated its Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America with new data on employment, poverty, income, and more. The resource features an interactive, county-level map that can be toggled to display data on a host of topics, including population change, race, rurality, and veterans. Read more here.

An Oregon writer explores the roots of a conflict over water rights in the nearby Klamath River basin, where anti-government activists are threatening to dynamite open a closed irrigation canal. Better compromise and innovation could provide a solution for all parties involved, she writes, both there and in other areas where climate change is making water more scarce. Read more here.

Quick hits: online toolkit helps local governments get transportation grants; the effect of rurality on voters

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

Rural local governments may be able to more easily access grant money for infrastructure projects through an online toolkit hosted by the Transportation Department.

Opinion: Satellite Starlink is better than nothing for rural broadband. Read more here.

Study: Rural hospitals without obstetricians need more training in emergency pregnancy care. Read more here.

Rurality itself had a distinct effect on votes in the presidential election. Read more here.

Rural fire chiefs talk about the need for more volunteers. Read more here.

Judges might sentence fewer people to prison if local governments had to pay for their prison stays. Read more here.

A new peer-reviewed paper shows that a cattle farm that practices regenerative grazing improved its soil and lowered its carbon footprint, but requires more land. Read more here.

Rural fire departments face extra challenges

Rural fire departments are often staffed by volunteers who see it as a way to serve their communities. But being a volunteer firefighter or emergency medical technician "involves much more than just showing up for emergencies. In many ways, rural volunteer fire districts must work harder than 'career' departments to secure adequate funding, to maintain a workable infrastructure, and to recruit and properly train enough crew members for their needs," Kat Bryant reports for The Daily World in Aberdeen, Washington.

Because fire-department funding is mostly based on locally assessed taxes, less-populated areas get less funding. But sometimes state law requires volunteer fire departments to provide extra services that they don't get compensated for, Bryant reports.

Assistant Fire Chief Shari Cutright of Fire District 8 in Pacific Beach, Washington, told Bryant that, for example, their EMTs must transfer some patients to paramedics for more advanced treatment. "Under state mandate, if a person is having difficulty breathing, it’s automatic that we have to meet up with paramedics, and they transfer the patient," Curtright said. "We get nothing from that; they get everything."

"And by 'everything,' she means the ALS transporter [the company the paramedics work for] charges not only the patient, but also District 8 for that run," Bryant reports. "That is generally how it works for the rural fire districts: [districts that provide only basic life support] must pay either monthly or per-transport fees to neighboring providers for paramedic coverage as needed."

Poor road and communications infrastructure can also complicate response for rural fire departments. Nick Falley, a firefighter and EMT with Fire District 7 in rural Washington, told Bryant it's difficult for volunteer firefighters to lobby local governments to address infrastructure problems. "When I bring it up with the county, they say we have these radio board (meetings) that are scheduled at times when our volunteer chiefs are at their (day) jobs" Falley said. "Career departments have the resources to vouch for their infrastructure, and then we kind of get the slim pickins — and we’re out in the areas where we really need it."

Some federal agencies can't or won't say how many wildland firefighters have covid-19

Coronavirus infections and quarantines have sidelined many wildland firefighters, but some federal agencies can't or aren't keeping track of such infections; that and disjointed tracking practices among state and federal agencies could not only endanger other firefighters and their communities, but it could also make it difficult to contain wildfires if firefighters are sick or forced to quarantine, Zoya Teirstein reports for Grist.

"Of the five federal wildfire-fighting agencies Grist reached out to, only the Forest Service, the National Parks Service, and the Bureau of Land Management responded to requests for information about covid-19 cases among wildland firefighters this season. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not respond by the time this article was published."

A BLM spokesperson told Teirstein it has had 32 covid-19 cases in its Fire and Aviation division, and said it had quickly isolated infected employees. A National Parks Service spokesperson refused to say how many of its wildland firefighters have tested positive, but said if one did, the agency would work with local authorities to limit the virus's spread.

The Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres of public hands and about two-thirds of the nation's wildfire resources, including 10,000 firefighters, told Teirstein that it doesn't have information on coronavirus cases among its wildland firefighters. The agency is "in the process of separating the fire employees from the non-fire employees who have tested positive," a spokesperson said.

Tracking infections among wildland firefighters is critical; because social distancing is difficult for the tightly packed crews, the infection is more likely to spread quickly. "That leaves contact tracing and isolation as firefighting agencies’ best tools for reducing covid-19 transmission among firefighters — but it’s impossible for an agency to use these tools when it doesn’t know who’s been infected in the first place," Teirstein reports.

Some states, such as Alaska and California, seem to be doing a more comprehensive job of tracking infections among wildland firefighters, Teirstein reports.

Pandemic complicates response to huge California wildfire; check your county's wildfire risk with interactive map

Wildfire risk map from Wildfirerisk.org. Click the image to enlarge it or click here for the interactive version.

California is facing its largest wildfire since the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, aided by an exceptionally dry winter, but the coronavirus pandemic has sidelined more than 1,000 incarcerated firefighters. "The setbacks highlight the challenges that California and other Western states are facing heading into the most dangerous part of fire season amid the worst pandemic in more than 100 years," Kevin Stark reports for NPR. "Even a potential exposure to the virus could sideline hundreds of firefighters for weeks."

Two smaller lightning-sparked fires in Modoc and Siskiyou counties, near the Oregon border, have merged to form the Caldwell Fire, now approaching 80,000 acres and about 45 percent contained. In comparison, the Camp Fire was 153,336 acres, The Bay Area News Group reports.

The fire has been more difficult to contain because nearly 1,000 incarcerated firefighters have been quarantined by the coronavirus pandemic. "In late June, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials put 12 prison fire camps on lockdown after they were potentially exposed to the coronavirus through outbreaks within the prison system, sidelining as many as 750 inmate firefighters," Stark reports. A few weeks later, the quarantine was extended after another potential exposure.

According to state fire agency Cal Fire, about 3,500 of the state's 15,500 wildfire fighters were inmates in recent years. "But this year, many inmate firefighters were sent home from prison after the state granted early release to thousands of prisoners to depopulate crowded facilities and slow the spread of the coronavirus," Stark reports. "As a result, less than half of California's inmate firefighting crews were active for duty much of July." Gov. Gavin Newsom, has promised to hire more than 800 seasonal firefighters.

The Caldwell Fire will not likely be the last significant wildfire this season, since much of the Western U.S. had an exceptionally dry winter. And responding to those wildfires could be complicated even without the issue of prison labor, since volunteer firefighters face the same quarantine issues.

Wildfires aren't just a California phenomenon. See your county and state's risk level at WildfireRisk.org, a searchable, interactive database maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.

Volunteer fire departments struggle with lack of personal protective gear, inability to hold needed fundraisers

While the pandemic has complicated plans for fighting large wildfires, it has also hurt small-town fire departments' ability to function.

"Across the country, fire departments are adjusting to the coronavirus pandemic, changing protocols to try to reduce the risk of exposure among first responders, coping with a shortage of personal protective equipment and figuring out the potential budget challenges facing many local government agencies," Kate Queram reports for Route Fifty. "For small departments, there are additional dilemmas, starting with fewer volunteers willing or able to work. Departments also have been forced to cancel fundraising events, a vital source of revenue for rural companies."

More than 80 percent of the nation's fire departments are all or mostly comprised of volunteers, Queram reports. Some have been able to adapt, including one in a small town in New York that operated its annual barbecue chicken dinner as a drive-through event, but other departments have had to cancel events, and told Queram they're not sure how they'll make up the deficit.

Scanty ambulance access in rural Pennsylvania illustrates nationwide difficulties in sustaining emergency services

Union City in Erie County, Penn.
(Wikipedia map)

An incident last December in Erie County, Pennsylvania, illustrates the growing difficulty in accessing emergency services in rural areas across the nation. Someone called 911 in Union City, pop. 3,320, but at least three nearby volunteer fire departments were unable to crew an ambulance, so 51 minutes later the 911 center canceled the alarm and said the caller was going to the hospital in a private vehicle, Kris Mamula reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Last year, the Union City Fire Company couldn't provide an ambulance crew for 200 of the 710 total calls received.

"Problems recruiting first responders, rising operating costs and Medicare reimbursement that hasn’t kept pace with expenses are stressing emergency medical services throughout rural Pennsylvania," Mamula reports. "Outside of bigger cities like Pittsburgh, emergency medical service is not supported by municipal tax money. That leaves the vast majority of nonprofit ambulance services reliant upon billing for care to keep their trucks on the road and staffed around the clock."

Medicare pays medical providers, including ambulance services, according to a set payment list. "To set its rates, Medicare is surveying a number of ambulance services to determine average costs," Mamula reports. "Hospitals are required to file cost reports for providing various services. Medicare payments are typically based on a percentage of costs, with hospitals generally receiving 12 percent."

The Union City fire department hired two firefighters/EMS responders last year with combined salaries of $75,000. The city government gives the department $24,000 a year to help, but that's only a third of the money needed. "The EMS math tightrope is similar across many such services in Western Pennsylvania. Most of Union City’s ambulance patients have Medicaid or Medicare insurance coverage — typical for EMS services — which pay $160 and about $400 per call respectively," Mamula reports. "A new ambulance can cost between $150,000 and $200,000. And new power stretchers — which help load overweight patients while cutting worker’s compensation injury claims — cost between $60,000 and $70,000 each. The latest heart monitor costs about $90,000."

Union City EMS volunteer Larry Obert, 79, said a tax increase was the best long-term solution. "It’s a nightmare," Obert told Mamula. "Somebody has to subsidize it." Fire department leaders agreed recently to ask the local government to fund an eight-person EMS crew that could respond 24/7, at a cost of about $326,000. Raising that kind of money would require a tax hike, according to the borough council president. But a tax increase could really hurt in one of the poorest towns in the state.

The fire department tries to defray costs by selling annual memberships at $40 each; members don't have to pay any remaining balances on ambulance bills remaining after the insurer pays its portion. But without the requested extra funding from the local government, the fire department would have to shut down its EMS service by June. It opened the service in 2016 after a previous volunteer ambulance service shuttered, Mamula reports.

Larger private EMS services can sometimes step in when small services like Union City's close down, but "experts say big ambulance services aren’t immune to the forces threatening emergency services. Pittsburgh EMS, for example, answers some 64,600 calls a year, yet is expected to run an $11.4 million operational deficit in 2020. Tax money will make up the shortfall."

Two Trump-voting half-brothers in Pa. coal country, black and white, say they're on a mission to fight local racism

Andy Barrow and "Stosh" Webb Jr. (Photo by Matt Smith)

Andy Barrow and his younger half-brother Ronald Stanley "Stosh" Webb Jr. have much in common: They were born in Schuykill County, Pennsylvania, voted for President Trump, and are combat veterans and firefighters. But Barrow is white and Webb is black. And now the brothers say they're on a mission to combat local racism in their coal-country town, Jen Kinney reports for WHYY in Philadelphia.

Webb said he had overheard and seen racist behavior in Schuykill County, but had never been blatantly confronted with it until one night in July 2019. He and some buddies went to a firefighter bar for their weekly meet-up. Such bars are common in the region; they're semi-private bars that usually require a small membership fee to help fund volunteer fire departments. At the Port Clinton Fire Co. bar that night, the bartender recommended that Webb listen to a racist country music song whose title includes the N-word, Kinney reports.

Schuykill County
(Wikipedia map)

Webb and his friends left, he said, but noted that Port Clinton's volunteer fire chief was present and didn't intervene. Webb and Barrow were furious, both at the bartender and at the fire chief for not speaking up, Kinney reports. They complained, but the bartender wasn't fired.

"Now, these model 'Skooks' have become unlikely champions for so-called 'cancel culture,' on a mission to hold their neighbors accountable for racism they say has been too easily overlooked, both past and present," Kinney reports. "Their campaign has brought the issue into local public debate in an election year that feels, to many voters, like a referendum on President Trump’s treatment of non-white communities."