Resources for Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Efforts

It takes a lot of work to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters in today's busy society. Following are some resources to guide your department through both recruitment and retention.

Volunteer Recruitment Tips: Beyond Open Houses

• Open houses are definitely a great way to recruit new volunteers (make sure to have a designated recruitment table), but recruiting should also be done year-round.

Volunteer Recruitment and Retention: Technology versus Tradition

• Most departments perform recruitment activities, but are these activities effective and do they maximize the use of the department’s resources?  The Virginia Volunteer Workforce Solutions compared traditional recruitment methods against newer technology-driven methods over 16 months.

Volunteer Fire Departments Face Recruitment, Retention Challenges

• Minnesota's recruitment and retention efforts have been falling since the 1980s.

Volunteer Fire Department Retention and Recruitment Plan

• A sample of a retention and recruitment plan from Grant County.

How to Become a Volunteer Firefighter

• While specific duties may vary from state to state and from town to town, many of a volunteer firefighter's duties are the same as those performed by a career firefighter. Even though volunteer firefighters do not live and work in a firehouse like career firefighters, they carry out the same kinds of emergency response duties and non-emergency tasks.