According to a National Fire Protection Association report entitled "U.S Fire Department Profile through 2002," released in October 2003, the total amount of volunteers nationwide went up 4.1% from the year before and is the highest it has been since 1995. This marks a reversal in the downward trend we have seen in the amount of volunteers in since 1983, when there were 884,600 nationwide.
"While we are encouraged by these new figures, we still have a long way to go to reverse the trend that has been chipping away at our ranks for the last 20 years," said National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. "The NVFC encourages firefighters to work with their elected officials at all levels of government to implement meaningful recruitment and retention programs."
According to the report, there were 1,108,250 firefighters in the United States in 2002. Of these 291,650 (26%) were career and 816,600 (74%) were volunteer.
Stittleburg added, "Programs like NVFC's 1-800-FIRE-LINE and the USA Freedom Corps Initiative, coupled with strong efforts at the local level, are reasons we feel why we are seeing this spike in volunteerism and we must work steadfastly to ensure this trend continues."
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