Recruitment & Retention Research

Research is a critical component to fully understand why people volunteer with a fire department, why they leave the volunteer fire service, and barriers to making the commitment to volunteering. With that in mind, the NVFC has conducted several surveys and focus groups over the years to equip departments with the knowledge needed to address recruitment and retention challenges and implement research-driven solutions.

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Infographic
May 2026
This 2-page infographic provides highlights from the Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Research Report

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Research Report
May 2026
The NVFC conducted surveys and focus groups to learn about prevalent barriers and facilitators to becoming a volunteer firefighter for the general population and to identify priority audiences that have higher potential for recruitment to inform recruitment efforts. Further, the research aimed to identify key barriers and facilitators to continued volunteering for current volunteers to inform retention efforts.

Understanding the Role of Training on Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention
March 2026
The Fire Protection Research Foundation, in collaboration with the NVFC and North American Fire Training Directors, released this study that examined how training structures, requirements, and delivery methods influence the ability of departments – particularly those serving small communities – to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.

Department Survey on Local Government Support
December 2020
The NVFC conducted this survey to gain a better understanding of how local government supports volunteer fire/EMS departments as well as the type of support that volunteer departments are seeking from local government.

Volunteer Retention Research Report
August 2020
The goals of this research were to understand the institutional drivers of why volunteers leave the fire service and develop a stable, repeatable measure of retention rates across the volunteer fire service.

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Formative Research Results
March 2015
To kick off the development of the NVFC’s Make Me A Firefighter campaign, surveys were conducted to better understand key attitudes and motivators of current volunteers as well as those who are interested in volunteering with the volunteer fire and rescue services.