Results From Week 4 of the NVFC Survey to Document Volunteer Emergency Services’ COVID-19 Experiences

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) created a survey to better understand the experiences of volunteer and combination fire, EMS, and rescue departments dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19. We ask that you take a few minutes to complete the survey here, and that you re-take the survey each week so that we can track changes over time.

Based on survey and other feedback from NVFC members, answer choices related to responder mental health, morale, fundraising, and junior firefighter programs were added to the survey on March 26, and answer choices related to training and recruitment were added on April 9.

Survey Results

Between March 20 and March 25 there were 168 survey completions from individuals belonging to all-volunteer (72%), mostly-volunteer (23%), and mostly career (5%) emergency services organizations. 71 percent of respondents reported having been adversely impacted by COVID-19, compared with 29 percent that have not.

Between March 26 and April 1 there were 78 survey completions from individuals belonging to all-volunteer (68%), mostly-volunteer (28%), and mostly career (4%) emergency services organizations. 77 percent of respondents reported having been adversely impacted by COVID-19, compared with 23 percent that have not.

Between April 2 and April 9 there were 57 survey completions from individuals belonging to all-volunteer (62%), mostly-volunteer (33%), and mostly career (5%) emergency services organizations. 68 percent of respondents reported having been adversely impacted by COVID-19, compared with 32 percent that have not.

Between April 10 and April 16 there were 59 survey completions from individuals belonging to all-volunteer (82%), mostly-volunteer (17%), and mostly-career (2%) emergency services organizations. 78 percent of respondents reported having been adversely impacted by COVID-19, compared with 22 percent that have not.

Respondents were asked to indicate areas where they were experiencing challenges:

  • Running low on personal protective equipment (PPE):
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    72%                   60%               66%             59%                  66%
  • Inability to fundraise:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        46%               34%              55%                  40%
  • Staff unwilling/unable to respond:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    48%                  43%               45%              47%                   47%
  • Can’t get new personnel trained/certified because EMS education processes are frozen:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    31%                   35%                38%             48%                  35%
  • Concern over mental health of personnel:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1        4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        32%                40%              36%                  35%
  • Unable to recruit new volunteers:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1        4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       4/10-4/16
    Not asked        Not asked      Not asked    50%                 50%
  • Unable to train:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1        4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       4/10-4/16
    Not asked        Not asked      Not asked    76%                 76%
  • Run out of PPE:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    35%                   25%               15%               16%                  25%
  • Challenges getting personnel tested for COVID-19:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    19%                   25%               9%                16%                   18%
  • Low morale:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        25%               32%              26%                  28%
  • Disruption to junior firefighter programs:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        19%               28%               28%                 24%
  • Personnel in quarantine:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    8%                     18%               17%               7%                    12%
  • Struggling with increased call volume:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    7%                     4%                 2%                 5%                    5%

Respondents were also asked to rate on a scale of 0-5 (with 5 being the highest) areas where they need help most urgently. The average ratings were as follows:

  • Supply/resupply of PPE:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9       4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    4.5                     4.0                 3.8                3.4                    4.0
  • Need more personnel:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    3.0                    3.6                  2.6                3.2                   3.1
  • Supply/resupply of other (non-PPE) resources:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    3.6                     3.3                 2.8                2.6                   3.2
  • Guidance/resources to help keep responding personnel safe:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    3.7                     3.1                  2.4               2.8                    3.2
  • Guidance/resources on alternative fundraising strategies:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        2.9                  1.8                2.8                   2.5
  • Better information from PSAPs regarding potential exposures:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    3.2                     2.7                 2.0                2.7                    2.8
  • Access to testing:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16        3/20-4/16
    2.6                     2.7                 1.8                 2.0                    2.4
  • Guidance/resources related to behavioral health:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/26-4/16
    Not asked        2.5                  2.6                2.5                   2.4
  • Guidance/resources to help with quarantine:
    3/20-3/25       3/26-4/1       4/2-4/9      4/10-4/16       3/20-4/16
    2.8                     2.3                 1.7                1.5                     2.3

Notable Trends Analysis

  • 76 percent of respondents indicated that they were experiencing challenges related to being “Unable to train,” which was a new answer choice this week. This was the answer choice that the highest percentage of respondents reported as being a challenge in the past week.
  • Supply/resupply of PPE continues to be the area that respondents are having difficulty with, although the overall percentage reporting that this is a problem has trended downward (72% week 1; 60% week 2; 66% week 3; 59% week 4 for “running low” and 35%/25%/15%/16% for “run out”) as did the “Need Help” rating (4.5/4.0/3.8/3.4 out of 5).
  • The percentage of respondents indicating that they were experiencing challenges related to “Inability to fundraise” increased from 34 percent last week to 55 percent this week, rating as the answer choice with the third highest percentage of responses.
  • 50 percent of respondents indicated that they were experiencing challenges related to being “Unable to train,” which was the second of two new answer choices in the survey this week. This was the answer choice with the fourth highest percentage of responses.
  • The percentage of respondents indicating that staff are unwilling or unable to respond was 47% last week compared with 45% the previous week and 47% overall. “Need more personnel” scored 3.2 out of 5 on the “Need Help” scale last week, behind only “Supply/resupply of PPE.”
  • The number of respondents increased from 57 two weeks ago to 59 last week, but remains below the numbers in the first two weeks of the survey. The more responses the survey receives the more robust and useful the data are. Please take the survey every week to keep us informed about your experiences!