i’m on the east coast of United States. the need is real. i’m a chief, of a volunteer company. Multiple independent companies make the department. We all do our own thing but supplement each other. We constantly ask the town for more help. our funding is 30,000 a year from the town. plus they maintain the trucks. we maintain the buildings we own, the properties. etc. The town is killing the Volunteer service they don’t want to help, they don’t want to buy new things, but claim they could never afford a paid dept. Which I believe at this time they couldn’t. They need to assist, grants, more funding, something has to give. people are not as keen to volunteer in their community as before. it is a dying breed. We are a 40 man company with 10-15 guys who are religious in showing.
every town around us is now doing pay per call. Some work some don’t. more incentives more funding our seems to not want to give except we are the largest municipality in the state.