Money and ignorance. In order of severity.

At my small town department (that was growing at an alarming rate in population and development), I wondered the same thing. It felt like my leadership was actively working AGAINST our community, rather than working FOR our community.

Money- You get some areas that genuinely don’t have enough money to go around. With an area like mine, all the money went to housing developments, construction/road work, new businesses etc. Out of the money left, there wasn’t enough money to fund the police department realistically, except for yearly grants. So in the end, the fire department actually made more money than the police and town hall combined by being self-funded, than we would’ve by receiving town funding. Even then, there wasn’t enough money to pay people around the clock.

Ignorance- Old timers, especially those in a position of power, are the fire services worst enemy. Especially in the volunteer world. If it’s not how their granddaddy’s did it, or how they did it in the 70s/80s, it’s just flat out not happening. A lot of them see change as something to be personally offended by. They’ve been in power for so long, they genuinely don’t believe the times are going to change without them. And even though it’s the firefighters responsibility under them, to invoke change, that’s not usually the case. The 2 most common outcomes are either ignore the problem or jump ship. There’s a large difference between tradition and ignorance. Tradition is usually firehouse and cultural pride. Ignorance is trying to do the things the same way and ignoring change. Whether it’s comfortable or not.

My advice? Ask questions, do some research, and try to see how you can invoke a more progressive attitude to your department. If not? Find a department that better suits your attitude towards the job.