Fire departments in small towns across the state continue to have issues with finding enough volunteers to fill open spots. Parkersburg Fire Chief Russ Boersma says his department is authorized for 35 firefighters, and they only have 19.
He says many of the young people don’t stick around after graduating, but they need the young people to help the fire department into the future. Another challenge is the age of equipment and the cost to replace it. The chief says for example, they need to replace the oxygen tanks and masks they use when fighting fires.
“They run about $9,500 apiece and we’re looking at purchasing 18 self contained breathing apparatus, so we’re looking at just under $200,000 for a capital outlay, Boersma says. There are about 850 fire departments in Iowa, and of those, 92 percent are volunteer departments.
(By Brian Fancher, KLMJ, Hampton)