Why is there a firefighter shortage and how can technology help?

In the 1990s, fire recruit hopefuls may have been one of the hundreds applying for a select few position openings in a department—par for the course for fire service recruiting at the time. Now, a firefighter shortage is impacting communities across the country, leaving many departments wondering how to fill in the gaps in service.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiting levels have fallen even further, a concerning development for fire service leaders.

In addition to issues recruiting new members, the fire service is also facing a volunteer retention issue. According to a National Volunteer Fire Council report, two-thirds of respondents reported problems retaining volunteers.¹

In the U.S., 65% of the more than 1 million firefighters are volunteers. The number of fire volunteers has dropped 17% since 1984, despite the average number of calls fire departments answered tripling in that same span.

Factors contributing to the firefighter shortage

Firefighting is different from other professions, with unique stressors, requirements and impacts on members' lives, even when off-duty.

Dangerous operations

While the public may understand that running into a burning building poses a safety risk to fire crews, many people may fail to realize the covert health risks associated with serving. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that of firefighter fatalities, firefighters are 9% more likely to receive a cancer diagnosis and 14% more likely to die from cancer compared with the general population.²

Although there have been improvements in tactics, training, and equipment, along with fewer fires, firefighters are approximately spending up to 70 percent of their time responding to emergency medical calls, including accidents, mass shootings, drug overdoses, and sometimes horrific violence, according to an NFPA article authored by Jesse Roman. This article also calls out the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance which is one organization dedicated to helping develop and implement behavioral health awareness, prevention, intervention, while upholding confidentiality. Other resources include the Federal Wildland Firefighter Health and Wellbeing Program which is a government funded program providing behavioral and mental health support for those working in disaster response that may be exposed to highly stressful situations.

Shift work/hours

For young families, the pace of a fire service lifestyle can be a challenge. With most households requiring two incomes to meet financial obligations, it can be difficult to manage children with the unpredictability of shift work or a volunteer schedule. Younger generations place a larger emphasis on work-life balance than older cohorts—a condition of work most fire careers don't offer.

Salary concerns

A career firefighter's median average salary as of May 2021 is $50,700. Volunteer firefighters aren't eligible to receive hourly pay for their service, as determined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Cities and municipalities can provide volunteers with a stipend for each responded call, though the funds can't be tied to productivity and the amount can't be more than 20% of a full-time position's salary.

Considering a majority of the country's firefighters are volunteers, most of whom likely have full-time jobs to meet financial obligations, a firefighter shortage puts communities in danger of not having enough personnel to respond in an emergency.

How technology can benefit firefighter recruitment

Fire department technology can help address some of the challenges around firefighter shortages. It can help make the profession safer, provide better training opportunities and make operations run more efficiently.

Increased safety

Firefighting is indisputably a high-risk profession and is often considered one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. Technology advancements have allowed firefighters to operate more safely, such as improvements in communications, connectivity and device functionality. For example, near real-time monitoring of firefighter health is possible due to wearable health status sensors and wireless communication modules in firefighting equipment.

Firefighting drones can also help improve safety, particularly important given about a quarter of all wildland firefighter fatalities are related to aviation. Drones can assist firefighters on the ground, providing an aerial view of the scene, giving incident commanders a fuller picture to base decisions on and reducing the need to send fire crews into dangerous situations to gain information. They can also be equipped with both HD and thermal imaging cameras, or even a mini cell tower, turning a missing individual's cellphone into a beacon, pinpointing a location for responders on the ground.

Some departments have the ability to deploy ground-based firefighting robots in potentially dangerous situations, such as basement fires, prioritizing firefighters' health and safety.

Enhanced resource deployment

Some fire department operations, such as a search and rescue mission, can be long and arduous. Relevant factors include the location and complexity of the search area and any aggravating circumstances, such as power outages or extreme weather. These types of responses often require large task forces with multiple personnel—increasingly difficult to deploy amid a firefighter shortage.

With emerging fire department technology, however, fire service leaders can utilize alternative methods of information gathering and resource delivery. For example, near real-time data provided by search and rescue drones can give first responders an improved understanding of the searchable area, helping reduce search times, reducing the need for additional personnel and, most importantly, saving people more quickly.

At a more macro level, smart video and sensor technology combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence can aid with forest fire prediction. Near real-time data streams can help fire departments better plan and allocate resources.

Streamlined training

Investing in the latest fire department technology for training and continuing education purposes can be a big draw for firefighter recruitment. For example, virtual reality can simulate dangerous scenarios without compromising personnel safety. The U.S. Fire Administration encourages the use of virtual reality fire department technology for fire crews, citing several benefits, including:

• A safe training environment with 360-degree views
• Less damage to personal protective equipment and response equipment
• First-line equipment remains available for use
• The ability to repeat scenarios encountered in real life

Providing virtual immersive tactical training for firefighters and other first responders can help make training more accessible and can reduce travel time and expense. It also reduces the staffing burden of needing to send firefighters away to conduct training.

Fire department technology requires a reliable network connection

For fire department technology to have an impact on firefighter recruitment, leaders must be able to depend on their network connection when they need it: in the field, on the scene or in an apparatus en route to a disaster response. As crews continue to do more with less, they're looking to technology to help fill in those gaps, powered by a strong network.

Verizon Frontline is the advanced network for first responders on the front lines. Learn more about how Verizon prioritizes reliable connectivity for public safety operations across the country.

The author of this content is a paid contributor for Verizon.