Let's come together with solutions to the volunteer crisis.

It is possible, with hard work and commitment, to recruit and retain a large volunteer based membership.

If you’re like me, you scroll social media and notice articles every day being shared about how the volunteer fire service is struggling with membership numbers. If you take the time to read them, you’ll see that most of the articles explain the problems but they do not offer many solutions. Some may mention plans for new incentives to attract more people, but none of the articles dig real deep into the issue. Personally, I am frustrated when I read these articles. I’m sure a lot of my frustration comes from my hatred for problems being addressed without a solid solution following it. Though, the rest of my frustration stems from all of us not coming together to solve this problem.

We are firefighters, which means we are professional problem solvers. When the tones drop, we respond to any sort of call you can think of. The public relies on us to solve the craziest of problems from electrical issues to strange smells. We train to rescue ourselves from being trapped in a burning building. We train on finding alternate water sources when hydrants are non-existent or unusable. We study all of our streets so we can find alternate routes to incidents if needed. We spend so much time on tactical skills, and don’t get me wrong, that is a critical part of our jobs. Let me ask, why are we not sitting down and solving the biggest problem in our industry right now?

How do we typically handle complex incidents? If you’ve been to enough of them you’ll know the basic answer is with training, organization and teamwork. Let’s take this mindset and apply it to the membership crisis. I strongly believe that we can all get together and come up with concrete solutions to this issue that is plaguing all of us. There is no question that this is a complicated and complex issue, but so is an auto extrication, confined space rescue or any other incident we may respond to.

So, where do we start? How do we get the ball rolling towards building a team, or a tribe, of firefighters to combat this problem? My answer is right here. It is in the website this article is hosted on. It is in the podcast that we record. It is in the social media accounts put on by the podcast. Most importantly, it is in you, the reader. The answer is in all of us who see the urgency in the situation and are committed to bringing forth solutions.

In order to make this article unlike other articles that dwell on the problem and give generic “ideas”, allow me to get more specific. You may be wondering how a website, podcast and a couple of social media accounts can be the end all to the crisis. Let me make this clear, it won’t be the end all without all in, and all in starts here.

Social media is one of the best tools we have in the industry right now for many things. First of all, social media doesn’t cost any money. Secondly, it provides a platform for all of us to connect from anywhere in the world and actively discuss anything we desire. Social media is a place where we can meet new, like minded folks who are focused on a common goal. Brotherhood Academy Radio has a Facebook Page where we post all of our latest articles, podcasts and informational graphics. We also have a group on Facebook for us all to focus on discussions and solutions. I, Nick, have an Instagram account that features updated stories, photos and much more and can be accessed at @nickhilton_bar. These are all places for us to involve ourselves, ask questions and give answers.

Along with social media comes another free platform. Podcasting is one of the fastest growing platforms right now. There are shows coming out daily ranging from any topic. Brotherhood Academy Radio was started in August of 2018 hosted by myself and one of my best friends Paul Balentine. This podcast allows us to share our views, experiences and have discussions with other people in the industry. Our sole focus with the podcast is to create a tribe of firefighters from all over that will come together as one and combat the challenges we are facing.

Next, we have the website. If you’re reading this article then you are already there. After reading this, take a look around. You’ll have access to each podcast episode, each article and a growing list of resources.

The final solution is you, the listener, the reader, the firefighter. It takes all of us as individuals to take personal responsibility to recognize we have a problem and to realize that we need to stop sitting on our asses and hope some day things will get better. The membership shortage will only improve if we put in the work. It is time we all step up and get started.

These solutions I am presenting right now are only the canvases for us all to work upon to draft up our more refined solutions. Each and every one of us has a unique issue we are dealing with when it comes to recruitment, retention, funding, leadership and training. Also, each of us have unique experiences, ideas and advice that can be shared to ultimately develop the solutions.

Remember, problems will continue to be problems until someone comes forward with a solution. Why not tackle this like we tackle our incidents? We dont fight fires alone, we fight fires as a team, a crew, a company. I challenge everyone reading this to join the tribe of Brotherhood Academy Radio. Meet some great people while creating solutions to all of our problems. Together we can extinguish the nationwide shortage of firefighters.