Fire departments across the United States are facing a significant shortage of volunteer firefighters, which has dropped nationwide from 897,000 to 676,000 over 40 years. In New Jersey, small towns are especially affected, relying heavily on these volunteers for emergency response. Kingston Volunteer Fire Company No. 1's Chief, Chris Ciabattone, highlights operational challenges faced due to this shortage, which sometimes forces them to call for help from neighboring towns. Factors contributing to the decline include family obligations and the extensive training required for new recruits.
"When fewer people volunteer, some towns are forced to hire paid firefighters at the expense of taxpayers."
"In a perfect world, we'd roll a few pieces of apparatus...but sometimes we don't have that luxury."
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