Video: The Lowest Volunteer Firefighter Number In More Than 30 Years

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss.(WCBI)—Well, communities across the country are struggling to fill volunteer fire fighter positions.

The Wall Street Journal just released that volunteer numbers are the lowest they’ve been in more that 30 years.

Meet Tristan Jones and Robert Lehew. They are students at Mississippi State,until they get the call.

“It really depends on what your doing, since it is volunteer, you don’t always have to go but a lot of us try to go as often as possible. Some of us are in class or at work and it’s hard to leave,”said Oktibbeha volunteer firefighter Lehew.

Kirk Rosenhan is the Oktibbeha Fire Coordinator. He says this shortage may be a national issue but it’s definitely hitting home.

“We need more people all the time in fact we’ve just been accessed by the Mississippi fire rating bureau which sets standards for fire departments and ultimately insurance rates. That’s one thing we had a little problem with was the number of people that show up. We got a job for everybody,”said Oktibbeha Fire Coordinator Kirk Rosenhan.

The volunteers says it’s a rewarding job but it can have it’s rough patches too.

” The physical strain, which it’s never gotten to the point where I couldn’t handle it but some days I come home pretty tired,”said Lehew.

We have to get up at 3 am and 2 am all the time and have to be able to work the next day or go to class the next day,”said volunteer firefighter Tristan Jones.

Volunteer fire fighters are on call 24/7 and face all of the same challenges of a full time, paid, firefighter but the volunteers say it’s their duty to help their community.

” I volunteer because I think it’s important to help others above yourself that’s how I was raised, I was in boy scouts and they always pushed that. So some people get into situations that they can’t get themselves out of so people need to be their to help them,”said Lehew.

” We live in this community we’re helping this community. I think it’s very valuable to help people. It’s extremely important because like you said there’s not a lot of people that do this job so that’s why it’s important because if we know how to do it and we are trained to do it..that’s why we should,”said Jones.

The first Tuesday of every month, volunteer firefighter training will be held at the East Oktibbeha Volunteer Fire Station at 6:30 pm. Dinner will be provided.