Volunteer Fire, EMS Struggle To Recruit Help In Northern Wisconsin

More than 30 fire and ambulance services across northern Wisconsin will be recruiting volunteers as part of the annual “Be Somebody” event in Brule on Saturday. Rural volunteer services have been struggling to recruit volunteers to respond to calls, prompting the development of a study committee and several proposed pieces of legislation in recent years.

Lakeside Volunteer Fire Department Chief Nova Nordrum said she has nine volunteer firefighters, but she could use about a dozen more to answer calls for service. However, it’s been difficult to recruit volunteers.

“A lot of it is I think we have so many more families now. Those people work,” she said. “Most people have at least one to two jobs so the time commitment gets difficult for people.”

Town of Superior Fire Chief Darryl Fiegle said the need for volunteers is great among the 18 volunteer fire departments in Douglas County.

“During the daytime, each department struggles,” said Fiegle.

Nordrum said training requirements for volunteers have been a barrier for some because of the time commitment and cost related to obtaining a license to become an emergency first-responder, emergency medical technician, paramedic or firefighter.

State lawmakers have been trying to address the need through a recent study and series of bills. They’ve introduced bills that would give EMTs more time to become re-certified, provide tax incentives to volunteers and provide more state funds for training of EMTS and first responders.

Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers signed off on a bill that allows the state to pay for EMT and first responder training. However, Nordrum said the legislation benefits ambulance service providers.

“We don’t provide ambulance services because we’re not transport services,” she said.

Fiegle said he would also like to see the state offer a tax deduction for volunteers.

“There are some incentives out there, but it doesn’t relate to the small EMS services that are first-responder,” he said.

Lawmakers took up a bill this session that would have allowed volunteers to claim up to a $1,000 tax credit. However, the bill failed to pass. The legislation would have cost about $23 million if every volunteer claimed the maximum credit, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Wisconsin Emergency Management administrator Brian Satula said he will attend the event on Saturday to hear from departments about what’s needed to address the shortage.

“If our neighbors are injured or they’re affected in some way, then we all need to share in that healing or recovery process,” said Satula.

Wisconsin has more than 23,000 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service personnel, according to the state.

The “Be Somebody” event will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. along U.S. Highway 2 in Brule.