Nearly 70% of the fire crews working in departments across the country are volunteers, according to the National Fire Department Registry. These dedicated civil servants serve on the frontline, keeping smaller communities safe, but that safety net is shrinking due to a growing shortage of volunteers.
Albert Osterman, 21, has trained for more than 150 hours to become a firefighter. A volunteer in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, he does the job with a deep sense of purpose.
“My father passed away in 2020, and the EMS crew that helped was from this fire department,” Osterman told CBS News. “And so after that, I was like, ‘Yeah, I wanna help people the way they helped me.'”
He works at one of nearly 20,000 volunteer firehouses nationwide, which save taxpayers an estimated $46.9 billion a year — $4.7 billion just in New York State, according to the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York.
“Were it not for the fire departments, those communities would simply fall apart. We’re gonna rely on volunteer firefighters forever in this nation,” said Steve Hirsch, chair of the National Volunteer Fire Council.
But between 1985 and 2020, the number of volunteers dropped by more than 20%, according to the NVFC. At the same time, the number of emergencies they’re called to has more than tripled.
“There are fire departments across this nation that are responding to thousands of calls every year. They’re wearing out people. They’re burning them out,” Hirsch said
Osterman said that in some cases, a lack of resources has “led to, unfortunately, more deaths.”
Some lawmakers have been fighting to recruit young people through incentives, such as proposed legislation that would provide student loan forgiveness for volunteer firefighters. When asked if he thought those initiatives could help, Osterman seemed optimistic.
“If there’s a financial incentive that can help to get education, I’m sure it would boost numbers tremendously,” he said.
“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” Osterman added. “As a student, and a student that knows a lot of other students that are firefighters, it would be a big de-stressor for a lot of people.”
Some towns have already converted from volunteer to paid crews. Without more volunteers, towns like Hastings-on-Hudson could face a similar choice. For now, Osterman is still answering the call — motivated not for a check, but to fulfill his civic duty.
“He was a Navy man,” Osterman said of his father. “He was a big fan of serving his country and serving his community. I think he’d be proud of me for it. Call me crazy, for sure, for doing it, but he’d be happy.”
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