Volunteer firefighters are some of the most caring, selfless, and dedicated people with which to work.  For many years they were, and in parts of our community still are, the chief resource available for fire protection.  Volunteer fire departments work well in communities of fewer than 2,500 people with low call volumes where a sense of community is high and fire protection is a personal issue for all citizens. 

Unfortunately, the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters is a nationwide problem.  Because of the physical demands of the job, the ideal age is between 18 and 35.  What with the pressures of commuting, maintaining one or, even two, jobs and assorted family issues, most of the individuals in this age group are not interested in the commitment need to volunteer for fire service. 

The Nevada County Consolidated Fire District provides service to over 35,000 people with a response volume of over 5,200 calls per year.  A larger, professional fire service like NCCFD is subject to high scrutiny and must adhere closely to all state and local regulation that address the safety of the firefighter and the public.  These begin with thorough background investigations and rigorous physical fitness exams that may weed out many applicants.  In Nevada County nearly half of the population is of retirement age, and unable to meet the high physical requirements of the job.  Next is a fit for duty physical examination along with a psychological exam.  Once the initial qualifications are met, before even being allowed to set foot in the fire environment, volunteers must complete a minimum of 224 hours of training.  This training must be solid, realistic, ongoing, and verifiable to meet state safety requirements.  An additional 80 hours of training is needed to operate the half million dollar fire engine. Then there is all the additional, specialized training for automobile collisions, confined space rescue, swift water rescue and emergency medical aid that may take hundreds of hours.

Once qualified, experience indicates that it normally takes 10 qualified volunteers on the roster, to produce one volunteer able to respond to a house fire.  NCCFD’s current budget problems threaten to eliminate six to eight firefighter positions.  To replace these effectively would therefore require a minimum of eighty qualified volunteers on the call list.  Considering the local demographics and past experience, NCCFD would be lucky to get 20 local volunteers to qualify.

Another critical issue is the effect of time and distance.  These two factors are the enemy of any fire sevice. A typical house fire, doubles its size each minute it is allowed to burn free, and sustains major damage after only seven to ten minutes.  The typical local volunteer must respond from home, to the fire station, in order to assemble and respond with fire the apparatus and its load of equipment.  This takes from 5 to 7 minutes, if you are lucky.  Then the equipment must make the usual trip to the fire scene wasting precious time.  So unless our volunteers are at the station, it is an uphill battle. 

Volunteers can and do have a role in local fire and emergency service operations, but it is difficult to see how volunteers could fill the major impending gap in fire service in our community.

 Mailing Address: 11329 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley, CA 95949                Contact Information:  Phone (530)273-3158          or            E-mail