All eight aboard were injured, two seriously. Bourne insists that the staffing crisis poses more problems for the volunteers themselves than for the public. There are so many mutual-aid agreements, and these guys will bust their butts getting out the door. But they need help. The reasons for the drop in volunteers are complex, chiefs say, but changes in how and where people make a living are mostly to blame.
Some people today are too busy or too financially strapped to spend time working for free.
Others commute too far from home to respond to daytime alarms. Now, lots of people have to work two jobs to make ends meet, and they drive an hour to get there. Many chiefs say that even if people had more free time, they would probably not want to spend it putting out a barn fire or running a bingo game at the local fire station. People today aren't as responsive to the volunteer thing. Even in places where the volunteer spirit lives on, many who join fire companies don't stick around long.