VIDEO: Emergency services in rural communities across Southern Idaho are facing challenges due to lack of volunteerism and rapidly growing populations.
The combination of issues has emergency responders facing a difficult scenario.
“That’d be a pretty hard pill to swallow, to have calls dispatched and have nobody go to it,” said Buhl Fire Chief Andrew Stevens.
Now, Stevens says that this scenario is not something he believes his department will face with its current staff. Still, emergency responders in rural communities across the state are faced with declining staffing numbers.
“When I first came on there was a waiting list of people wanting to volunteer and we kind of had to turn them away saying we don’t have a position,” said Filer Assistant Fire Chief Steven Mullen.