With West Virginia’s many winding country roads, the time it takes first responders to make it to the scene of an incident is often up in the air, but you can bet it’s usually quick.
A 2024 study by Fire Recruitment AU and the U.S. Fire Administration ranked West Virginia 7th in the country for fire departments per capita. Nutter Fort Fire Department Captain Frank Ferrari spoke with 12 News about why West Virginia has so many.
“A lot of areas aren’t accessible, like 4 lane highways like 79 and route 50, what not. It takes a lot of time for folks to get around those areas so, fire departments are important because in an emergency, seconds count, so the closer that the department is to an emergency, the better the odds are of getting someone the help they need,” Ferrari said.
Despite the high ranking, 90% of West Virginia’s fire departments are volunteer, and Ferrari says volunteerism is down across the country.
