With volunteer firefighter numbers decreasing nationwide, the West Virginia University Extension Fire Service is playing a critical role in training and retaining current volunteers while preparing the next generation of firefighters.
In West Virginia, 90% of fire departments are staffed entirely by volunteers, a heavy reliance that Mark Lambert, director of the WVU Extension Fire Service, says was born out of necessity.
โItโs a matter of the rural nature of West Virginia and the mountainous terrain,โ Lambert said. โIt may be 10 miles as the crow flies on a map, but it may take you 45 minutes to get from point A to point B in West Virginia because you follow the roads through the valleys and the hills.โ
While larger cities like Morgantown and Charleston can pay full-time firefighters, volunteer departments are sometimes the only option for fire service in smaller, more rural communities.
โNow, some of those communities are disappearing, and as they disappear, we are lowering the number of fire departments in the state,โ Lambert said.
