ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)– On Wednesday, leaders in multiple positions called for changes to increase volunteerism for fire departments, in a time when they say numbers have fallen to their lowest level in over 40 years. Representatives for the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York noted that the number of volunteers has fallen from 110,000 to 70,000 in a few years. They also said that six volunteer departments were forced to shut down in 2025 because of a lack of volunteers.
“We’re talking about a third less firefighters than what we had, and the volunteer firefighters are the life-blood of the fire service here in New York State,” noted David Denniston, vice president of the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York.
Other representatives for the organization went on to explain their observations of the numbers and the impacts…