From the National Volunteer Fire Council:
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently published its 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile report. The report, which is based on data collected via a national survey of fire departments, estimated that there were 682,600 volunteer firefighters in the United States in 2017. That is down significantly from the 814,850 and 729,000 volunteer firefighters that the NFPA estimates were active in the U.S. in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
The volunteer firefighter numbers for 2016 and 2017 are the lowest recorded levels since the NFPA began the survey in 1983. There was no NFPA U.S. Fire Department Profile report released in 2016, and the 2017 report is the first time that the data for 2016 or 2017 has been made available.
It is important to note that these numbers are estimates based on responses to a survey of a sample of U.S. fire departments that is designed to be representative of the overall U.S. Fire Service. Approximately 8.7 percent of fire departments surveyed responded to the survey. Any annual differences reflect both actual changes in what is being measured as well as year-on-year statistical and sampling variability.
According to the report, 83,550 of the 132,250 reduction in volunteer firefighters between 2015 and 2017 occurred in fire departments protecting communities with populations of 2,500 or fewer residents. The NFPA estimates an overall decline of 83,900 firefighters (career and volunteer combined) in those communities, a reduction of more than 20 percent over a two-year span. According to the NFPA, it should be noted that cross sections of data tend to produce less reliable estimates, statistically speaking, than the dataset as a whole because the sample size is smaller. That is particularly true for data in these reports related to smaller communities, where response rates tend to be lower than for communities with higher populations.
In addition to the decline in the number of firefighters serving in the smallest communities, the average age of those firefighters continued to increase in 2017. Fifty-three percent of firefighters serving communities with populations of 2,500 or less were over the age of 40, and 32 percent were over the age of 50 in 2017. This continues an aging trend that has been happening for years among the population of firefighters in small communities.
To access a copy of the complete report, please visit:
NEFA: 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile report
Background information:
National Volunteer Fire Council
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently published its 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile report. The report, which is based on data collected via a national survey of fire departments, estimated that there were 682,600 volunteer firefighters in the United States in 2017. That is down significantly from the 814,850 and 729,000 volunteer firefighters that the NFPA estimates were active in the U.S. in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
The volunteer firefighter numbers for 2016 and 2017 are the lowest recorded levels since the NFPA began the survey in 1983. There was no NFPA U.S. Fire Department Profile report released in 2016, and the 2017 report is the first time that the data for 2016 or 2017 has been made available.
It is important to note that these numbers are estimates based on responses to a survey of a sample of U.S. fire departments that is designed to be representative of the overall U.S. Fire Service. Approximately 8.7 percent of fire departments surveyed responded to the survey. Any annual differences reflect both actual changes in what is being measured as well as year-on-year statistical and sampling variability.
According to the report, 83,550 of the 132,250 reduction in volunteer firefighters between 2015 and 2017 occurred in fire departments protecting communities with populations of 2,500 or fewer residents. The NFPA estimates an overall decline of 83,900 firefighters (career and volunteer combined) in those communities, a reduction of more than 20 percent over a two-year span. According to the NFPA, it should be noted that cross sections of data tend to produce less reliable estimates, statistically speaking, than the dataset as a whole because the sample size is smaller. That is particularly true for data in these reports related to smaller communities, where response rates tend to be lower than for communities with higher populations.
In addition to the decline in the number of firefighters serving in the smallest communities, the average age of those firefighters continued to increase in 2017. Fifty-three percent of firefighters serving communities with populations of 2,500 or less were over the age of 40, and 32 percent were over the age of 50 in 2017. This continues an aging trend that has been happening for years among the population of firefighters in small communities.
To access a copy of the complete report, please visit:
NEFA: 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile report
Background information:
National Volunteer Fire Council
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