Volunteer Firefighters: Treasures to be Cherished!

Iowa Public Television's Market to Market recently featured a great program on the tremendous impact of volunteer firefighters. You can view the whole program here.

Although the program focuses on volunteer fire fighters in South Dakota, the story is quite similar in our great state of Iowa and across the country. As the program explains, the calls to leave a warm bed in all kinds of weather just begin to explain "hundreds of hours of training and days of dropping projects at the office" that volunteer firefighters face.

In an era where commuting patterns, family size and activity competition have all changed, developing the core volunteer base of firefighters, who make up 72 percent of the nation's ranks (according to the National Fire Protection Association), is becoming an even bigger challenge.

The fire chief in Beresford, South Dakota said it best. The people who are able to be volunteer firefighters are gifts "to cherish."

In the program, Russ Heggen, a volunteer firefighter in Canton, South Dakota said, "If you want to have a good town to live in, you have to give something to it."

Are you interested in a unparalleled opportunity to train, learn, respond to emergencies and protect your good town? Stop by your local volunteer fire department and ask for more information. You are needed now more than ever!