Canada

I recently retired from a Saskatchewan volunteer fire and rescue department. Generally, most departments of both types prefer the designation "career" to get away from the idea that volunteers are less well trained or professional in the execution of duties.

Careerists and volunteers take all the same courses frequently from the same trainers. In fact, some of the most in demand trainers are members of volunteer departments. When we can afford it, we get trainers out to train our departments as a team. Otherwise, we go to major training events in cities twice a year, usually hosted and even organized by the local career department. We are held to all the same standards, complete with continuing education to maintain our certificates. We are required to use all the same certified equipment, inspected and tested on the same schedule.

The biggest differences are response times (obviously; I live 20 km from the fire hall, so often responded directly to the scene in my own vehicle) and practice. Our department met one evening a week for a combination of administrative work and practice.

One of the problems with trying to maintain fully paid staff is the number of calls. I think we never had more than a dozen calls of all types in any one year. Maybe an an average of 1 vehicle crash a year, usually single vehicle rollover. Maybe 1 structure fire a year (but usually a farm shop with no lives on the line). The rest would be 2-12 hour grass fires, with bigger ones coming a couple of times a decade. But we still plan and practice for big events.

Also, on many (most?) volunteer departments, people are paid for calls. The volunteering is about being on call and less demanding "hiring" requirements. On average we're probably less physically fit and have more flexibility in duties. For example, we had people with low fitness and less risk tolerance dedicated to driving, pump operation, scene management, logistics, hotspot control, traffic control, etc. That left the more fit and those with higher risk tolerance to the heavier, more active, and more hazardous duties.

County's have zero money, and they're likely the ones who would be paying for rural fire fighters.

Volunteer firefighting, in my experience, could be a lot more effective with key positions that were paid with the rest volunteer. Managing a volunteer organization is really challenging when you have neither the carrot of a salary, or the stick of being fired. So you need to be well-run to make sure everyone is feeling appreciated, effective, and to exploit that feeling of civic duty and being part of a team.

The rural pool of potential volunteers is shrinking as young people move to cities and smaller towns die. Those that can volunteer might not be up for the increasingly strict procedures and standards imposed on them provincially, and their day job is almost certainly a 20+ minute drive from the fire hall anyway.

This is all aside from the fact that it's a really hard job. At any moment, day, night, on the shitter, you're under huge social pressure to respond to all calls. Most of which are false alarms, mandatory mutual aid for which you're likely to be stood down for, or frequent-fliers who really need mental help not volunteers who can only offer to check vitals and wait for an ambulance. And the real calls can involve seriously traumatic events - many of which involve people we know from the community - for which we're offered next to no assistance with dealing with after the fact.

And this is a problem that effects almost everyone. Next time you're on a road trip, think about who would respond to help your family if you got in a serious accident, and think about how well trained they might be.