The Wisconsin Policy Forum has new research on how Wisconsin agencies like fire and EMS are facing challenges when it comes to volunteers, increasing service calls and more.
To deal with these issues, Wisconsin fire departments are turning to paid staff positions.
Fire departments across the state reported losing over 930 positions since 2020, a decline of 5.5%.
Since 2020, 488 full- and part-time paid fire department positions have been added across the state, an increase of over 10%.
“These data bear out the message that fire chiefs and medical directors have been sharing for years – namely, that the volunteer service model that largely defined emergency responses for over a century is failing,” the report finds.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum has studied 84 fire and EMS providers since 2012.
