Upcoming Board and Budget Meeting

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Our dedicated volunteers at Mt. Angel Fire District are essential for ensuring our community's safety during emergencies, and we deeply appreciate their hard work and dedication. However, we face a critical challenge: the availability of volunteers during daytime emergencies. In an ideal world, emergencies could be scheduled, but unfortunately, this isn't possible. Most of our volunteers have jobs that take them away from our town during the day, making them unavailable for daytime emergencies.  

This trend has represented a growing gap over the years, leaving us with an average of only 2.5 volunteers available on weekdays to respond between 7 am and 5 pm. This shortage can lead to a critical shortfall of firefighters needed for significant emergencies, such as house fires. However, outside of those hours, more volunteers become available as they return home, providing some relief. While we've been fortunate enough to add two 40-hour-a-week paid firefighters over the last two years, our resources remain limited. We urgently need additional volunteers, especially those available during weekday business hours. 

Volunteer fire departments nationwide are facing recruitment challenges driven by several factors. Today's individuals lead busy lives with demanding work schedules, family commitments, and social activities, leaving limited room for volunteering. Small communities, which once heavily relied on volunteer fire departments, have evolved due to urbanization and population growth, altering people's priorities and time constraints. These changes make it harder for individuals to commit to volunteer firefighting. The demands of modern firefighting have also evolved, requiring volunteers to undergo DPSST and OSHA-mandated training and certification processes, which can be time-consuming. Continuous training and the associated risks further discourage potential recruits. The physical demands of firefighting can appear intimidating, further limiting the pool of prospective volunteers. Another challenge is the aging volunteer firefighter population, with many departments experiencing an increase in older volunteers. Younger generations are often deterred by the perception of the job's physical demands and danger, leading to concerns about succession planning and department sustainability. MAFD's average firefighter age is 44.1 years, slightly above the national average of 43.4 years. 

Despite these challenges, our commitment to providing the highest level of service remains unwavering. On November 29th, our MAFD volunteers will go door-to-door in our community with a special mission: to find individuals willing to join our team and make a meaningful difference. If you've ever considered giving back to your community, this is a tremendous opportunity to do so. WE NEED YOU!