Combo‑Dept Challenges Noted

Combination fire departments are being pushed to act more like flexible staffing systems as volunteer ranks thin and call loads keep rising. (firehouse.com) In Firehouse’s recent reporting and commentary, firefighters described combination departments as small agencies that cover large areas with a mix of career staff and volunteers whose availability can change “day to day or hour to hour.” That means the one or two paid members on duty often have to lead a response, train whoever arrives and shift roles quickly. (firehouse.com) That pressure is building as the volunteer side of the fire service shrinks. National Fire Protection Association reporting says the United States lost about 192,000 volunteer firefighters between 2008 and 2023, dropping from about 827,000 to 635,000 while annual calls climbed from roughly 25 million to 42 million. (nfpa.org) Combination departments sit in the middle of that shift. More than 80 percent of United States fire departments are all or mostly volunteer, and unpaid firefighters still make up more than 60 percent of all firefighters, so communities that cannot fully staff a career department are increasingly adding paid coverage around volunteer crews. (nfpa.org) The operational problem is not only headcount. Firehouse writers and federal fire-service research both point to uneven daytime response, longer commutes to the station, heavier training demands and the need to keep volunteers engaged when paid staff are added. (firehouse.com) (usfa.fema.gov) Monroe Township Fire Protection District in Indiana offered one example in a December 29, 2025 Firehouse article. Richard Wilson wrote that the district identified missed calls tied to members working career jobs more than 30 minutes away, then built a daytime firefighter and emergency medical technician staffing plan with new duties, apparatus checks and onboarding. (firehouse.com) Norwich, Connecticut, made a broader structural change on August 10, 2025, when the city put its paid department and five volunteer departments under one chief. City officials said the move was meant to reduce “fragmentation” and standardize training, communications and response protocols across all six departments. (firehouse.com) Federal guidance has been moving in the same direction. A May 2023 United States Fire Administration manual urged departments to use local data, recruitment plans, retention programs and government partnerships to deal with aging membership, time pressures and training burdens in volunteer and combination systems. (usfa.fema.gov) The thread running through these departments is straightforward: when staffing changes by the hour, the handoff between volunteer and paid roles becomes part of the job. Firehouse’s recent focus on adaptability and transition time reflects a fire service that is reorganizing around that reality, not waiting for the old staffing model to return. (firehouse.com) (nfpa.org)