Gen Z recruitment push
A nationwide firefighter recruitment campaign is explicitly targeting Gen Z with the slogan 'A Hustle Worth Having' as departments try to attract younger candidates. The campaign aims to reframe the job for a new generation amid continued staffing pressure (spectrumlocalnews.com).
A national firefighter recruitment campaign launched on April 7 is pitching volunteer service to Gen Z as “A Hustle Worth Having.” (iafc.org) The campaign comes from the International Association of Fire Chiefs, which said more than 60% of United States fire and emergency medical services departments are staffed by volunteers, with some states above 80%. (iafc.org) In New York, the share is even higher: Spectrum News reported on April 14 that more than 90% of fire and emergency medical services departments in the state are volunteer-staffed. (spectrumlocalnews.com) The pitch is aimed at Gen Z and younger millennials who may not have considered the role before. The association built the campaign around “side hustle” language after research with firefighters and emergency responders and said local departments can use paid digital ads, public service announcements, and customizable toolkits. (iafc.org 1) (iafc.org 2) The timing tracks a long staffing slide. National Fire Protection Association research said the volunteer fire service fell from about 827,000 members in 2008 to 635,000 in 2023, a drop of roughly 192,000 firefighters. (nfpa.org) At the same time, the workload grew. The National Fire Protection Association said calls to United States fire departments rose about 70% over that period, from roughly 25 million in 2008 to 42 million in 2023. (nfpa.org) Federal money is behind the message. The campaign is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, which is designed to help departments increase or maintain the number of trained frontline firefighters. (fema.gov) (firefighternation.com) Departments are already using local faces to make the case. In Rochester, 26-year-old Brighton volunteer firefighter Alannah Scardino told Spectrum News she never expected to join because she feared heights, confined spaces, and fire, but now says she will “never not be a volunteer firefighter again.” (spectrumlocalnews.com) The campaign’s argument is simple: volunteer departments still cover huge parts of the country, and chiefs say fewer people are showing up for a job that now includes more calls, more training, and more pressure than it did a generation ago. (nfpa.org) (nvfc.org) For now, the slogan is trying to translate that need into Gen Z’s language. Whether “A Hustle Worth Having” brings in enough new recruits will be measured at the station level, where volunteer rosters have been shrinking for years. (iafc.org) (nfpa.org)
