Volunteer fire departments struggle with decrease in manpower - KCBD

Chief Russ Perkins says the gap becomes obvious the moment a structure fire breaks out. Lubbock Fire Rescue can send three or four engines, a ladder truck, multiple chiefs and 18 to 20 people to one reported structure fire.

Volunteer departments like Idalou's have carried a big share of emergency response nationwide for generations, filling gaps that career departments in Lubbock and other cities don't have to worry about because of their sheer size. Fewer people are signing up to volunteer, and that's put pressure on departments already stretched thin across rural stretches of the county, from farm roads outside Idalou to homes tucked well off the beaten path.

For people living in and around Idalou, this isn't an abstract staffing problem. When a fire starts, the response depends on whoever from that pool of 23 is available and willing to drop what they're doing. In Lubbock proper, a call brings a small army. Out in the county, it brings whoever shows up.

Idalou covers 100 square miles with the same number of volunteers Lubbock sends to one house fire.