Research is based on interviews with subject experts and a survey of volunteer and part-time, on-call firefighters in the Northwest. It makes recommendations for the Meridian Fire Department with respect to recruitment and retention of their part-time, on-call firefighters and how to keep them motivated while expanding their organization.

The recruitment and retention challenges facing the volunteer fire companies in Tredyffrin, Easttown and Radnor Townships and its local governments were analyzed by identifying the viewpoints of the volunteer first responders and local elected officials. It is evident based on the research conducted that there is much work to be done to address this critical issue that faces volunteer fire companies in the municipalities. The problem is the lack of an organized volunteer first responder recruitment and retention program in Tredyffrin, Easttown and Radnor Townships. The purpose of this research is to identify recommendations to fire company leadership and local elected officials as to how to implement a volunteer first responder recruitment and retention program. The following four research questions were answered: a) What are the challenges to recruiting and retaining volunteer first responders? b) What recruitment and/or retention programs exist in other volunteer or combination fire companies? c) What recruitment and/or retention programs can be implemented by Tredyffrin, Easttown and Radnor Townships to benefit the fire companies, d) How can the fire companies that service Tredyffrin, Easttown and Radnor Townships work together to educate the community about the importance of recruiting and retaining volunteers? The issue of volunteer recruitment and retention was examined in the context of what solutions exist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that can be put into action to help solve the problem. The procedures were based on the descriptive research method that used data analysis and two survey instruments to establish a framework for recommendations that the volunteer first responders and elected officials in Tredyffrin, Easttown and Radnor Townships could use in implementing a recruitment and retention program. The results found that a specific set of recommendations will be developed in order to build a comprehensive volunteer recruitment and retention program.

The recruitment, development and retention of volunteers is a fairly common concern among combination department fire executives. The problem was that no research had been done on this topic as titled. The purpose of this research paper was to study the problem in hope of providing a reference tool for the executive fire officer. The procedures used included review of written materials, personal experience, a survey produced by this research and the 1990 Volunteer Survey of the California State Firemans Association. The findings showed that there are many methods used in recruiting, developing and retaining volunteers. The information process also revealed that most fire executives, although happy with many of their programs, were open to suggestions for improvement. Recommendations for the combination department fire executive include improving selection processes, greater emphasis on career development and the use or addition of incentives.

The number of active volunteer firefighters has been steadily dropping in the state of Connecticut for several years. At the same time, the number of public service calls for fire departments has been on the rise. This problem impacts fire protection and municipalities that rely on volunteer fire departments. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore why volunteer firefighter numbers have been declining, the extent to which recruitment and retention programs are used in volunteer fire departments, and how these programs contribute to a fire department's ability to recruit members. Perry's public service motivation model provided the theoretical framework for the study. Research questions focused on improving recruitment and retention programs. Data were collected from interviews with 5 current chief officers and 5 former firefighters in Connecticut and from organizational documents in local fire departments. Open, axial, and selective coding were used to identify 5 themes: lack of awareness of state policy on recruitment and retention, lack of recruitment, public service motivation, retention, and time. A key theme emerging from this study were that participating fire departments have limited effective recruitment and retention programs. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to fire department leadership to consider a unified recruitment and retention strategy. This determination provides a foundation for volunteer fire departments to make informed decisions on how to increase recruitment and retention in their respective communities.