MADISON, Wis. (WRN) — A new report from the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health highlights the struggles rural fire and EMS services are facing.
Rural EMS Program Manager James Small says nearly half the departments in the state aren’t able to respond to calls with a basic level of firefighting.
“They’re relying on mutual aid for that, and that puts a lot of pressure then on the neighboring agencies to then help fulfill that request. Almost everybody’s having this issue with the declining number of volunteers and a lack of financial resources,” said Small.
Small says regionalizing or consolidating fire and EMS services could help address the issue.