Washington County has been evaluating the long-term sustainability of Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) across our communities. Like many counties throughout Wisconsin and the nation, we face increasing call volumes, changing staffing models, and ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel.
The resources below provide the background information, studies, data, and planning documents that have informed discussions by the Public Safety Committee and County Board. They also include supporting research that demonstrates these challenges are being experienced across Wisconsin and nationwide.
Washington County Documents
Supporting Research
The following statewide reports provide additional context demonstrating that Fire and EMS workforce challenges extend well beyond Washington County.
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Wisconsin volunteer fire departments lost more than 930 volunteer firefighters between 2020 and 2024, a 5.5% decline.
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During the same period, departments added 488 paid positions, representing a 10.4% increase.
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92.5% of Wisconsin fire departments are volunteer or mostly volunteer, among the highest rates in the nation.
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63% of Wisconsin fire personnel serve in volunteer departments.
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14% of departments reported times during the previous year when they lacked sufficient personnel to respond to an emergency call.
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62% expressed concern they would not have enough staff to cover their first-out apparatus within the next year.
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83.1% of surveyed fire service leaders reported that maintaining adequate staffing is more difficult today than it was five years ago.