Volunteers are getting harder to come by for volunteer fire departments, and Bryan County Emergency Services Chief Freddy Howell knows why it’s getting tougher to find people to serve.
“People just don’t have the time for it any more,” he said. “It’s not just here in this department, it’s a national trend.”
Howell has done the research to back up his claim. He cited studies by the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Volunteer Fire Council that show, among other things, that 52 percent of the fire departments in Georgia are still volunteer departments. At the same time, the number of volunteer firefighters has declined by about 18 percent over the past 30 years.

Read full story in Aug. 21 issue of the Bryan County News.