CENTERVILLE, Iowa — Mike Bogle has been a firefighter since he was a teenager. These days, though, he serves as the chief of the Centerville Fire Department.
Bogle got his start with the department as a volunteer.
"I thought, 'I'm going to try this out; seems pretty cool.' I knew some of the guys on the department and lo and behold, 30 plus years later, I'm still here," said Bogle as he drove around Centerville waving to the many of the residents who recognize him.
Stories like his, though, are becoming less common.
"It's been several years since we've had someone that young be interested in the department," Chief Bogle said.
And here's why that's a troubling trend: 92% of Iowa's fire response capabilities rely on volunteers, according to Mike Lamb, coordinator of ADLM Emergency Management.
"As volunteerism declines, especially in the rural areas, our ability to staff our very rural small departments is becoming more and more of a struggle," Lamb said.
It's not necessarily that people don't want to volunteer, they often can't. As populations and jobs leave rural communities, the pool of candidates shrinks.
"It takes a civic-minded individual to come forward because it's a lot of time and a lot of training," said Lamb.
For example, Lamb said the fire departments he overseas require their volunteer firefighters to complete a minimum of 160 hours of training to be able to enter a burning building.
Too few volunteers could eventually affect response times and how many firefighters initially respond to a call. It can also impact a department's ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating, which helps insurance companies determine the fire risk of the homes in that community. The worse the rating, the more homeowners typically end up paying for homeowner's insurance.
Right now, the Centerville Fire Department is well-positioned, according to Chief Bogle. Twenty-seven of its 30 available volunteer slots are filled.
Plus the department has gotten creative, trying to do more with less. This week, the department took delivery of a new fire truck. This one, however, is smaller and looks more like a pick-up truck and less like a traditional fire engine or truck. It gives the department the option to respond immediately with a few as one firefighter.
"If it's something small that we can at least contain, or maybe there's a life safety issue, and we can apply some water and cool the environment," said Bogle.
The message for anyone who thinks they can fit some like this into their schedule:
"If you are civically minded and you want to step up and help your community out and have any interest in the fire service, now is the time," said Lamb.
Watch: How Des Moines firefighters train for water rescues