(beeping sound) - [Narrator] It seems the history of every small town bears the scars of some massive, memorable fire.

The one that changed main street, changed lives.

(building crashing) (birds chirping) Bristow, Nebraska, near the South Dakota border, does not forget the time disaster arrived ten years ago.

- This here is the great Bristow fire of 2013 as we dubbed.

- [Kelly] Joe Micaneck is Bristow's unofficial historian over at Nebraska State Bank.

- This was the old lumber yard build here, of course.

Things, I mean, things progressed quickly, yeah.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] It's why this town, with only 70 people, hopes there will always be a local fire department on duty, even when the time between calls is measured in months.

- Well, we had a fire we fought back in March, I believe, was actually at my dad's place.

His hay pile caught on fire.

And that's the only fire I fought since I've been on the department, so.

- [Interviewer] Since 2015?

- [Luke] Yeah.

- [Narrator] Bristow's fire department faces an uncertain future.

Only six volunteers stand by to answer a fire call.

Most are over 60 and it's tough to find anyone younger to sign on.

Equipment?

For years they've relied on outdated protective gear and a 50 year old fire truck.

(fire truck engine revving) It's not just Bristow.

Volunteer departments all over Nebraska, big and small, wonder if enough people will show up when the fire siren sounds.

Anyone in rural America should pay attention, because a lot of your volunteer fire departments and ambulance services may have a crisis on their hands.

(doors shutting) (light music) -(siren blaring) -(intense music) (siren blaring) (indistinct radio chattering) (indistinct radio chattering) (indistinct radio chattering) - [Speaker] Working Fire, engine 1EMF2.

-(light music) -(indistinct audio chattering) (light music) - [Narrator] For well over a 100 years, there is a group of people who just show up to risk their lives, put out fires, and never expect get paid.

- Let's get in there.

- [Narrator] Volunteer fire departments in America, an insane system that should not work.

- [Nate] Right?

Right.

It shouldn't.

Fire services are the only service that relies on volunteers across the nation, you know.

And that it shouldn't work, but it does.

(tires on pavement sound) - [Narrator] It works in Gering, Nebraska.

The department maintains a fleet of well kept fire trucks and rescue units.

It's a financially stable department, able to keep all that equipment up to date; paid for with a combination of tax dollars, grants, and donations.

It's actually two departments.

They respond to emergencies inside the city limits, (birds chirping) and in the rugged terrain of the Gering Valley Rural Fire District.

Site of some of the biggest wildfires in the state.

(birds chirping) Nate Flowers serves Gering as one of the few paid fire chiefs working for a volunteer fire department in Nebraska.

- I would say it is unique.

I don't know too many other departments that have that throughout the state of Nebraska.

But I do know that it works for us.

- [Narrator] Everyone else on the department's roster, 45 of them, volunteer to be on call 24 hours a day, for reasons that seem difficult to comprehend for most of their friends and family.

- I think it's a little bit of crazy, and a little bit of love for adrenaline and fire, and also community, like a sense of community.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] Most have paid jobs.

Mechanics and nurses, internet providers, technicians with the gas company, farmers, teachers.

(guitar music) - I come from a fire family.

My dad's going to a chief for over 20 years.

My mom's on the department, my sisters.

(truck engine revving) - So it is very rewarding.

You're protecting somebody's house, you're protecting your community, or your nextdoor neighbor.

(firetruck engine running) - You wouldn't do it if you had to do it.

You volunteer for a fire department because you want to.

And that's where the heart is.

(siren blaring) - [Nate] The Volunteer Fire Service saved my life, and I found where I belonged.

- [Narrator] Gering is one of 472 fire departments in Nebraska.

1500 volunteers.

That's nine out of every ten firefighters.

- Upwards of 87% of the departments in Nebraska are volunteer, so each local community, rather they be a volunteer department, which means there's no compensation.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] They don't get paid for fire calls.

They do not get paid for time spent training.

The Gering team trains at least once a week, preparing for a full range of emergencies.

- [Nate] Out of the 12 months, man, every year we are so busy offering different classes and opportunities for our members.

But our members are the ones that drive that.

They get a taste of that and they want more.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] Training improves how quickly a team can respond to a fire, hopefully reducing the amount of damage, or even saving a life.

The speed and skill of your local fire department can lower the amount you pay for homeowner's insurance.

(guitar music) Here's something that may shock you.

Nebraska law does not require any specific training for fire departments or any individual firefighter.

(guitar music) - [Alan] Each local fire chief is responsible for their own community.

Departments will focus on the things they need to do the most because of what they most commonly run on, wildland call or a car accident, an agricultural emergency.

- Who has not messed with tools?

- [Narrator] There are recommended standards from a national fire safety group that departments use as guidelines, but unlike police officers or emergency medical responders, there's no license.

A national certification program is available, but not required for volunteers.

(whirling sound) - [Alan] Training time is precious, and limited and many departments because people volunteers in particular have, all have a lot of things going on.

(breaking door) - [Narrator] It's pretty much up to the City of Gering and the fire chief to decide how to plan and budget for emergencies.

And this is a very busy department.

The number of fire and rescue calls climb year after year.

- 20 years ago, we were running 250 calls.

Even ten years ago, you know, you're running three to 400.

We're now lower 900.

I think we're at 986 last years, I think that.

It gets very, very taxing on the people (indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] 2022 became the busiest year in the department's history.

1200 hours spent on fire and rescue calls.

(beeping sounds) - [Grant] The general consensus of the public is well there's three or four people down here.

And there's truly not.

- [Chris] They don't understand that.

Like Grant says, you know, we are waking up in the middle night, we are coming from our homes and stuff like that, getting out of bed and coming out of the station to respond to calls.

- [Masumi] It's physically arduous, and mentally exhausting and it's definitely not for everybody.

- [Grant] That's the life of a volunteer firefighter I guess.

(water swooshing) - [Narrator] Despite being well regarded, with solid funding, the Gering department faces the same unavoidable truth as every other department.

There are not enough firefighters to answer the steadily increasing number of emergency calls.

- [Nate] Now I'll be honest, you know, we don't have people knocking on our doors coming in.

- [Narrator] Those who are willing are not always able.

On average, volunteer firefighters are getting older.

- [Nate] We kind of did just a look at our department internally and seen our average age was 49.

Being a firefighter inside a structure fire at 49 years of age can be a little challenging.

(indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Gering is not alone.

62% of the departments find recruiting new members difficult.

How do we know?

We asked departments across the state, using a survey conducted by Nebraska Public Media in cooperation with the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association.

One out of six departments told us if the current recruiting trend continue the quality of emergency service in their communities will decrease.

Many call it a crisis risking public safety.

(fire crackling) - [Nate] Seconds count in a structure fire and wildfire, things of that nature.

And when you lack the volunteers, yeah, seconds count.

And that becomes pretty challenging and pretty endangering.

You know, there's a couple fire departments, you know, speaking the truth that no longer have the people in their small villages and they end up dissolving their volunteer fire department, or there's nobody that shows up anymore.

(tires on pavement) (birds chirping) - [Narrator] They're still showing up in Madison, Nebraska.

Just not as many as there used to be.

- [Interviewer] How many volunteers do you have on the roster right now?

- I believe right now there's 38.

- [Interviewer] How many are really active?

- Really active?

12, 12 to 15 (fire engine running sound) - [Narrator] They made time early on a Saturday morning when the department burnt down a house, on purpose.

A farmhouse ready for demolition.

Veterans and new members get a sense of responding to a working fire.

(beeping sounds) - [Gina] They make me feel that I can do this.

And I don't know if that's really understood how much that we come together and have each other's back.

(fire crackling) - [Narrator] Gina Spittler became a new recruit four years ago when she moved to the area after a career in the military.

(fire crackling) - That's where I had done a lot of drills in the Navy.

And this just kind of fit into it.

And I enjoy something that is active.

I'm single and so nothing holds me back.

So I can be available at any time.

And the other side of it is it's kind of morbid, but if I die helping my community, I'm okay.

(somber music) That's how I feel.

(somber music) - [Narrator] Oscar Calderon works at Nucor Steel where he serves as a bi-lingual Emergency Medical Technician with the plant's on-site response team.

He decided to use those skills after hours on the Madison volunteer squad.

- [Oscar] It's a big commitment and I understand why people are kind of scared of the commitment - [Narrator] He discovered the unpredictable demands on his time as a volunteer can be a struggle.

- [Oscar] I feel guilty sometimes to, you know, sometimes I get off work, come straight to training night, I get home and my kids are asleep already.

So I go the whole day without seeing them.

And that's a part of guilt that I get sometimes.

It's like, you know, I'm volunteering for this, I choose not to be with my kids, 'cause I'm choosing to go help other people, you know, strangers most of the time.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Our survey of fire departments revealed the demands on a volunteer's time is the most likely reason people do not join a fire department.

(guitar music) Modern work schedules impact how effective a volunteer is within a department.

(light music) Small town main streets were once lined with local businesses which understood an employee/volunteer might take off for a fire call in the middle of the day.

These days that can't happen on production line at a packing house, or if you work half an hour away at a the chain retail store.

(indistinct rustling) - [Tim] During the day in town, if you have a call, you don't know what you're gonna get for people.

Could be two could be three.

(clothes rustling) - [Narrator] Our survey of fire departments around Nebraska revealed a fire departments had the lowest number of volunteers respond between eight in the morning and four o'clock in the afternoon.

- [Oscar] We don't have anybody when everybody's working, a lot of people in our department work outside of town.

So we don't have a handful of people that can respond to a call, especially for EMT or EMS calls during the day.

(walking sounds) (firefighters doing drill) - [Narrator] Public service, some say, has fallen out of fashion.

Only about a third of Nebraskans volunteer for any local groups or organizations, according to AmeriCorps.

- [Tim] We've got a lot of old people on the department, you know, not many young kids, there's not much interest.

(indistinct chattering) Nobody wants to volunteer, you know, you know, you don't get paid, why would I do that?

- [Narrator] Nationally, one out of every four volunteer firefighters are over 50 years of age.

In Nebraska, 75 percent of the departments we surveyed said the age of a volunteer was one of the top three reasons for losing members.

(upbeat music) Madison is losing guys like Ray Kiefer.

Still showing up at fires in Madison after nearly 50 years, 17 of those as chief.

(upbeat music) - My wife said you don't have to go, but I still beat most of them up here.

(upbeat music) First one up here a lot of the time.

So... (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Losing veteran members means losing a resource.

- [Gina] For instance, with Ray Kiefer.

The mentorship of the knowledge that they have, isn't always passed along.

(indistinct chattering) I'm just trying to be a sponge.

- [Ray] She says who's gonna do it Ray?

You're gone, who's gonna do this?

(upbeat music) And that's right.

Lot of the young guys don't want to step up and do any of it.

(indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] It's deeper than passing along tips on using ladders and hoses.

A lifetime in the fire service highlights the great honor that comes with public service.

(indistinct chattering) Ray also faced some of the worst realities and understands the toll it can take on a first responder.

(upbeat music) - I sit down one day and counted the fatality we've had in our district here.

I think I got up to 54 that I could remember just in our district.

(upbeat music) (chuckle) There's a lot of fatalities, you know.

Saved a couple of lives and carried a few out of houses.

(somber music) Lost a three year old.

Three year old boy one night in a house fire.

(somber music) He was a same age as my daughter (light music) Worse when we had we got called on Humphrey one night, we had six of them killed in one accident, so that was.

(somber music) And some of the Humphrey, some of the Humphrey firemen couldn't take it.

(light music) - [Gina] But we do lose people because of that.

(somber music) And they're just, they don't want to see what they've seen.

(somber music) They can't do it anymore.

(light music) - [Oscar] I was a couple of weeks into the department and I had encountered a fatality on the highway.

And it was to a non English speaking person that was involved in that accident.

And I was asked by the Sheriff Department to tell the husband that his spouse has passed away.

So for me after that call, I went home and I really thought about it, like, I'm not sure if this is what I signed up for.

I'm not sure I can do this.

I can not handle it, you know.

(somber music) - [Narrator] The mentally and physically demanding work, the schedule, attitudes about public service.

That's just the beginning of the list of reasons that all add up to towns facing a public safety emergency.

(somber music) - [Interviewer] If fewer people are going to be stepping up, what happens to a town like Madison?

- [Ray] I don't know.

It's gonna be tough to keep them.

(somber music) - [Tim] It's a bad scenario.

And I hope it don't happen.

I put that out to the leadership in all the cities, and City Council, Mayors and Rural Board that someday this is gonna be a problem, how you man these trucks.

(light music) (indistinct radio announcement) - [Narrator] The demand for volunteer emergency services has never been greater.

It's not because there are more fires.

(siren blaring) Nationally, two thirds of the emergencies dispatches were medical calls and accidents.

(indistinct chattering) The increasing number of calls driven in part by the medical needs of an aging population.

(thumping air sound) - This community that we live in, there are so many independent elderly people.

That's a huge component of I think the number of medical calls, obesity, diabetes, all the other kind of comorbidities that are creating a population that's unhealthy but able to live longer.

(thumping air sound) -(siren blaring) -(light upbeat music) - [Narrator] When an ambulance arrives on scene in Nebraska, 80% of the responders are volunteers.

Mullen, Nebraska, the only town in Hooker County.

About 500 people live at the crossroads of two highways and a freight rail line.

The Emergency Medical Service operates independently from the fire department.

- So, our district is roughly 1700 square miles.

A little bit larger than the state of Rhode Island.

(guitar music) We're in the sand hills, so even in a four wheel drive, sometimes the sand can be challenging.

- [Narrator] It could be 90 minutes before the EMTs get to the patient.

Maybe a rancher thrown from their horse.

Someone with hypothermia canoeing the Dismal River.

A heart attack on a desolate dirt road.

(light music) - Last year was a record.

I think we had 72 calls.

(upbeat music) And it was, we were flying to meet everyone's needs.

We had both ambulances out at times.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Retired schoolteacher Sookie Marks began answering emergency calls in 1989.

(upbeat music) - [Sookie] It varies so much, we can have five in a week and then go for a month and not have any, and there's no rhyme or reason to it.

We have a service of nine EMTs.

- [Interviewer] Nine doesn't sound like a lot.

- It isn't, no.

We need more.

(light music) (indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Sarah Harden is a science teacher at the high school.

Growing up her dad had been an EMT.

- [Sarah] But I also knew there was a need in our community.

- [Narrator] It was a veteran member of the Mullen squad who made a convincing case.

- And he just quite bluntly said to my husband and I, we need young people.

And we need young people that are willing to commit to this.

- [Narrator] Today, the kids in her class are learning about buoyancy by building boats.

They know, if her pager goes off, Ms. Harden might be called away if there aren't enough EMTs answering the call.

- [Sarah] Truthfully, without places like the school and the bank, in our community, we wouldn't have daytime help.

(siren blaring) - [Narrator] The Mullen team trains together a lot, preparing for whatever gets thrown at them.

(sirens blaring) Keeping volunteers in rural areas up to date on best practices in responding to emergencies can be a challenge.

(light upbeat music) The Mullen Ambulance Service called in the Simulation in Motion team from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

This program does thousands of hours of training for small rescue squads in need on continuing education.

Half of the semi-trailer duplicates the back of an ambulance.

On the other end is a convincing mock-up of a hospital emergency department.

(upbeat music) Robot-patients stand by to simulate dozens of medical emergencies.

- Anything that would make them really have to think quickly and how to handle that on a EMS ride that might last an hour or more before they can connect with another service.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Instructor Kelsey Miller programs Lucy, the computerized patient.

Software alters Lucy's blood pressure, respiration and even the dilation of her pupils when the instructor wants to make a point.

(upbeat music) Oh, and Lucy expects the Mullen Rescue Squad to deliver her baby.

(upbeat music) - Delivering a baby in the back of an ambulance, that scares folks.

- [Lucy] The baby is coming!

- [EMT] Okay, Lucy.

- We're gonna look at the baby and we're gonna take a look at you alright?

- Do one more push Lucy.

- [Lucy] It hurts!

- [EMT] I know it does.

- [Doug] People take this serious and it really is a different way of training and there's a different mentality with the folks when they're doing this training.

- [EMT] Keep pushing.

Good job, Lucy!!

Okay, there you go.

Oh, it's so cute.

(upbeat music) (baby crying) - [Sarah] Those moments, when you know you have trained and trained and trained, that's what's important for the rural providers, I think is that continuous training.

And if I think my loved ones are in the back of an ambulance I would wanna know the person providing their care has done everything that they can to be the best medical provider that they can be.

- [EMT] Okay mama, here's your beautiful little baby boy.

Good job mom.

(truck engine revving) - [Narrator] The instructors said the Mullen crew did a pretty good job.

(engine running) A few years ago, a report prepared by an independant agency.

Found the Mullen ambulance service to be "well-run, successful, and collegial."

- [Sookie] In Mullen, we have a very generous community.

- [Narrator] When Mullen needed a new ambulance, a recent round of grants from the State of Nebraska to local EMS squads only covered half the cost of the vehicles.

- Raising the $281,000 for the ambulance just seemed overwhelming to us when we started.

And we've gotten amazing donations.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] Yet, the Mullen service still fears for its future.

Older volunteers are ready to step aside.

Few of their neighbors appear willing to take on the responsibility.

There are consequences.

- There's probably a number of people that would really have to think twice about living in a community that didn't have this kind of service this close by.

- [Sarah] People in your community don't understand the importance of that, that's what happens.

I think people die.

And there's no nicer way to put that, people die.

And if you have to wait for medical care, every minute that you're waiting, is life or death.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] 70 miles to the northwest of Mullen, the town of Merriman will give you an idea of what happens volunteers stop volunteering.

- Sandhills Rescue is currently out of service, because we don't have enough EMTs to run the service.

The power converter has apparently died.

- [Narrator] The Sandhills Rescue ambulance has less than a 1000 miles on the odometer, but it sits at the back of the fire station under a thick coat of dust.

(guitar music) - I am the only EMT and have been since 2017.

So it is currently waiting for more volunteers.

(laughing) - [Narrator] Rose Chappell and Jami Simmons have been trying to get the community motivated to help out and save their ambulance service.

- [Jami] And we can't run the ambulance with just one EMT.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] The census puts Merriman's population at around 90.

Those still here are getting older, making the search for volunteers a challenge.

(somber music) - You know, the people that have kind of been willing to express at least a little bit of an interest, part of their hesitation is they're also probably 60, 70 years old.

We've really have not had any interest from the younger generations.

And I think that the reason for that is the younger generations are further out of town.

- Without that working it drains the battery completely, so we have nothing.

(somber music) - [Narrator] The ambulance operates independently from Merriman's 15 member fire department.

Jami and Rose launched their effort to jumpstart the rescue squad shadowed by a host of long simmering problems.

An independent assessment prepared by the Paramedic Foundation found ineffective leadership was a primary reason for the failure of the system.

The budget was a mess.

The community lost trust.

(guitar music) Once there were eight EMTs, most left.

In 2017, the service collapsed.

Merriman must now rely on distant towns, or a hospital ambulance driven from South Dakota.

- [Rose] There's been several deaths that we know of that have happened because they couldn't get EMS there fast enough, or they couldn't get them to a hospital.

- [Jami] And there's still people unaware that we don't they don't have a service running.

I think some of the individuals have gotten the idea we've lived this long without it, we can survive.

And I think that's a very dangerous opinion.

(indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] The Merriman squad might have attracted fresh EMT volunteers, but some recoiled at the cost and lengthy process needed for certification.

- And that course of training, that level of commitment, I think makes people very nervous.

(door closing sound) - A lot of our people don't want to take the class 'cause they don't have the time.

I think the prices have increased for that type of training.

they've went up significantly, (bag rustling) - Sir!

Sir!

- [Narrator] In Norfolk, when an ambulance arrives from the Fire Department, everyone on the ambulance who touches a patient must be certified to be a paramedic or EMT, emergency medical technician.

(light music) - So, there's different skill sets there and different trades that each person has.

But everyone's serving the same purpose, helping citizens in a time of distress.

- [Narrator] This is a full time paid job for the Norfolk Paramedics and EMTs.

(indistinct chattering) Any volunteer EMT in Nebraska must meet the very same requirements, when a rural ambulance service has authorization to transport the sick and injured to a hospital.

(light music) - [Tim] From a response perspective, we're all doing the same thing.

(light music) - [Doug] Doesn't matter if you are a career fire department and run a 100 calls a week.

Or if you're in a volunteer department and you run 50 calls a year, they need the same training, they need the same skill set.

(truck engine running) - [Narrator] These aren't doctors and nurses, but when small town squads transports the critically injured to hospitals, they are the health care providers keeping a patient alive.

(engine running and clanking sounds) - Mullen 99 (indistinct) - [Sarah] It's a long trip to the hospital and before you get higher medical care, so it's very nerve wracking.

(birds chirping) - And if I had to take somebody in an ambulance for 15 minutes, that was a long time.

Here, these folks could be in the back of an ambulance with a critical patient for an hour or more.

And so that's a whole different ballgame.

(engine running and latching sound) - Okay, we're in.

(engine running) (indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Community colleges in Nebraska are the most common provider of classes for paramedics and EMTs.

By state law, before treating patients, EMTs must be certified and tested by a national organization.

Keeping that certificate requires another 20 hours of approved continuing education every two years.

(beeping sound) Nationally, only about one in four students pass the EMT exam on the first try.

(indistinct chattering) - [Sarah] And it's intimidating.

The test is hard.

We've had people go through the class and do well in the class and not pass the test, and never become licensed.

So I think all those things are big challenges for especially small communities to get the number of people to try it.

- So it's crazy.

It's just not just us demanding that but it's everywhere.

It's a standard.

- [Narrator] Unlike firefighting volunteers, there is no free, state funded training for those providing volunteer emergency medical care in the field.

- [Nate] Somebody takes an EMT class, you know, 15, 20 years ago, I don't know 60, 50 hours, one night a week for three months, you obtain your certification.

Now it's about 200 hours.

The demand on that just on a simple EMT license has quadrupled in the past 20 years.

(indistinct chattering) - Whereas the EMT programs run through colleges and you have tuition expenses, and departments have to, you know, if they want to incentivize that and pay for your students to go to school, it gets pretty expensive.

(siren blaring) - [Narrator] Many small volunteer ambulance services can't pick up the tab for EMT training.

Many have that kind of cash.

In Mullen, they have the money and made it a priority.

- If any one in our community wants to take the class and become a part of our squad that we offer to pay for the education for the EMT classes as well as their mileage.

(engine running) - [Narrator] That's the impossible trade off when requiring hours of training in highly specialized skills.

Those skills can save lives.

- [Sarah] And those moments, when you know you have trained and trained and trained, that's what's important for the rural providers, I think is that continuous training of okay, we've ran the scenario, here's what we need to do.

But there's always anxiety about that.

- [Narrator] Some state policy makers argue the solution may be relaxing the standards for medical care in the field.

- [Sarah] It is a tough call for me.

But I think the rigor is important.

And the continuing ed hours are important.

(engine running) (door closing) (light music) - [Narrator] In Merriman, the rescue squad could not recruit enough volunteers willing and able to commit to the training necessary.

The service officially ended operations in the fall of 2023.

- [Rose] As EMS, we always say that, that first hour is the golden hour.

You want to have them in the hospital being treated by then.

So it's a great loss - [Interviewer] It's life and death.

- [Rose] It is life and death, literally.

(light music) (indistinct rustling) - [Narrator] A wildfire is a different creature than a house fire.

Using table top exercises, some fire departments rehearse how to deploy when one busts loose.

- So, who wants to be engines?

(air blowing) - [Narrator] Weather, terrain and fuels, all figure in how the fire behaves.

There's your fire.

-[Narrator] Because no one department can handle a complex wildfire alone, there are strategies to consider when working with the other agencies on the scene.

- [Alan] So, it's not chaos, they're very much aware of how to respond many of the departments mutual aid with each other, which means they assist each other in their fellow communities.

(indistinct chattering) - It helps me because it helps me realize the things where I'm weak and the things I can improve on as well.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] Most wildfires begin as grassfires.

The Gering Fire Department does what it can to reduce that risk of grassfires, staging controlled burns of dry grass.

(guitar music) There's an understanding that wildfire prevention and planning are no longer optional.

- [Nate] It seemed like March and April, the weather patterns we were out every day on grass fires.

The last three years, last year alone, we increased our call volume by 18%.

And that was because of the amount of fires that we had last year in 2022.

-[Firefighter] All right we'll take another line.

- [Narrator] The phrase "climate change" may not get tossed around the firehouse, but you hear talk of crazy weather all the time.

- Our volunteer fire departments aren't ready for the world that we live in today.

And I think a lot of that is the wildland fire environment.

- [Narrator] The long-term outlook on the Great Plains, as with the planet, concerns climatologists.

Warmer seasonal temperatures appear to be moving north.

- [Martha] The climate in central Nebraska 30 years from now is gonna more look more like southern Kansas.

I don't think that Nebraska on the whole is prepared for the changes that are to come.

- [Narrator] The science indicates the warming of the planet amped up extreme weather.

It's arrived with a vengeance.

Since 2015, there have been 24 climate related disasters in Nebraska, each one with loses exceeding one billion dollars.

Each one challenged volunteer responders, the floods, the windstorms, and increasingly, the fires.

- [Martha] The severity of wildfire seasons, is going to be amplified in the future.

Not every year is going to be worse than the previous year, but we will have significant wildfire years.

That's just the nature of how things are changing.

- Whichever aisle you sit on with climate change, I always tell him, I say I don't care, you just cannot deny that the climate is not changing in some fashion, because we're not having fire seasons anymore.

We're having fire years.

(whirling sound) - [Narrator] Nebraska saw one of the worst outbreaks of wildfires in history in 2022.

That year the Nebraska Forest Service backed up volunteer departments on 54 grassland and forest fires.

250,000 acres burnt.

Each of those fires shared the common elements that contribute to longer, severe fire seasons.

Low humidity, more dry fuels, high winds.

- [Nate] Our weather service reported that they had dang near more high wind warning and watches in the last 12 months than they've issued prior since they started collecting data.

- [Narrator] Of those who responded to our survey, 75% of the Nebraska volunteer fire departments anticipate the risk of extreme weather will increase.

-[Martha] With changes that we are seeing and that are projected to happen in the future, we won't have a good sense of normals, that'll make things difficult in terms of planning and preparedness - [Interviewer] Especially for emergency responders.

- Yes.

- You know, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face, you know?

And then you get punched in the face and there goes Plan A.

You know, I don't know if you can truly plan for something that crazy.

- [Narrator] The Carter Canyon fire was that kind of crazy.

In the rugged Wildcat Hills at the Wyoming border, one of the largest fires in the state's history began on a windy 103 degree day at the end of July, 2022.

(light music) - The Carter Canyon fire was worse than any of us could have expected with the fires that were out here.

- [Narrator] When Gering firefighters Skip Kelley and Ken Hauk drove back into the canyon a year later, the memories remained vivid.

- It's like mass chaos inside of an oven.

- [Dispatch] 911, what's the location of your emergency?

[Caller] I'm in Banner County and you've got two wildfires that started based on lightening.

- [Narrator] Everyone in the canyon heard the thunderclap.

(thunder rumbling) Few were surprised by what happened next.

(fire crackling) - [Dispatch] Communications -[Firefighter] Robert Faus, Banner County.

We've got three fires out here now.

I think probably better get some mutual aid out here.

We could use some help.

- [Narrator] Firefighters in the panhandle knew the drill, get suited up and head for the smoke.

- [Firefighter] We've got two fires actually tied together.

They're running north to south.

- [Narrator] The Gering Volunteer Department trains for wildfires.

Chief Flowers, was given incident command, and Ken Hauk drove his pumper into the hills.

- It looked very much like a low hanging thunderstorm, you know, with big cumulus clouds, but it wasn't.

It was a fire and it was growing very rapidly.

(guitar music) - [Command] How you guys doing over there?

It looks like it blew up there.

- [Firefighter] It's getting into these trees, so it might be getting a little sticky in a little bit.

- [Skip] It was a it was kind of a 'oh crap' moment.

You see that much smoke coming from the hills (guitar music) - [Ken] My 23 years of being on the fire service, I've never seen a fire move this fast, this hot in this area.

(birds chirping) - [Dispatch] Communications.

How can I help you?

- [Caller] Like there are still people in these houses up here.

The fire's jumped the road already.

They should probably get people out of there.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] Tucked along Carter Canyon Road was the Enlow's place on property that had been in the family for four generations.

The family and their neighbors knew the risks of fire in the Wildcat Hills.

Gary had been trimming limbs away from their propane tank just that morning.

(guitar music) - It's wonderful to live in the pines and cedars.

But don't let them catch on fire.

- [Narrator] As they finished dinner, they saw the smoke.

- [Gary] Things were ready to burn.

And it had the opportunity.

And that's just what it did.

- [Narrator] Heading up the canyon, Gary watched as the fire pushed up the ridge, throwing red hot embers into the pines and cedars miles ahead.

- When you see those things just explode, and black smoke going in the distance where you can see them.

You're pretty sure you've got a problem coming your way.

- [Radio 1] Hey guys, can I get a unit up by Orchard, help me protect this one house?

I can't control the fire and I'm about out of water.

- [Narrator] There are no hydrants in the hills.

By nightfall, everyone wondered if any of the 15 homes in the canyon could be saved.

The Enlow's son called 911.

(guitar music) - [Dispatch] 911.

What's the location of your emergency?

- [Caller] We need fire support out here, I don't want my parents' house to burn down.

I know the fire is coming over the hill.

Coming straight for my parents' house.

We need fire support out here.

- [Ken] When you see that plume there and a fire you, you know it's growing very rapidly.

It's gonna start creating its own weather, you know, it's creating its own wind, it's going to move even faster - [Darrell] It was, actually, that night, because that's the first time in all my years of fighting fires that ever had hot embers going down my back.

(banjo music) - [Ken] There was no control on it that night.

You just tried to protect what you could and and move on.

And hope for the best.

- [Dispatch] Emergency manager has ordered evacuation for all residents.

- [Narrator] Fire crews from multiple departments did what they could, but they couldn't be everywhere.

(banjo music) - [Firefighter] This is Mitchell 22 on the fire.

There is a house on Carter Canyon Road and the people on the property will not leave.

They are trying to fight the fire themselves.

- [Narrator] Gary did what he could with the 300 gallon water tank he had available.

A fire crew arrived and he evacuated.

- [Gary] It's kind of like a snowstorm out there with embers and sparks.

And at that time like that if you've been in a snowstorm or a blizzard, there wasn't anything else we could do.

- [Firefighter] Zero visibility - [Firefighter] 21.

What do you think?

Do we need to get the hell out of here?

(fire crackling) (plane engine revving) - [Narrator] Dozens of firefighters and air support from the Nebraska Forest Service contained the fire after a week.

On the Enlow's property, most of the trees they loved won't be back for years.

But other than a melted plastic fence, the house shows few signs of being surrounded by an inferno.

Just one fire, fifteen thousand acres burnt, including prime grazing land for cattle ranchers.

Thirteen buildings lost, including two homes.

(birds chirping) - [Ken] I think we're gonna see that trend continue to where we do see some significant growth in fires possibly.

I hope it doesn't, because, you know, that's destroying people's lives - [Narrator] Some firefighters, skeptical of the climate scientists, believe this is a normal, short lived cycle.

- I don't know that I directly believe in climate change.

That's what makes this country great.

We're all entitled to our opinions.

(birds chirping) - [Narrator] The prospect of more intense wildfires has some Nebraska fire departments rethinking their training priorities.

(Eric speaking faintly) The Nebraska Forest Service does red card training focusing on wildfire, historically of interest to departments in the drier and windier regions.

Firefighters to the east recognize it's time to pay attention.

- And a lot of them are like, well, we saw what happened there last year.

And we'd never seen anything like that this close to us.

So we decided we better start taking the training and stuff too.

(indistinct chattering) -[Eric] They wanna know about what influences the fire in the wildland fire environment.

And they also wanna know, strategies and tactics to keep themselves safer than what they were doing in the past.

(water misting sound) - [Narrator] Over four or five days, it's all about fire behavior, weather, and being aware of situations that can put a firefighters life in danger.

- [Matt] It's like moths to a flame with volunteer fire departments and whatnot, and they always run to the head of the fire, they got to go put the fire out.

(indistinct shouting) And so they go to where the flames are the biggest, and that's the most dangerous part of the fire.

(indistinct shouting continues) - [Eric] So, I think that's why it's important to have this training, especially with our state being covered with 100% wildland fuels.

-[Masumi] And I remember rule number six is be alert, stay calm, think clearly, act decisively.

And I really like that, I think it resonates well with kind of what the firefighters do here.

(clinking sound) - [Narrator] One half of the firefighter deaths in 2022 were attributed to overexertion and stress, according to a study by the National Fire Protection Association.

In Nebraska, the record number of fires that year put unprecedented pressure on firefighters rushing to help neighbors in the region.

(digging sounds) From 2020 through 2022 the Gering City and Rural Departments responded to eight major wildfires, blackening tens of thousands of acres.

- That's our challenge is trying to find people to help with these extended events.

- [Narrator] Thirty-five departments came to the aid in the Carter Canyon fire.

Some driving 300 miles to help.

It's the system known as mutual aid.

- Just to bring some of our resources to help out to basically make us a larger department, you know, coming together, and we've all worked together really closely.

We will actually reach out very long ways, I mean, for hundreds of miles away on a large fire for mutual aid.

There is absolutely no way we could handle the size of these fires without it.

- [Narrator] Three examples from Nebraska's worst fire season.

In April 2022, 60 departments rushed to contain the ferocious Road 702 grassfire.

That fall, fire swept through the Nebraska National Forest and 22 departments left their hometowns to help.

Come spring, when a fire threatened homes around Lake Waconda along the Missouri River, 45 departments responded from across eastern Nebraska.

- [Matt] After these, you know, fires go on for days, these individuals are not getting paid, they are taking off time, which is costing them money.

And so we all have bills that we have to pay, so it does become an issue (truck engine running sounds) - [Miranda] And so, getting kind of called over and over and over for all these fires, it was, it was exhausting.

It was hard.

You know, every other day you're like, oh, here, there's a grass fire here, there's a grassfire here.

You're like, oh my gosh, again, like, what are we doing?

- [Narrator] As predictions point to more extreme weather, there will likely be greater demands on the network of volunteer first responders.

- [Nate] So it seems like we're going to request more from our mutual aid partners.

So their call volumes going up.

They're requesting from us, our call volumes going up.

Because everybody's in it together.

And we're relying on everybody.

(water spraying sounds) (somber bagpipe music) (somber bagpipe music) - [Narrator] And there was a greater toll after Nebraska's worst wildfire season.

That can be found in the names, now etched in granite, of the three firefighters who died in the line of duty.

(somber bagpipe music) - [Speaker] John Trumble, Cambridge Volunteer Fire Department.

(somber bagpipe music) Darren Krull, Elwood Volunteer Fire Department.

(bell dinging) (somber bagpipe music) Michael Lee Moody, Purdum Volunteer Fire Department.

(bell dinging) - Vegetation will grow back.

Crops will grow back.

Homes can be replaced.

But those firefighters we lost that were part of that response last year, we'll never replace those firefighters.

(somber music) (indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Maybe a record year of wildfires, stretching across the state provided people with a better understanding of the importance of the service provided by volunteer fire departments.

- [Matt] But until you have something of that magnitude, I don't think it really sets in.

And then it's like, everybody wants to support that department, right?

Oh, these guys are exhausted, working their butts off, and they're bringing everything you could ever imagine into the fire hall.

I think that's when they realize how important these people are to their community.

(sirens blaring) - [Narrator] In the Nebraska Public Media survey completed this summer, six out of every ten responding fire services told us their communities fully support their work.

(siren sounds) The firefighters themselves will tell you, once a volunteer gets hooked, there's no turning back.

(indistinct chattering) - [Gina] Because it's a tradition that you wanna keep alive (indistinct chattering) and be a part of.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] You hear it Madison (light music) - It's just fun.

Helping people it's always great rewarding.

- [Narrator] You hear it in Gering.

-[Miranda] You know, your community loves this department.

They're for this department.

Like it's so nice to be appreciated within the community.

(indistinct radio announcement) -[Narrator] You hear it in Mullen.

- [Barb] Maybe it's a big thing to some people, but it's a little tiny thing that we can do to give back to the other people in our community.

(siren sounds) - [Interviewer] It is interesting for me to hear you say restarting somebody's heart is a little thing.

(laughter) - Yeah, it's, when you put it that way, it's not a little thing.

- [Narrator] When you're talking about solutions to the recruitment crisis, you really don't hear anyone calling to end the volunteer system in favor of putting fire crews on the payroll.

- [Barb] No one's showing up to get paid, obviously.

So, I don't know, would that attract people that otherwise wouldn't volunteer?

Is that is that who we want?

(indistinct chattering) - I think if you had strictly paid fire department, or even a combination fire department paid volunteer, I think you'd see your volunteers drop off.

(glass breaking sound) You lose your volunteers, you lose the people that matter.

- You know, the minute you start paying people, things just get really complex.

(electronic whirling sound) - [Narrator] Now, it's worth noting that Gering shares a boundary with the City of Scottsbluff, which has full time, paid firefighters.

The volunteers will tell you they are just fine with a system that doesn't require them to change jobs, while still providing a few financial perks for staying.

- [Chris] So our department is one of the few that I know that offers an incentive program with a retirement, and we usually get a check at the end of the year.

- [Narrator] In Gering, that can be up to $600 depending on how much time a volunteer devotes to in-service and training time.

It's a choice for individual departments, made possible in state law.

- [Chris] Because in today's world, people wanna be rewarded for what they provide.

- At this point, it has to work itself out.

Just because in these rural counties, we just do not have the financial means to obviously pay some individuals to do some of these things.

- [Narrator] And you definitely don't hear much talk of turning to state government to take on a big role in managing local fire protection.

- [Barb] I think that we definitely would not want the state to take over only because, it's just like school districts, everyone is different.

- [Narrator] And there you have it.

If there's any common thread in Nebraska's emergency universe, it's that every department is different.

450 combinations of different personalities, community priorities, and landscapes.

(bustling around sounds) That's reflected in our survey when we asked for specifics about the challenges facing individual departments.

They told us in dozens of anonymous replies that our members are burnt out, there's a lack of support from local government, and in some cases, poor leadership within their departments.

(indistinct chattering) Specific departments will need to find specific solutions.

Not everyone seems to need help recruiting.

- [Nate] Recruitment should always be a crisis.

Then it's going to come to a point where you're screaming for help.

- [Narrator] At times a fire department may need to look at itself.

Town leaders might ask if there are reasons people in town are quitting or not volunteering.

(light music) - [Ray] 2001 when I retired from chief.

(guitar music) - [Narrator] After 50 years fighting fires, Ray Kiefer knows there's some history to that and he's glad there have been changes.

(guitar music) - Fire departments used to be kinda, you know, I don't know how you say, they weren't open like they are now.

Anytime somebody wants to come in here, come in and who shows up, but you'll never used to be that way - [Interviewer] Kind of a private club?

- [Ray] Kind of a private club.

And when you got done to the fire the doors come down and that was it.

- The biggest misunderstanding and you hear that a lot is, the firemen were probably at the bar or sitting down at the fire hall drinking beer again.

There hasn't been alcohol on this building for 15 years.

I think that's a thing of the past.

- [Narrator] At a time when departments unanimously say they need new members, younger members, the old ways will have to give way.

- [Nate] Your fire department reflects your community.

Yeah 100%.

And if your community is diverse and, you know, has different various backgrounds, I think your fire service is gonna be so.

(indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Some volunteer departments are finding new recruits by turning to those in town who might have been excluded in the past.

- [Miranda] I'm trying to always reach out and get other women to come on, 'cause I think they'd have a great experience.

They just, it's hard to get in when it's always been such a male dominant field.

- [Chris] A woman on a fire department on an EMS call, it's going to be able to deal or handle call of a woman who was just assaulted in domestic violence situation versus a man.

A Hispanic person who might know Spanish is gonna be very helpful if it's a Spanish speaking person.

- [Narrator] There isn't data specific to Nebraska, but Hispanics and Native Americans seem underrepresented at a time when those groups make up 20 percent of Nebraska's population.

(guitar music) - [Oscar] I know that Madison has a huge Hispanic population.

So at least if I can help out with a language barrier, for me, that was like, you know, I'll do my part in that at least.

(fire crackling) - [Narrator] Several departments found a path in attracting high school students interested in firefighting and emergency medical response through a cadet program.

- [Nate] We engage 'em right away, we make them feel like they're a part of this department right off the bat, we get them into the tasks, and we show them this is a nozzle, this is the radio, these are SCBAs, we get them in there and we engage them hands on.

It's something that the kids have never experienced before, so they're like, Wow, this is this is awesome, so.

They feel like they belong.

And that's a good thing.

(engine and pump running sounds) - [Narrator] There may be a recruiting opportunity at every fire scene.

- [Tim] This is great, what you guys do.

You know, I should probably help out this town more.

Do you need any help?

And always need help.

- [firefighter] Suck it in here, suck it in there.

- [Narrator] It's the same for training exercises out in public, those opportunities to show off.

In fact, training doesn't just recruit new members, it also keeps current members engaged.

- [Alan] Statistically speaking training helps keep people on board.

Not only within Nebraska, but we know based on national surveys that have been conducted by other organizations, training becomes a great retention tool.

(engine running sounds) (fire burning) - [Narrator] Paying for training is one of the biggest contributions state governments provide for local departments.

- The big thing is always safety for us, you know, being able to watch over, control it manage it.

- [Narrator] The Fire Marshall's office provides training to any department free of charge, in the classroom and in the field.

- [Bill] I think it becomes an opportunity for people to understand how different departments work.

I'm more comfortable overall going in and doing the job that I'm supposed to do.

- [Tim] You can you can make training fun.

- [firefighter] Be careful with him.

He's very delicate, very fragile.

(indistinct chattering) - [Narrator] Some departments, Madison included, at times train independently of the fire marshal, with the same goals in mind.

- [Tim] When we try to when we train, we try to make actual scene.

(hammer thudding) Well, anybody can go out there and hook the hoses to the truck and take five minutes doing it.

But if you got two minutes, at the most, you know, to pull everything out and hook it up, that's when you find the problems -[firefighter] No we got it figured out.

- [Gina] And that's where I want to be prepared when I'm out there.

Because it's not only my safety, but it's everybody safety.

(indistinct chattering) When you go into that structural fire, you have to look at everything, you can't just jump in, you have to first identify what is needed, so that everyone can be safe.

(fire crackling) - [Narrator] Training, if done right, is something that's interesting and creates unique friendships in a small town.

- [Alan] There's a lot of camaraderie in the fire service, fellowship.

And when you spend time training together, learning new skills, there's that sense of bond that's created because we did it together.

You become our fire department family.

(fire crackling) (birds chirping) - [Narrator] And that brings us back to Bristow, the town on Nebraska's northern border.

Small fire department, aging volunteers, old equipment.

On the smallest of scales, Bristow found solutions to keep the department alive.

They remembered public safety is a priority.

When three of the aging firefighters retired, it was not surprising that three other guys stepped in to fill their boots.

(light music) - [Luke] It could be a matter of saving one life that we got there five minutes sooner, having us right here.

(birds chripping) - [Narrator] When it was clear the 1972 Ford F-600 firetruck needed to retire, the entire town stepped up.

(firetruck revving) - [Luke] I think the town gets us just recently when I got our new truck purchase, the town put up $5,000 To help purchase the truck, so they understand the need to keep stuff updated and keep us around too.

So I mean, the community supports us pretty well that way I'd say (light music) (truck engine revving) - [Narrator] It's a 4-wheel drive '83 GMC Sierra bought used from a fire department in Oklahoma.

Almost new by Bristow standards.

The town chipped in enough money to buy fresh bunker gear.

Hand-me-down coats, boots and helmets, bought in an online auction from a German fire crew.

- [Luke] We do pretty good that way.

We don't have a big budget.

We don't need a big budget.

- [Narrator] It's a source of pride for Bristow that their own Volunteer Fire Department remains on duty.

But only because some people in town took on the responsibility to show up when needed.

(engine revving) (light music) There are over 400 volunteer departments in Nebraska hoping someone is standing by to do the same.

(light music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music) (light upbeat music)