America is short on firefighters, leaving volunteers holding the hose

This is what first responders train for. A crushed car, a track driver, minutes to get inside

This training is designed to save a life. First and foremost, our role is to prepare the next generation of first responders

Whether that's as a volunteer or fighting fires as a career. I think the idea of being able to help your own community in times of crisis is a noble calling

Boomer Strawn leads the fire science technology program at Metropolitan Community College

We get them completely prepared to handle this in a emergency situation

But he comes from the front lines and knows what it feels like when the tone drops and your community needs you

You get to fix an immediate problem, and you may not know what the outcome is by the time you leave

but generally you left them better than you found them. From Omaha to Lincoln and small towns in between, students come here to train

MCC holds Nebraska's only fire science program, and Boomer says the demand is growing

In 2014, we had roughly 98 students. In 2024, we had roughly 740 students

Most students want a full-time fire career. Only about 20% trained to volunteer in their hometown

I don't think it's just a paid versus volunteer issue. I think, in general, we need first responders within our four counties

as well as all 93 counties in the state of Nebraska. And even with growth in the fire science program, the pipeline is not keeping up

Across Nebraska, both volunteer and paid departments say they need more people suiting up

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the U.S. had about 1,041,200 firefighters in 2020, the lowest total since 1991

Most of that drop came from volunteers stepping away. 65% of firefighters in America are volunteers

Everybody is needing volunteers All departments in this area I know are getting busier and busier every year In Nebraska there are more than 15 unpaid firefighters compared to just under 1 paid

And out of 478 departments, only six are fully paid. 449 are all volunteer

We have one member that's made almost 680 calls this year. Roger Peake has seen this job from both sides of an emergency call

He spent 27 years as a 911 dispatcher. Now he is the second assistant chief at the Irvington Volunteer Fire Department just northwest of Omaha

We do everything, fire rescue, anything from assisting a party up that's not injured

to a CPR in progress, to a car accident, to a house fire. Irvington may have 38 volunteers on paper, but only about 16 can consistently show up when the tone drops

Peek says new volunteers come in, but many do not last. Between long hours, constant calls, and burnout, they're losing people faster than they can keep them

Our call load has gone up substantially over the time. So we would like to be up in that 45, 50 member

Training is not optional. Every volunteer has to be certified in both fire and EMS with continuing education each year

And all of that happens outside their daily lives. The general population doesn't understand the time and the energy it takes to be on this side because most of us, you know, we all have families, we all have jobs outside of this

And then we still have to come down here and provide a service plus training, continuing education

Irvington is not just covering their own zip code. They are often the extra crew racing into neighboring communities when another department runs out of hands

We may not get paid for that, but we're still helping people

paid or volunteer, they do this for the people on the other side of the smoke

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey. Read more stories right now on SAN.com or on the Straight Arrow News mobile app