Regional Roundtable for Volunteer Firefighter Service

Article Presented By Hometown-Motors, Inc.

(Hamden) – The Ohio Task Force on Volunteer Fire Service continues its regional roundtable listening tour in Southeast Ohio 10am–noon, August 20th at the Hamden Firefighters Community Center in Hamden (Vinton County).

These roundtable events are held in various regions across the state and provide an opportunity for firefighters and community members to share information with members of the task force. The task force will then be responsible for making recommendations to improve the sustainability of the volunteer fire service in Ohio. 

The goal at these regional meetings is to solicit additional input from the volunteer fire department community regarding the issues and challenges that they are facing everyday throughout Ohio. 

These meetings are free and open to the public. For those that can’t make the meetings in person, virtual attendance is available online:

Ohio has 1,180 fire departments with approximately 70% of all fire service in the state provided by volunteers. These dedicated volunteer firefighters typically have full-time jobs but are called upon to assist in the event of an emergency. Historically, a volunteer fire department’s community response is most significantly impacted by staffing, training, and funding levels so they must have full support to protect their communities.

Earlier in the year, Gov. Mike DeWine assembled the Ohio Task Force on Volunteer Fire Service to study and make recommendations to improve volunteer fire service in Ohio. The Task Force consists of 25 members from around the state representing local volunteer fire departments, municipalities, and state agencies. 

Visit the State Fire Marshal’s website at com.ohio.gov/fire  for a full schedule of the statewide listening tour and to learn more about the volunteer taskforce and its mission.