‘They’re sacrificing’: Volunteer fire departments in Buchanan County adapt to growing demands

BUCHANAN COUNTY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Some days, it means leaving a family ballgame. Other days, an evening dinner, or responding to a 3 a.m. call before a normal 8-hour shift at work. 

It's one of the many sacrifices made by volunteer firefighters locally and across the country, a job where members have to be prepared to respond to a wide range of emergencies at any time, and at a growing frequency in some areas, from medical emergencies to large brush fires.

Roughly 70% to 75% of Missouri's fire departments are made up of volunteer firefighters according to studies from MOST Policy Initiative, a nonpartisan Missouri research organization.  

"Having an active rural department is critical. We're seeing a lot more wildland fires, grass fires, a lot of activity in rural communities," said Andrew Johnson, longtime fire chief for the Southwest Buchanan County Fire Protection District. "We're a proactive and advancing fire department, one that is striving hard to meet the demands of today's world."

Johnson and roughly 20 volunteers help oversee a 60-square-mile area near the Rushville and Sugar Lake areas southwest of St. Joseph. They're one of six rural volunteer departments in Buchanan County meeting the growing demands of more calls, population changes and busy personal schedules among volunteers.  

Volunteers as young as 19 to age 60 devote their time to protecting the community with SWBFD, responding to calls across a large area when available, with a number of those working one or two jobs on top of it. 

The job is as busy as ever even with Johnson's department making strides in recruiting volunteers, bringing five new people onboard, one of their strongest counts in recent memory.  

"I may have 20 guys in my department, but I may only have three or four of them that can respond at any given time because of work schedules," Johnson said. "We just finished (2025) with 172 responded calls, which is about 10 more than last year. And we're seeing that continue to grow, to where I would not be surprised if next year we do surpass 200, which for my department is a very high number."

He said a majority of calls responded to last year were medical emergencies, similar to the nearby DeKalb Fire Protection District, which covers a 90-square-mile area south of Lake Contrary down to De Kalb, including areas west of U.S. Highway 59. 

Established by voters in 1993, the district is also made up of an all-volunteer unit of members responding to fires and crashes across a wide area. 

"I can remember at one point in time we had 40 people on the roster. We're down to about 27 people on the active roster now," said Matt Westrich, a St. Joseph native and 36-year firefighter who joined out of high school. "We brought on roughly 4 or 5 people in the last calendar year alone."

Much like SWBFD, DeKalb is also adjusting to external factors challenging the availability of volunteers, particularly during the daytime hours. 

The state of the economy and the need to work, especially for those supporting a family, continues to put pressure on firefighters time, necessitating a strong roster of volunteers to cover the load.  

"We're struggling for daytime help right now. We’re not the only fire department in this country that's facing this issue," said Westrich, who is also the district's secretary treasurer, carrying out key administrative duties. “We have some firefighters that are self employed and they have that flexibility to step away from their job to answer if one should come up, but it's tough sometimes."

According to studies by leading firefighter organizations, the number of volunteer firefighters in the U.S. has dropped significantly over the last four decades, from 897,750 in 1984 to 676,900 by 2020 according to the National Fire Protection Association, despite the U.S. population increasing.  

During that time, the number of calls to those departments tripled, from less than 12 million nationwide in 1986, to more than 36.6 million in 2021. 

“The demand on rural fire is changing. We are starting to see more houses getting built out in the rural areas. More traffic in our rural communities,” Johnson said. “Our populace, as they age. More people are able to live out their last days out at home as well."

Mutual aid agreements have become a vital tool used by rural fire departments in Buchanan County, ensuring timely coordination of calls in situations when a department isn't able to immediately provide a preferred number of volunteers at a certain time. 

Fire protection districts like the Easton, San Antonio and South Central Fire Protection Districts also cover key areas in the central and eastern parts of the county.

“There's times when Rushville (SWBFD) for example, or South Central might have one or two volunteers going and they’ll ask for manpower, we help each other out so no call goes unanswered," Westrich said. 

A new challenge facing some departments recently is a notable decrease in available grants, a vital mechanism used by rural departments to upgrade and modernize specialized equipment and vehicles. 

DeKalb Fire Protection received a $20,000 ARPA-funded grant in 2024 to purchase and replace a variety of dated equipment and technology, but recent grant opportunities have been harder to come by.

“The grant pot to me seems to be drying up and becoming more competitive," Westrich said. "We're not super desperate, but there are things we need right now that we just can't fund.”

Despite the evolving landscape of volunteer firefighting, one that also brings new challenges and demands, community volunteers continue to step up to the plate to support area volunteer fire districts in Buchanan County, making significant sacrifices to keep the community safe.

“I want the community to know these guys are stepping up to meet that demand and they're sacrificing for the community," Johnson said.  

Johnson and Westrich both agreed that community engagement, department interactions and education, particularly through growing use of social media channels, will be key moving forward to show the community the importance of the job and benefits associated with volunteering firefighting, as well as the protections in place to support them.

“Keeping the public informed of what we're doing. Being transparent. building that trust,” Westrich said. “We cover our people the minute they come in that door. We have insurance for them. We take care of our people. Provide them with their equipment. Everything to do the job.” 

“I want my guys to be out in the forefront. Educating our populace of who we are, what we do. There's a lot of opportunities" Johnson said. "So you maybe have that little kid that says 'Someday I want to be a firefighter,' Maybe not in a big-city setting, they see us out there in their schools and their communities, making a difference."