Senator Bernie Sanders Holds Town Hall on Rural Fire Department and EMS Challenges
By Pat Bradley; WAMC Senator Bernie Sanders recently hosted a virtual town hall with Vermont firefighters and EMS personnel to discuss funding and staffing challenges facing rural departments in Vermont and across the country. The National Volunteer Fire Council reports two-thirds of firefighters nationally are volunteer and their numbers reached a 40-year low in 2017. Meanwhile call volume tripled over the past 30 years.