Colorado rural communities face critical firefighter shortage, in some cases, outlook is ‘bleak’

When Elizabeth Fire Chief T.J. Steck first entered the fire service more than 30 years ago, he was one of more than 2,000 applicants for just six full-time positions with Denver Fire.

Competition was intense.

That’s not the case now, Steck told members of the Colorado Wildfire Matters Review Committee on Tuesday.

“Now, fire departments across the Front Range are actually fighting each other for applicants and trying to poach from each other — because we don't have the number of applicants anymore,” he said.

Somewhere near 50% of the graduates from Elizabeth’s own fire academy already have job offers from other fire districts before graduation.

Crippling recruiting and retention problems, a rapidly aging population and increased demand for emergency medical services, particularly in rural areas, are forcing some of Colorado’s smaller fire departments to sound some very loud alarms.

After Sept. 11, fire departments across the nation saw an influx of applicants, as did law enforcement and the military, all wanting to become first responders.

Steck, who chairs the Colorado Fire Commission’s Recruiting and Retention Committee, said those numbers have dropped drastically over the last 10 years.

“We determined over the last two years, career (firefighter) departments, on average, have lost seven to nine personnel in a two-year period,” he said. “And combination (career and volunteer) departments have lost four to six personnel or firefighters during that same time.”

A November 2023 survey conducted by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control identified work-life balance, compensation, and benefits as one of the primary drivers behind the troubling trend in firefighter retention.

“Simply put, part-time and full-time firefighters (in rural areas) were making equivalent salaries to some of the fast food chains,” Steck said. “Firefighters in my district can step across the county line to the west and get a pay bump of close to $20,000 per year.”

Volunteer firefighters have it even worse, officials said, noting many have other jobs and must coordinate time off to respond to events, as well as keep their training current.

Elizabeth Fire serves a current population of 12,100, a 23% increase from the 2010 census, and the clock is ticking.

Studies show that firefighters and the residents they serve are aging, especially in rural fire departments, where there is a higher percentage of volunteers.

“This is what we're running into in Elbert County,” Steck said. “There are very few agencies in Elbert County that can provide advanced life support or paramedic ambulance services.”

"So, when we talked with the legislators yesterday, it was about fires, right? But 80% of our call load is for emergency medical service,” he said.

In the last three to four years, Elizabeth, the county's most populous town, has seen a 75% increase in Medicare users.

“That tells us a couple of things,” Steck said. “First of all, our community's aging, obviously, but we thought our aging community might retire and go somewhere else because of the cost of living, but they're not. They're staying here and so demands for service are increasing.”

But while older volunteers are dedicated, Steck said rural fire departments are losing them because they’re starting to retire or simply just can't do the job anymore.

The challenge is to find replacements.

Historically, in rural areas, retirees would be replaced by their children, but younger generations tend to move on and not stay.

“They're leaving, and they’re not taking over the roles of their parents. They're not taking over the family farms or the family ranches,” Steck said. “And so, there's no younger generation to replace volunteers as they retire. So, we're seeing this significant drop in the number of available resources for volunteer fire departments."

"I will be honest with you," the fire chief said, "a three- to five-year outlook in our area where fires are burning right now is pretty bleak.”

Steck said he believes the situation is reaching a tipping point.

“The problem with areas out in the eastern Colorado area is they're not growing,” he said. “So, they're not getting the additional tax revenue that would allow them to look at maybe hiring people or having full-time staff to make sure that they have a minimal response, but they don't have the money to do it.”

Most rural areas are primarily taxed as agriculture, and so the money just isn’t there.

And something’s going to happen, Steck warned.

“When there’s no one there to respond, people aren't going to stop calling 911,” he said. “Fire departments aren't like the local bakery that can close their door for a day if somebody's not there to work. They have to keep their doors open.”

A needs assessment released in April 2023 by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control estimates that the state needs an additional 1,085 career firefighters and 1,300 volunteer firefighters just to return to adequate staffing.

“We're really starting to see a crisis in rural areas,” Steck said, “along with trouble in the mid-Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas, where they're having trouble getting people to apply for these jobs in a career mode.”

Some say smaller fire departments should consolidate, but that brings problems, too, he said.

“It (consolidation) doesn't help the revenue if the revenue streams don't change,” Steck said. “So, if you have four agriculturally based fire volunteer fire departments in eastern Colorado that decided to consolidate their services, it might get a few more people to respond, but their agricultural property tax revenue is it stays the same. And as our state ages, our community ages, baby boomers require more services, and the call load is only going to go up, while their revenues stay the same or go down.”

There are no clear answers, Steck said.

"But we certainly need to be thinking creatively,” he said.