Dan Eggleston, Chief of Albemarle, Va., Fire Rescue outlined why fire-based EMS is a good idea for these departments at Fire-Rescue Med 2011

By Jamie Thompson, FireRescue1 Senior Editor

Volunteer and combination fire departments have always faced a range of unique challenges — and, in many cases, these challenges are getting tougher to manage each year.

The issues are well documented:

• Difficulty recruiting/retaining members
• Increased training requirements
• Developing effective leaders
• Increase demand on services
• Increased scope of services
• Declining revenue sources

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