Recruitment & Retention in the Fire Service: Culture, Flexibility, and Making the Ask (with NVFC CEO Sarah Lee)
In this VFIS-sponsored episode of Behind the Sirens, host Travis speaks with National Volunteer Fire Council CEO Sarah Lee about recruitment and retention in the fire service and why the two are closely connected across generations. Lee outlines key reasons departments struggle—time constraints and mental load, volunteers moving to career roles, unwelcoming or toxic culture, and differing generational needs—and emphasizes that culture must be built intentionally. She shares actionable recruitment steps such as creating positive member experiences, offering sampling opportunities like open houses and ride-alongs, showing clear growth paths, and providing flexibility in training and scheduling. For retention, she stresses knowing members as people, checking in when behavior changes, and involving families to build support. Lee highlights NVFC resources including MakeMeAFirefighter.org and tools and training available at NVFC.org.
00:00 Recruitment Retention Kickoff
01:11 Meet Sarah Lee NVFC
02:01 Recruitment Versus Retention
03:28 Why Volunteers Leave
07:47 Culture And Leadership
10:12 Sponsor Break VFIS
10:38 Quick Recruitment Wins
14:08 Keeping Good People
18:31 NVFC Make Me Firefighter
19:51 30 Second Challenge
21:23 More NVFC Resources
23:06 Final Takeaways Outro
Show Notes
Recruitment and Retention in the Fire Service: Culture, Time, and Making the Ask (with NVFC CEO Sarah Lee)
In this VFIS-sponsored Behind the Sirens/All Clear episode, host Travis talks with National Volunteer Fire Council CEO Sarah Lee about fire service recruitment and retention, emphasizing that the issues are intertwined and require balanced staffing across seasoned, mid-level, and younger members. Lee outlines key reasons people don’t join or leave: limited time and mental load, volunteers moving into career positions, unwelcoming or toxic department culture, and unmet generational needs. She offers actionable steps for departments, including creating a positive member experience that fuels word-of-mouth, providing “sampling” opportunities like open houses and ride-alongs, showing clear advancement paths, and offering flexibility in training and scheduling. For retention, she stresses knowing members personally, checking in when behavior changes, and engaging families through communication and inclusive events. Lee highlights NVFC resources such as makemeafirefighter.org and nvfc.org, which provide tools, research, marketing support, guides, and training.
