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California Fire Volunteer
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by: Scarlett Lisjak
CHEROKEE COUNTY, S.C (WSPA) – A large proportion of the United States relies heavily on volunteer firefighters for emergencies, but their numbers are dwindling and shortage of volunteers is especially hard on rural departments.
Since its inception, the Goucher White Plains Fire Department in Cherokee County has been an all-volunteer department but because of a nationwide volunteer shortage, Fire Chief Jimmy Lamb said they had to make some changes.
“Just the last couple of years where we have essentially been forced to hire paid staff, or at least we pay some staff part time, so that there is a guaranteed person available when manpower or volunteers are short,” Lamb said. “When I first started in the fire service, there were no paid departments anywhere around and now nearly everybody is having to resort to hiring paid staff. As a rural community that’s a struggle.”

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