WBIR.com
ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — When your house is on fire, you expect them to be there and fast. But, more and more volunteer fire departments are struggling to keep their trucks on the road as funding dwindles.
Close to 80-percent of fire departments in Tennessee are made up all volunteer firefighters. These men and women give up their time and risk their lives for their neighbor.
“If you don’t have the fire department,” said Del Kennedy, Chief of the Andersonville Volunteer Fire Department, “you’re going back to the 1800s when you were relying on your neighbors with buckets of water to try to help you out.” The volunteers who come to save homes and lives don’t hesitate to rescue those who need it.
Full story: Badly needed, poorly funded: the future of volunteer fire departments