More Volunteer Firefighters Needed in Shasta County - What can be done about it?
November 7, 2026
Shasta County Fire Department (SCFD), administered through its long-standing contract with CAL FIRE Shasta-Trinity Unit, relies on a combination of career personnel and volunteers across roughly 17 volunteer fire companies serving rural and semi-rural communities. Shasta County is struggling to keep roughly 100 paid-call volunteer firefighters on its rolls—down from about 250 in earlier years—as departments across the - country face similar recruitment and retention problems, according to Don Watt, Cal Fire’s Deputy Chief of Operations.
“The department is exploring recruitment incentives, but this is a broader national challenge that has not resolved as quickly as hoped,” Watt said in a recent interview. Paid-call firefighters remain vital, especially in rural areas where they know their communities, he added.
Nationally, the National Fire Protection Association and National Volunteer Fire Council report that volunteers still make up about 62 percent of U.S. firefighters (roughly 635,100 as of 2023). Of the nation’s approximately 29,452 fire departments, about 18,873 are staffed entirely by volunteers and another 5,335 are mostly volunteer. Together they account for more than 80 percent of departments and protect a significant share of smaller and rural communities. Volunteer numbers have fallen roughly 25 percent since the mid-1980s peak and about 23 percent since 2008, even as overall emergency call volume has more than tripled—driven largely by medical responses rather than structure fires.
Watt described the local situation as part of that larger pattern. New volunteers often lose interest after realizing the time required to balance service with regular jobs. Some younger members leave for full-time firefighting careers after receiving training, which helps them professionally but reduces the county’s trained volunteer pool. The department tracks whether new recruits remain active six months to a year after joining.
Requirements for Becoming a Volunteer Firefighter
Basic entry requirements include being at least 18 years old, holding a valid driver’s license, passing a Live Scan background check, and completing a physical examination. No prior experience is required. Protective gear is provided by the department.
Physical and medical standards reflect the essential tasks of the job. Candidates must lift 100 pounds from the floor to waist height, 70 pounds from waist to chest, and 40 pounds overhead—mirroring the handling of equipment and the need to lift or reposition a patient. A carry test requires holding 30 pounds in each hand while walking 25 feet. Screenings also address skeletal, back, and vision issues (including color blindness that can interfere with color-coded duties) and check for medications that could impair safe vehicle or equipment operation. Firefighters over 40 complete a treadmill stress test every few years, reflecting the fact that heart attacks remain a leading cause of death in the fire service. The department follows National Fire Protection Association recommendations and consults county Risk Management on borderline cases. A former test requiring candidates to push or pull 150 pounds was eliminated after too many recruits struggled with it.
Training is structured through the SCFD/CAL FIRE Training Bureau and a multi-weekend Recruit Academy (typically 6–11 weekends, including live-fire training). SCFD Policies and Procedures distinguish responder levels:
Limited Responder: Approximately 110 training hours total (roughly 25 hours self-paced/mentor-led plus 85 hours formal instruction). This yields certifications including Public Safety First Aid (PSFA with AED/CPR), HazMat First Responder Operational, NWCG Firefighter Type 2, Confined Space Awareness, Defensive Driving, Anti-Harassment, ICS up to 200, and basic skills in areas such as auto extrication and wildland-urban interface.
Full Responder: Additional formal instruction (about 56 hours) covering more advanced firefighting skills and live-fire training.
Ongoing requirements include a minimum of 72 hours of training annually plus maintenance of key certifications (EMS, HazMat FRO, Communicable Disease, Anti-Harassment, and Defensive Driver).
The Need for More Volunteers
Volunteer decline is well-documented and longstanding. A 2013–2014 Grand Jury report already warned that some areas might lose the ability to sustain volunteer service, requiring more paid personnel or reduced expectations. Recent LAFCO* Municipal Service Reviews and department statements confirm continued drops driven by retirements of long-serving members, rising training mandates, economic pressures, dual-income households, and time demands. Individual companies (e.g., Old Station) have at times operated with very few or single members. Volunteers still provide thousands of hours of training, call response, and reserve coverage annually, but lower participation rates leave gaps, particularly in rural companies. The department has responded by expanding career/CAL FIRE staffing in some areas and exploring reserve programs, yet officials continue to emphasize that volunteers remain essential.
Potential for Support or Auxiliary Roles for Aging or Physically Limited Volunteers
SCFD currently uses tiered operational designations (Limited vs. Full Responder) and reserve shift programs, but publicly available materials do not describe a formal, non-operational “support volunteer” or auxiliary classification that would allow individuals unable to meet full physical standards (such as lifting 40–100 pounds) to participate at incident scenes in limited capacities.
Other California departments have explored or implemented such models. Examples include Escondido’s Fire Department Support Volunteer Program (focused on non-suppression support roles with defined training) and broader Fire Corps or auxiliary programs elsewhere that assign duties such as traffic control, logistics, rehabilitation, public education, or administrative support. In a recent Shasta County Board discussion of the department’s master plan, Supervisor Corkey Harmon specifically raised the lifting requirement as a barrier that could exclude experienced people who might still assist if others handled heavy tasks. Creating a designated support role could retain institutional knowledge from aging volunteers, expand the available pool without compromising operational safety standards, and align with practices used elsewhere in the state. Implementation would require clear position descriptions, reduced physical standards appropriate to the duties, and targeted training—while preserving the distinction from full operational responders.
Recommendations from a former firefighter:
Shawn Sherriff, a former CAL FIRE employee, said the vast majority of calls are medical calls. He said a fire engine does not need to respond to every medical call and that rescue vehicles could handle some of that work. (The latest report of calls from the department's long-range Master Plan indicates that 66% are medical. The share has been rising, driven in part by an aging population.)
He proposed moving away from the CAL Fire contract and creating the new department with paid staff, volunteer firefighters, and a station auxiliary for community members who cannot or do not want to be firefighters. He said auxiliaries could support stations through activities such as potlucks, design work, and other forms of involvement.
He said paid personnel should handle maintenance, paperwork, and administrative burdens. Volunteers could then choose their level of service. He said some people with Class A licenses have told him they only want to drive. His model would create operator roles and pair drivers with people who could handle other firefighting duties.
Sherriff said the current all-or-nothing responder structure is too rigid. He said a more adaptable system could retain people who can contribute in limited but useful roles.
Current Recruitment Efforts
Recruitment is ongoing and multi-channel but has produced only modest gains relative to losses:
Public calls for applications via the department website (shastacounty.gov/fire), phone (530-225-2418), and social media posts listing specific communities that need volunteers.
Recruit Academy cohorts (e.g., recent 2025–2026 sessions with orientation and multi-month weekend training, open to SCFD companies and neighboring districts).
Emphasis in materials that no experience is needed, training and PPE are provided at no cost to the volunteer, and stipends are available.
Outreach at community events and through the CAL FIRE/SCFD Training Bureau.
Reserve firefighter programs that allow volunteers to sign up for paid station coverage shifts.
Department statements acknowledge that these efforts, combined with the existing stipend structure, have not reversed the overall decline. Annual reports highlight training volume but note persistent staffing challenges.
Argument for Increasing the Per-Call Stipend
The current $20 per-incident rate (plus training stipends of $20–$40) has been in place for several years, and the department describes it as competitive within California. Earlier references from around 2021 and individual company materials cited lower amounts (approximately $10–$12 per call). Neighboring Butte County recently raised its long-frozen rate from $7.50 to $15 per call. Other California programs commonly fall in the $10–$25 range for pure per-call pay, with some using higher shift-based stipends.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, public-agency volunteers may receive expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee without being reclassified as employees. The Department of Labor’s longstanding practical guideline treats a fee as generally nominal if it does not exceed roughly 20% of the cost of employing a full-time firefighter for comparable work. California firefighter median pay is approximately $85,000 statewide (lower in the Redding area, around $65,000). This leaves substantial headroom: total annual fees of $13,000–$17,000 or more can remain nominal depending on local costs and volunteer activity levels. A modest increase to the mid-$20s or low $30s per call (for typical response volumes) would stay well within the guideline.
Raising the rate is justified for several practical reasons:
It more realistically offsets fuel, vehicle wear, and opportunity costs in a high-cost, rural area where volunteers often travel significant distances.
Volunteer decline continues despite the current stipend being called competitive; a higher amount could improve recruitment and retention without converting volunteers into employees.
It aligns with (or modestly exceeds) recent increases in nearby counties and common California practice while remaining far below career compensation.
With medical calls comprising the majority of incidents and volunteer response rates already reduced, better incentives support the hybrid model the county has relied on for decades and could slow the need for further costly expansion of the CAL FIRE contract.
Any increase should be structured carefully (flat per-call preferred), documented against local career costs, and reviewed by counsel to preserve volunteer status.
Combined with expanded support roles for those who can no longer meet full physical standards, clearer pathways for aging volunteers, and continued recruitment, a higher nominal stipend is a low-risk, high-impact tool for sustaining the volunteer backbone of Shasta County’s rural fire protection.
To volunteer, go to:
* LAFCO stands for Local Agency Formation Commission.
It is an independent public agency that exists in every California county. LAFCOs were created by the state Legislature in 1963 (and operate under the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000) to oversee the boundaries and organization of cities and special districts.
Shasta County Fire Department (SCFD) stations/companies:
“Paid Call Fire Company” indicates volunteer/paid-on-call staffing (on-call responders, often with stipends for calls/training). CAL FIRE stations are career/state-staffed. Some stations are mixed or jointly staffed. Company 10 is noted as closed.
Battalion 1 — Northeast Shasta County (Burney Basin and beyond)
Company 10 — Cassel: Paid Call Fire Company (currently closed due to insufficient paid call staffing).
Company 11 — Hat Creek: Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 12 — Old Station: Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 13 — Soldier Mountain: Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 70 — Big Bend: Paid Call Fire Company.
CAL FIRE Burney Station 14: CAL FIRE Station (career).
CAL FIRE Big Bend Station 19: CAL FIRE Station (career).
Battalion 2 — Oak Run & Montgomery Creek
Company 30 — Oak Run: Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 71 — Montgomery Creek (operates from Station 71 / Hwy 299 in Round Mountain and Station 271 / Hillcrest Drive in Montgomery Creek): Paid Call Fire Company.
CAL FIRE Diddy Wells Station 74: CAL FIRE Station (career; increased staffing in peak fire season).
CAL FIRE Hillcrest Station 75: CAL FIRE Station (career; peak-season staffing noted).
CAL FIRE Buckhorn Station 34: CAL FIRE Station (career).
Battalion 3 — Shingletown, Whitmore & Millville
Company 20 — Shingletown (operates from multiple locations: Shasta Forest Village, Starlite Pines Subdivision, and Alward Way/Highway 44 intersection): Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 31 — Whitmore: Paid Call Fire Company.
CAL FIRE/SCFD Shingletown Station 22: Jointly Staffed (dual-housed; SCFD Type II engine with CAL FIRE personnel; additional CAL FIRE wildland engine in fire season).
CAL FIRE Whitmore Station 35: CAL FIRE Station (career; reduced staffing in winter).
Battalion 4 — Valley Floor (Anderson, Palo Cedro & South County)
Company 32 — Palo Cedro: Career + Paid Call Staffed (three career SCFD personnel co-located with Paid Call Company 32).
Company 55 — West Valley: Paid Call Fire Company.
SCFD Station 47 — South County (Riverside Ave, Anderson): CAL FIRE/SCFD (staffed with 3 personnel on a Type II structure engine; additional apparatus available).
CAL FIRE Station 43: CAL FIRE Station (career; peak-season apparatus noted).
Battalion 5 — Western Foothills (French Gulch, Igo/Ono & Centerville)
Company 50 — Igo/Ono (station in Igo + satellite in Ono): Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 52 — Centerville: Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 59 — French Gulch: Paid Call Fire Company.
CAL FIRE Ono Station 57: CAL FIRE Station (career; fire-season staffing noted).
CAL FIRE Shasta Station 58: CAL FIRE Station (career; reduced to one engine under Amador cooperative agreement with SCFD in winter).
Battalion 7 — North Shasta County (Bella Vista, Jones Valley & Lakehead)
Company 33/72 — Bella Vista and Jones Valley (consolidated in 2022): Paid Call Fire Company.
Company 54 — Lakehead: Paid Call Fire Company (northernmost SCFD station; relies on valley backup).
CAL FIRE Shasta College Station 73: CAL FIRE Station (year-round cooperative agreement with SCFD).
