Building and Retaining a Volunteer Fire Department

In episode 100 of The Professional Volunteer Fire Department, host Tom Merrill speaks with Brandon Fletcher, chief of the Gilt Edge (TN) Fire Department, about building and sustaining a professional rural volunteer department. They discuss practical leadership, recruiting and retaining younger members, holding people accountable, and in-house and hybrid training. Fletcher shares how small departments can improve response times, develop training pathways, and ways to prioritize quality over roster size.