By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Delaware County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive countywide assessment of all 28 volunteer fire departments in response to declining active firefighter membership approaching crisis status.
- The Fire Advisory Board’s Recruitment and Retention Committee recommended the evaluation to address growing challenges facing the rural, predominantly volunteer fire service.
- Emergency Services Consulting International was contracted to conduct the nine-month study at a cost of $73,828, examining operational capabilities, leadership development, response performance, equipment inventories, fiscal sustainability, and recruitment strategies.
- Delaware County’s 28 volunteer fire departments collectively responded to more than 4,200 fire-related incidents in 2025 while serving a rural region in the Catskill Mountains with comparatively low median household incomes.
- The assessment will provide actionable recommendations to preserve and strengthen volunteer fire protection services for future generations.
DELHI, N.Y. — Delaware County Board of Supervisors approved a countywide fire services assessment to address recruitment and retention challenges affecting the county’s entirely volunteer-dependent fire protection system.
The approval follows recommendations from the Delaware County Fire Advisory Board’s Recruitment and Retention Committee and reflects support from an overwhelming majority of Delaware County fire chiefs who recognize growing challenges facing the volunteer fire service.
Delaware County’s fire service protects a highly rural region located in the Catskill Mountains, serves communities with comparatively low median household incomes, and relies entirely upon 28 volunteer fire departments to provide fire and rescue protection to residents and visitors. Collectively, the departments responded to more than 4,200 fire-related incidents in 2025.
The Fire Advisory Board established the Recruitment and Retention Committee to identify strategies to preserve and strengthen volunteer fire protection services for future generations. The committee determined that a comprehensive assessment of departmental operations and challenges was necessary to develop evidence-based recommendations.
The number of active volunteer firefighters throughout Delaware County has steadily declined and is rapidly approaching crisis status, according to county officials.
Emergency Services Consulting International, a public safety consulting firm, was selected to conduct the study. The Board of Supervisors approved $73,828 to retain ESCI to perform the comprehensive assessment.
The study will provide a high-level, countywide evaluation of all 28 volunteer fire departments and will examine operational firefighting capabilities including interior, exterior, and support staffing levels; officer development, leadership depth, and succession planning; response performance utilizing Delaware County 911 computer-aided dispatch data; apparatus, turnout gear, and self-contained breathing apparatus inventories and replacement needs; department budgets, capital planning efforts, and fiscal sustainability; and recruitment and retention programs, membership participation, and long-term volunteer sustainability.
The assessment will also identify opportunities to improve service delivery and maintain operational readiness through practical, actionable recommendations.
ESCI will conduct the assessment primarily through electronic data collection, geographic information systems analysis, virtual stakeholder meetings, and interviews with fire chiefs, emergency services personnel, local officials, and members of the Fire Advisory Board. The firm anticipates the project will require approximately nine months to complete following project initiation and data collection.