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Forty-seven percent of Maine fire departments surveyed say they had been too short staffed to respond to some calls in the last three years, according to a statewide study by the Maine Office of the State Fire Marshal and the University of Maine. 

Call volumes across the state have increased by 78% in the last decade, with some individual fire departments saying they doubled, if not tripled.

The strain extends beyond fighting fires. Maine firefighters also respond to floods and storms, provide emergency medical services and serve as planners, educators and communicators for emergency management. 

One volunteer fire chief from Washington County interviewed for the study called the number of calls “too much to be a volunteer,” while another from York County called it “too demanding.” 

The findings highlight a vulnerability in a fire service heavily dependent on volunteers: During working hours, many firefighters are unavailable to respond. 

Financial pressures, inflexible work schedules and family obligations prevent many Mainers from volunteering and leave others at risk of burnout, said study co-author Alexander Rezk, a Ph.D. student and research associate with 91����’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center.

“Exploring pathways to sustainable volunteerism will be essential not only to the fire service, but all community resilience-building,” Rezk said.

The research team received survey responses from 219 of Maine’s estimated 398 fire departments and gathered information from code enforcement officers and municipal administrators. 91���� researchers interviewed 25 fire chiefs across 14 counties to examine the challenges and their effects on local communities.

“This work will help lawmakers make informed decisions affecting Maine’s fire service for years to come,” said State Fire Marshal Shawn Esler. “It documents the challenges our firefighters face and gives us a clearer understanding of the support they need to continue protecting their communities.”

Lost wages, retirement, travel distances and competing work and family obligations are among the driving forces behind staff and volunteer turnover, as well as barriers to recruitment. The survey found that 94% of responding departments rely at least partly on volunteers and 60% are entirely volunteer. 

“Being a call company, most work a full-time job, thus no time for training,” an Oxford County fire chief said in the survey. “They offer very little training in Western Maine. You have to drive a long way to get it.” 

Departments increasingly turn to neighboring communities for help, but those communities often face the same staffing gaps, according to the study. For example, the Hermon Fire Department reported having 21 mutual aid relationships, and the Kennebunk Fire Department reported having 20. 

Maine fire departments also face an aging fleet and an aging workforce — challenges that complicate their ability to protect local communities. 

Nearly half of the departments surveyed reported having fleets that were more than 20 years old. Survey respondents reported that the average cost of a fire engine doubled between 2020 and 2026, and new engines can take three to four years to build. 

“These are incredibly resilient organizations. They are coming up with creative solutions to meet their communities’ needs and often with very limited resources,” said Dominic Piacentini, also a research associate with 91����’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. “In many cases, these local solutions are working, but they just need more support.”

The project’s recommendations focus on three areas:

• Maintaining reliable statewide information about the firefighter workforce.
• Improving access to training by addressing distance, time and cost barriers.
• Strengthening employer support so volunteer firefighters can attend training and respond to emergencies.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal has from the multiyear project on its website. A comprehensive report is expected in early 2027.

The project grew out of a 2019 pilot study in Hancock County. Statewide planning and grant applications began in 2022, followed by statewide surveys in 2025. Contributors included former state fire marshals Joe Thomas and Rich McCarthy and Richard Taylor, a senior research and planning analyst for the state.

The project received funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu