Whiteville Fire Department struggles with staff shortages and lack of volunteers
Volunteer shortage impacts fire department By Zach Solon | February 25, 2021 at 3:27 PM EST - Updated February 25 at 7:40 PM
WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) - The Whiteville Fire Department continues to battle a staffing shortage. In their January 2021 report to city council, the department said they are averaging just 6.6 personnel per structural incident; the National Fire Protection Association requirement is 14 firefighters.
The department consists of some full-time personnel and other paid, on-call volunteers. Whiteville Fire Chief David Yergeau says the lack of staff is not as much of an issue for initial response to incidents as it is to handle every task necessary when dealing with a structure fire.