SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- Volunteer fire departments are calling for action from the state legislature to help combat recruitment and retention issues.
Many volunteer fire departments across the state hard pressed to meet the needs of a growing area.
"Calls are constantly going up every single year but the revenue is staying about the same," Greg Hocker, president of the Millville Fire Department, said.
That's why fire departments across Sussex County are calling for more resources as the state enters another legislative session
"About half of our budget comes from government. It is very important that we make sure we are funded correctly and get the funding we need to operate I mean it costs a lot of money to operate and buy fire trucks and equipment," Executive Manager of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter Association Norman "Jay" Jones said.
With every single department in southern Delaware being volunteer based, many are looking to lawmakers for benefits like tuition reimbursement or tax credits to maintain a full staff. Other departments turning to more innovative ways of bringing in volunteers.
"We have a morale program where we do all kinds of different family things to try get families involved with the fire company and we have gym members for our folks and different kinds of things like that," Warren Jones said
The town of Millville is working to let volunteers live in their building to encourage more people to join.
Some said they are relying on legislators to bring in funding to help them.
"The money has been staying the same the whole entire time for the most part and fire departments are really suffering," Hocker said.