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By Galen C. McBride
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Each fire chief answered the question the same way. If it was a perfect world, we asked, and you could have anything you wanted, anything at all, what would you ask for?
“A perfect world,” they said, considering. “Anything?”
Anything at all.
“Volunteers. We need volunteers.” Not money, not fame, not glory. Just active, committed volunteers.
Rappahannock County fire departments are in crisis — a volunteer crisis.
A look at county demographics reveals startling changes over the past 20-30 years. Rappahannock is one of the few counties in the state to "experience a net population loss in the last census and the "trend continues. The young people are leaving, forced out by the spiraling cost of land and no major industries to provide comparable income.
With the younger genera' tion goes the promise of future children to carry on traditions. Among the hardest hit are the fire and rescue companies who depend on a fresh crop of strong young people to take over from their parents.
“Firefighting is a young person’s game,” observed
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