When a fire call comes in across much of Nebraska, the people responding often leave work, family time or sleep to help their neighbors.
Volunteer firefighters are the backbone of the state’s emergency response system, fire officials say, providing coverage in communities where a paid fire department is either limited or does not exist.
According to the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office, the state has 478 fire departments and 17,218 firefighters. Of those firefighters, 15,419 are unpaid, 1,491 are paid and 308 are paid per call.
The numbers show how heavily Nebraska depends on volunteers. The state lists 449 all-volunteer departments, 23 combination paid-and-volunteer departments and six all-paid departments. Statewide, there are 575 fire stations.
“Here in Nebraska, the vast majority of fire departments and firefighters as well are volunteers,” said Cory Schmidt, chief of the Grand Island Fire Department. “They’re a vital part of our system. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Grand Island is one of the few paid departments in Nebraska. Even there, Schmidt said the relationship with surrounding volunteer departments is constant.
“We have a very good working relationship with the surrounding departments,” Schmidt said. “And even if you want to talk about our EMS service, Grand Island Fire covers all of Hall County with the exception of Wood River. And when our folks are going out to those county medical calls, we’re often working with the volunteers of the surrounding agencies, and we count on them.”
In Alliance, Fire Chief Troy Shoemaker said a small core of paid professionals could not provide the same level of service without volunteers. His agency is one of about two dozen using a hybrid model with a few professionals but mostly volunteers.
“We truly couldn’t provide the service for the community of Alliance if it wasn’t for the volunteers,” Shoemaker said. “They are truly the labor force for us.”
That means the first people on scene might be a crop consultant, a small business owner, a rancher or a banker — people whose day jobs have nothing to do with fire until suddenly they do.
“Probably the best part of it is the community, serving your community, being there when somebody needs help,” said Bill Grossnicklaus, fire chief in Oxford.
Grossnicklaus said service still means something in small towns, where fire departments may be one of the last institutions residents see as distinctly their own.
“A lot of these towns, they’ve lost their high schools, they’ve lost their hospitals, they’ve lost all their things that used to have your name on the side of them,” Grossnicklaus said. “The one thing they still have is a fire department that has your town’s name on it.”
For Philip Schroeder of Miller, that service is personal.
“Whether it’s family or even not, friends, we’ve all grown up together,” Schroeder said. “Obviously, we all know each other. And anytime you can help your neighbor out, it’s a good day.”
Trevor Munster of Cozad said firefighters occupy a place in the community that goes beyond the emergency itself.
“Kids look up to you all the time. The community looks up to you,” Munster said. “And it just takes a full circle to make it work.”
That full circle includes families, employers and volunteers themselves, all making sacrifices so the system holds together. Munster’s day job is with a local agricultural business that sells and services grain bins and grain-handling equipment.
Many of Grand Island’s professional firefighters also volunteer on their days off in communities like Aurora and St. Paul, Schmidt said.
“Those volunteers especially are sacrificing a lot of personal time, which is often limited because people are busy, to go out there and serve the community at all hours of the day and night,” Schmidt said.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office says emergency responders are called out at all hours to extinguish fires, respond to vehicle crashes and hazardous-material incidents, provide rescue and ambulance services, search for missing people and perform other services as needed.
Fire departments also have reporting responsibilities. State law requires departments to submit reports on fires in their jurisdictions. Nebraska is participating in the National Emergency Response Information System, or NERIS, which replaced the National Fire Incident Reporting System in August 2025. The State Fire Marshal’s Office says the data can help departments with grant applications and requests for equipment and apparatus.
Departments also are required to issue burn permits under state law and review public fireworks display permit applications.
Across Nebraska, officials say that sacrifice is what keeps the fire service going. But departments also say finding enough people willing to make it is getting harder. At the recent Nebraska State Fire School, that concern hung over training sessions and hallway conversations. If volunteers are the backbone of the system, the next question is whether there will be enough of them in the future.
This is the first part of a five-part series. In part two, we will learn how departments are reviewing their policies to cast a broader net and increase the pool of volunteers.