Madison – Representative Shae Sortwell (R-Gibson) released the following statement in response to the Assembly passing his legislation supporting volunteer firefighters:
“Roughly 92% of Wisconsin fire departments are volunteer or mostly volunteer. Unfortunately, these departments have faced waning membership for decades. It is not an easy task for prospective and current volunteers to dedicate their time and money to serve, notably to pay for their own education/training.”
“The legislature has made multiple attempts in the last decade to fix this problem, but no policy was able to get broad support. My office has worked with various firefighter organizations and departments in my district for the last few years to find a different angle on policy that would move through the legislature. With that, I introduced Assembly Bill 187 / Senate Bill 186 this session, which creates a financial incentive to serve a volunteer department by providing a stipend to cover training time. Volunteers could receive up to $500.”
“Today, the Assembly unanimously supported this legislation on the floor after receiving bipartisan votes in committee. I appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for coming together to advocate for volunteer firefighters and departments. There is no silver bullet to completely fix low volunteer numbers, but this legislation is a step in the right direction to maintain quality public safety around the state.”
Representative Sortwell is available for comment.
