11/13/2025
This hits close to home. There was a reason Petra Martin started Whidbey CareNet, a nonprofit that helped volunteers get resources to help them with that "burnout." Volunteers are roughly 80% of the US fire service.
A poor term, "burnout." I had my own after 16 years and I assure you, once it was properly named, "burnout" wasn't it. Raise Your resilience rose from it's ashes, and while it was Carenet, we thought it's be beneficial to be duplicable for places like Cornersville. No EAP, no HR department, no staff help of any kind for responding to the residents' worst days 24/7. Which means you go to the fatal car accidents, suicides, heart attacks, fires, and so on of the people who you know.
Way beyond burnout.
I finally stepped away from my service in 2015 to focus on healing. A tough choice, and sometimes I miss the service. This is what it is coming to in many places.
https://www.firerescue1.com/volunteer-fire-service/its-best-we-all-step-away-tenn-fire-chief-entire-volunteer-fire-department-resign?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawOCzIpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEesEVhrC-NXBf1cYsxUyhlctevZhWfk9T3pJMhdsYSd26ENvezbbMCjrVJFME_aem_K0kdxA-7TndQKyhgB6AZ_A
Former Cornersville Chief Matt Fox and his crew stepped down, citing administrative strain, burnout and funding challenges