Building and Retaining a Volunteer Fire Department

Building and Retaining a Volunteer Fire Department

July 21, 2026 · 1h 27m · Episode 2326

About this episode

The episode discusses strategies for building and sustaining a professional rural volunteer fire department.

In episode 100 of The Professional Volunteer Fire Department, host Tom Merrill speaks with Brandon Fletcher, chief of the Gilt Edge (TN) Fire Department, about building and sustaining a professional rural volunteer department. They discuss practical leadership, recruiting and retaining younger members, holding people accountable, and in-house and hybrid training. Fletcher shares how small departments can improve response times, develop training pathways, and ways to prioritize quality over roster size.

People in this episode

Host: Tom Merrill

Guest: Brandon Fletcher

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gilt Edge Fire Department

Places: Tennessee

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