Volunteer fire departments serve our communities daily, but due to the coronavirus pandemic and the nature of their revenue stream, the long term sustainability of volunteer fire departments is now in question.

Fire truck loans, building expenses and gas are a few of the main costs for fire companies. 

The main sources of income for volunteer fire departments are through hosting bingo, renting out social halls, ambulance fees and donations.

The belle valley fire department typically generates 2,000 dollars a week from bingo and social hall rentals. That source of income has been completely eliminated during stay at home orders.

For companies like the McKean Hose Company, a large part of their revenue comes from ambulance fees but emergency calls for ambulances have been down as well. 

The case with all sources of income is that fire departments won't understand how much their revenue has been effected until the end of the year.