MT. ZION, Ill. (WAND) - Many people are kicking off the year strong with New Year's Resolutions.

One resolution local fire departments would love for people to pick up is becoming a volunteer firefighter.

WAND News spoke with Mt. Zion Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Chris Schroth. He said he's in the business of firefighting because he has a heart to serve.

"Just to help people. I love the community that we live in. I like to come help when I can. I had a friend that died when I was in high school and that kind of is what brought me around to coming into fire service, to help people," Schroth explained.

Before working full time for the Mt. Zion Fire Protection District, Schroth served as a volunteer firefighter for more than a decade. Recently, Schroth said he's noticed fewer and fewer firefighters fighting alongside him.

"Right now it appears to us that there's a lot, an extreme shortage on the volunteer side, especially from the smaller departments," Schroth recalled. "We run a lot of mutual aid with Long Creek, South Wheatland Fire Department, South Macon, and we can tell that their numbers are also down."

Schroth said the time commitment is the number one deterrent he can point to that's keeping people from volunteering.

"We understand that now with the time requirements from the state, it's a lot harder for guys to actually just volunteer all the time to get the state certifications. But the state is actually trying to make that easier with offering online classes and stuff like that," Schroth said.

Schroth added if someone has a heart to serve others, the time spent training is worth it to save someone's home or life.

"It's the greatest job in the world. You have good days, you have bad days, more good than bad I would say," Schroth shared. "Something to always remember when you're coming into this is people are calling us on their worst day, so we want to try to make their day better."

Some of the volunteer firefighter training courses can be found online, so they can be completed at a person's own pace. To find those courses, click here.

Schroth said most fire departments require volunteers to live within their department's district. To get more information about each department's training requirements, Schroth said to contact the department directly. 

Of the 29,819 registered fire departments in the country, 65 percent are made up of all volunteers.