DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Local fire departments are having a hard time recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters. Some departments are fully volunteer, but even combined fire stations need those extra hands after work hours.

"Without people coming here to volunteer, there's nobody to respond to emergencies in our communities," said Long Creek Fire Chief Stephen Webb.

"We only had six people that applied, and out of the six, only one of them ended up staying actually to do it. We put out a special application period for a couple of weeks," Webb said.

They are currently looking for more. They said the explanation for the dip in numbers could be the pandemic. They often get people saying they do not have enough time.

"It's not just a couple hours a month, it's ... probably 40 or 50 hours a month that you'd have to spend on here," Webb said. 

As one volunteer shares, the workload can work with a full time job. He is an EMT with Decatur Ambulance and has volunteered with Long Creek for three years.

"When the people that normally show up ... can't show up, the people that don't normally show up, show up," Sean Stone said.

He said it all works out  in the end. The reason he started volunteering is from a personal experience.

"I was in a really bad motorcycle accident in 2014 and took a lot of people to help me. So I just want to help other people," Stone said.

State leaders are proposing Senate Bill 3027, which would give emergency volunteers a $500 dollar tax credit. Stone says that could help.

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