OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. - Assistant Chief Kevin Parker has been serving in fire departments across the country for 38 years. Like most in his department at South Oldham, he is also a volunteer.

“Whether it’s a car accident, whether it’s a fire, the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment you get from helping people is incomparable,” Parker said. “You can’t compare it to anything else.”

Despite the name, volunteer fire fighters do get paid, though usually only for time spent out on a call. So, like most volunteers, Parker has a day job; as general manager for a dental supply company.

There are fewer clenched teeth when his crews arrive on scene, but he says he has fewer colleagues to work with than in years past.

“In small towns, it used to be, you’d have a lot of blue-collar workers, for example,” Parker continued, standing next to a South Oldham tanker in an expansive firehouse. “The siren goes off or whatever the case might be - they could leave their jobs and go. And, in today’s world that’s just not the case.”

Numbers are down, and Parker says we would find shortages at volunteer departments statewide. In fact, they’re down among towns across the country.

Captain Chris Haunz of nearby Pewee Valley Fire agrees. “I think it’s the dynamics of the population,” Haunz said, echoing Parker’s thoughts on a 21st century workforce. A Pewee Valley volunteer since 1990, Haunz somehow manages two “day jobs” when not answering fire calls: he’s also a realtor and serves as a magistrate in Oldham County. He says late-night runs aren’t always wanted, but they’re always responded to.

“You feel good about yourself because of what you’ve done, you’ve made a difference,” He said. “You know, if you’re not trying you’re not making a difference. And all these folks here are here to make a difference.”

Larry Potter with the Kentucky Fire Commission confirmed to Spectrum News 1 there are certainly statewide shortages. He says Kentucky has created junior firefighter programs to help with recruitment, and he says potential solutions could include tax incentives to make it more financially enticing to give time. For now, departments like South Oldham and Pewee Valley will keep answering the call, and Haunz says families are still safe.

“I think, currently, we’re holding our own,” he said. “But there’s always that worry about the future.”