The Influences on the Decline of Volunteer Firefighters by David Greene

This article reviews extant literature and identifies influences upon volunteer firefighters in the United States. The research examines Maslow’s Emergent Theory of Altruism and Self-interest to determine if altruism alone is sufficient to maintain existing and recruit new volunteer firefighters. The paper examines relationships between influences affecting volunteer firefighters.  This paper improves fire  service managers’ understandings of each influence.  In order to determine the magnitude of each influence, this paper recommends further research.