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Wash. scrambles to fix volunteer firefighter shortage

The County relies on volunteers to not only save thousands of dollars every year, but keep people in the community safe

KERPRtv.com

BENTON COUNTY, Wash. — It’s at times like this that the need for volunteer firefighters is so important--- especially when you consider the numbers. Benton County still needs 40 more volunteer firefighters to help fight the flames this year.

Derek Holtmann comes from a family of firefighters. It’s what inspired him to become a volunteer firefighter with Benton County. “Just being little, young, growing up in a fire-oriented family-I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he says.

All it took was news of firefighter shortage and Derek signed up in no time. “When I got here to Tri-Cities, I was looking for that niche and I wanted to give back to the community,” he added.

Full story: Volunteer firefighters put to the test