Burning Questions: Assessing the Needs of the Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department

The Union Grove-Yorkville Fire Department (UGYFD) is staffed primarily by volunteer members who receive compensation only when called in to respond to a call or for time spent on training and education. Due to their paid-on-call staffing model, the UGYFD is struggling to maintain services in the face of increasing call volumes and difficulty recruiting and retaining volunteers. This report evaluates the department's current service and staffing model and challenges that have emerged. It also compares UGYFD's staffing, spending, and response capacity to those of six peer departments.