Dike Fire Department calls for volunteers

DIKE - During a time when fire departments across the country are dealing with staffing shortages, rural volunteer fire departments - like the Dike Fire Department - are being hit even harder. According to FEMA, 71 percent of the nation’s firefighters are volunteers, and in Iowa, 90 percent are volunteers. In Dike, the department is 100 percent volunteer run.
 
Currently, the department has 19 volunteer members who cover not only the city of Dike, but also a collection of rural communities that contract fire protection services from the department, including: Fairfield, Grant, Beaver and part of Lincoln Townships, as well as the Dietrich Mobile Home Park. The department takes on anywhere from 100 to 120 calls a year, and provides mutual aid to other departments when called upon.
 
According to Fire Chief Marv Geiken, calls are only continuing to go up, meaning the department needs more volunteers to help meet the increase in need.
 
In a post on their Facebook page, the Dike Fire Department reached out to the community to ask for volunteers with all types of backgrounds.
 
“Your community needs more volunteers. We need you,” the post reads. “Volunteers with all types of skills and abilities are needed. The Dike Fire Department needs volunteers with various backgrounds in business, accounting, nursing and medical, law enforcement, mechanics, construction, computers, and fundraising. Whatever your background, we have a place for you. Volunteer Firefighting and Emergency Medicine are two of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities you will ever have. The skills you will learn as a volunteer on the department are invaluable.”
 
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