Firefighters: Fewer Fires, More Calls, and the Changing Economics of Emergency Response

Eric McIntosh still remembers the hottest fire he ever fought. It was inside a country store in Half Moon Bay, California. "My helmet melted," he recalls. The crew pulled people out early, then the building collapsed and the fire turned defensive—meaning they set up water cannons pumping a thousand gallons a minute. It took nearly a hundred firefighters and twenty-five trucks to extinguish the blaze. The two-story structure burned to the ground, leaving only charred canned goods and cowboy boots. No one was hurt. And despite the heat and danger, McIntosh says there was something exhilarating about it: "The adrenaline's rolling, your training that you've worked so hard for, you were able to put into play. You hate to say it, but you feel great."

That's the storybook version of firefighting. In reality, such dramatic feats are becoming rare. Thanks to stricter building codes, fire-retardant materials, sprinklers, and public education, the number of fires has plummeted—down more than 40% over three decades. Yet the number of salaried firefighters has kept growing. The reason: firefighters have quietly become the nation's emergency medical first responders.

From Bucket Brigades to Million-Dollar Engines