Volunteer firefighters are also in shortage in mine country. We have also seen a decline in firefighters. Although the reason isn't because the volunteers need to work more hours to make enough money. The economy is still OK here. The problem here is that most people are working much further away from there homes. This means many fire stations have a lack of firefighters during the day. Also many people have to stop, because being a volunteer firefighters is like a part-time job, but without a decent pay. It's really hard on them and there families, to continue.

As for budget cuts, well they are also trying to cut costs here. Some are made by centrally organising things, like maintenance, buying equipment, training, etc. Which is not necessary bad, but some are also done by shutting fire stations down...

As for fire extinguishers, don't forget to mention fire blankets. They can be very effective, are simple to use and leaves a lot less mess.