Communities around the province are voicing their concerns over a difficulty in recruiting new members for volunteer fire departments.

In the Town of Bishop’s Falls, they’re offering to pay stipends and cover expenses. Yet the membership is continuing to decline. Mayor Bryan King says even though there are already federal and provincial tax breaks, more needs to be done by both levels of government to recruit those new members.

He says part of the problem has been the high number of people who live in the province, but work elsewhere. He says while many people think the job may be demanding on their time, they do try and provide a good work-life balance.