Despite ranking well in the nation in overall volunteerism, North Dakota is 47th in the U.S. in firefighting capability.

Most North Dakota fire departments are made up of volunteers, but that number choosing to take on firefighting is dwindling. Recently, departments in North Dakota have traveled to other towns to help in emergencies, which doesn't help in the event that the town they're traveling from has an emergency.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has given the state $2.1 million to be distributed over the next four years in hopes of putting an ad campaign together for recruitment and retention of the current firefighters.

Home insurance costs in North Dakota have also increased, due to longer response times and lack of staffing in local fire departments.

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