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The majority of Ohio's volunteer fire departments are staffed by volunteers. While the number of volunteers is decreasing, the number of calls those departments have to respond to is increasing.

This week, we've been exploring the problems plaguing Ohio's volunteer firefighter system in our series "Sound the Alarm." Many of the state's volunteer firefighters follow a family member into service and continue passing down a culture of volunteerism.

Ohio’s volunteer firefighting system depends on the sacrifice of aging, underpaid and overworked Ohioans who serve their communities out of pride.

When many Ohioans call 911, the people who show up to help in their darkest hours are volunteers, armed with as little as 36 hours of training and often tasked with fighting bigger fires with fewer people than career departments.

Ohio volunteer fire departments are funded through local levies. That forces small rural communities to rely on shoestring budgets to keep their communities safe.

¾«¶«Ó°Òµ reporters examined how volunteer fire departments across Ohio are run and how those departments often deal with staffing shortages and financial challenges.

With increased service calls, decreased recruitment and higher fatalities than the rest of the country, Ohio officials are sounding the alarm on the volunteer firefighter crisis.

We've spent more than a year digging into the challenges facing Ohio's volunteer firefighters. What we found affects much more of the state than you might think. "Sound the Alarm: Ohio's Volunteer Firefighter Crisis" will appear on line and on the air on 89.7 WKSU beginning Monday.