Discussion at a recent Warren County Council of Governments meeting about volunteer firefighting equipment being unavailable because there were no firefighters to man it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.

We’ve been writing about shortage of EMTs in volunteer fire departments for long enough that the handwriting may not have been on the wall for volunteers being able to fight fires – but they had taken the cap off of their red magic marker.

Now, the handwriting is on the wall.

Ken McCorrison, Warren County public safety director, recently told Council of Governments members that some county volunteer fire departments are taking apparatus out of service during the day on weekdays due to staffing. It hasn’t happened before, McCorrison said, while Paul Pascuzzi, council chairman, said it was “kind of a shock to be honest with you.”

There are many reasons why we don’t have enough volunteer EMTs and firefighters – an aging population, additional training regulations that most people don’t have the time or money to pursue, jobs that need their employees to be working instead of responding to fire alarms and a plain, old lack of interest.

It’s worth noting some three volunteer fire departments in neighboring Chautauqua County are merging in an attempt to bolster their individual ranks and man equipment that they might not have the manpower to staff otherwise. It’s an option worth looking at as a stopgap here while permanent solutions are discussed.

As Pascuzzi said, the thought of a delay in response when a fire is burning “should resonate with everyone in the room.”

It should resonate throughout the county. Tough talks need to start happening — now.