Last week Anthon, Iowa's volunteer ambulance squad announced that it could disappear unless more volunteers step up, but this isn't just an issue in rural Woodbury County. It's a national problem.

What if you called 911 and nobody came? It could be a reality with the current lack of money and volunteers that many small communities are facing, but now they're coming together to try to find a long-term solution to a decades old problem.

Gary Brown of Woodbury County Emergency Management says there's many hurdles that keep volunteers from stepping up. Not only is being a volunteer EMT a time consuming, unpaid job, it also takes hours to get certified, and then continuing education once you are certified.

Brown says volunteers are over-regulated, sometimes with rules that are 30 years out of date, and for potential volunteers those regulations can be a deterrent.

"We're all busier, there's a lot going on everyday in everybody's world; children, family, work, careers, trying to pay the bills. We've got less people coming into the system," said Brown. "Most of the people you'll meet that are in EMS today are 50 plus, especially in the rural area."

Many communities, such as South Sioux City just recently, have started hiring some full-time members to their squads. Brown says finding funding for a paid squad in every small town would be near impossible.

He says paying a transport ambulance service for the county might be necessary given the high cost of keeping ambulances in each community, but would still require volunteers to act as first responders.

He says a lack of funds is the main hurdle.

"In Iowa, no one owns EMS. No one is responsible to provide to you emergency medical services, not the township trustees, not the cities, not the counties," said Brown. "It's a service that we provide, but we're not required to do it. And when we're not required to do it, there's no taxing authority by which to do it, so there's no way to pay the costs."

Brown says local communities will need to start working with elected officials in counties and at the state level to change regulations and find a feasible solution. A task force will present their problems to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors at their next meeting.

The Anthon rescue squad has received a couple calls from potential volunteers since the meetings last week. More will be needed, though.

If you'd like to volunteer in your community, contact your local squad.