STANWOOD, Iowa (KCRG) - Iowa firefighters are wearing expired safety equipment, putting their lives at risk in an emergency.

92% of the fire departments in Iowa are made up of volunteers. Mostly in smaller rural towns. Our i9 investigation found that many smaller volunteer fire departments simply don’t have the money to keep up with the increasingly expensive equipment.

The 614 people who call Stanwood home rely on Fire Chief Dakota Adams for help. Keeping his community safe is something he’s taken pride in for the last ten years.

“Being able to be there on someone’s worst day of their life, whether it’s losing their car in a car accident or losing their house in a structure fire,” said Chief Adams.

His department typically responds to around 50 calls a year. When a call comes in, 15 v

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