Low wages are driving firefighters away from Russia’s Emergencies Ministry. Lawmakers have backed a bill to fill the vacancies with conscripts.

The State Duma of Russia has passed a bill that would allow conscripts to serve in the military units of the Emergencies Ministry's Federal Fire Service. This move aims to tackle the "existing staffing shortage" faced by the service, which currently operates only in closed and federal territories, as well as at high-priority and high-security facilities.

The bill would expand their area of responsibility to include firefighting and rescue operations in ordinary towns, villages, and civilian facilities, as well as in armed conflict zones. However, conscripts serving in these firefighting units would be barred from being deployed to the "special military operation" zone or regions under a counterterrorism operation regime.

The bill was first introduced in February by Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov, who first spoke about plans to assign conscripts to serve as firefighters to address the issue of personnel exodus caused by low wages. The Interior Ministry and the Federal Penitentiary Service have also reported staffing shortages, which have worsened during the Russia–Ukraine war.

Many individuals who would have joined these agencies have now been signing contracts with the Defense Ministry, as fighting in the war offers better pay. The Russia–Ukraine war has led to drone attacks on oil facilities, warehouses, and data centers across Russia, often resulting in major fires.