"We went from a bucket to a half-a-million-dollar apparatus," said Micky Fyock, president of the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Association.

Paid and volunteer

Fyock is the chief of Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Co., which recently had to ask the county for two paid staffers to meet the increasing call volumes.

While it was hard to ask for paid personnel, Fyock said the company's top responsibility is to protect residents and help other companies. He considers the two paid staffers great assets.

"They are the nucleus of my department," Fyock said. "They are the two things I am depending on."

It has been difficult to recruit new volunteers. Two of the company's top 10 responders died last year.

"You can't replace these people," Fyock said. "The volunteer is a second career. Most volunteers have a career. The time (training) takes is a second career you don't get paid for -- only in self-satisfaction."

Doug Orner, chief of the county's Bureau of Volunteer and Human Resources Services, said the county is having some difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill positions such as deputy chiefs.

The county has about 3,000 volunteers, but only 700 to 800 go on calls for service.

Gene Mellin, director for the county's Division of Fire and Rescue Services, thinks paid and volunteer personnel work well together.

"As with any close relationship where people live in the same house and are passionate about what they do, minor disagreements can be expected from time to time," he said.

"Management personnel, career and volunteer, work to ensure disagreements are resolved quickly and to ensure relationships remain positive and strong. What's most important is that on a daily basis, career and volunteer fire and rescue personnel work together to provide outstanding emergency service to the citizens and visitors of Frederick County."

Of the 30 companies and substations in the county, 22 have some paid staff, Mellin said. The career division has 360 approved uniformed positions. Of those, 312 are available for assignment, 28 are recruits in training, and 20 positions are vacant and frozen.

"As demands for service continue to increase and personal demands result in less time for people to volunteer, it is likely that there will be a need for additional career fire and EMS personnel," Mellin said.

Working together

Independent Hose in Frederick is one of the strongest volunteer companies in the county. Established in 1818, it is the oldest fire company in the state.

The company had 1,200 members in 1927 and could get up to 200 new members at a single meeting, said Marty Fuller, company president.

This year, Independent boasts about 100 operational members, 15 associate members and about 100 life members who assist the company daily.

Call volume is heavy, so several paid personnel man the station during the week.

Independent had 5,600 calls for service in 2008. Fuller said it is not uncommon to have four calls within an hour. Paid and volunteer staff work together.

"We get the job done between the two of us," Fuller said. "We have a good relationship. It works out real well."

The company hired its first paid personnel in 1907 -- two drivers. One was paid $9 a week, and the other got $7.50. An ambulance and additional paid responder were added in 1988.

"We wanted (paid staff) here," Fuller said. "We saw the need."

All-volunteer

The Vigilant Hose Co. celebrates 125 years of service to the Emmitsburg community this year. Vigilant has remained all volunteer since its inception in 1884.

Tim Clarke, the company's public information officer, thinks strong community support has helped the company remain all-volunteer.

Even with increased call volume and paperwork, Vigilant tries not to overload members, Clarke said. Leaders also try to keep the fun in fundraisers and work with members if they are having problems.

"We are a family," Clarke said. "I think that keeps people coming in."

Vigilant has 80-plus members who go on calls and about 100 social members. They average 500 calls for service a year. But as of late February, they had already hit 200 in 2009.

The company does not handle emergency medical calls.

Clarke has noticed an increase in applications recently. He credits the poor economy. Some people are out of work, but want to keep busy in their down time.

With the National Fire Academy and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation just a few miles away, the company is "at center stage in the fire service," Clarke said. Tourists from other states and countries stop by the station, a source of pride for members.

"We are a strong organization," Clarke said. "People like to be a part of that."

The future

Most fire and rescue officials are optimistic about the future of volunteering.

So far, not one county in the state has all paid staff running calls, Jewell said.

"I do not see the death of the volunteers," Jewell said.

The future will require changes for paid and volunteer personnel.

"Change is not easy," Jewell said. "We have to look at what is best for the citizens, what is best for the people we serve. I think we can work together well."

Career firefighters and volunteers have a good working relationship, Orner said.

"The volunteers can't do without the career (firefighters) and the career can't do without the volunteers," Orner said. "There will always be a need for the volunteers to play a role in the fire service of Frederick County. There is no doubt in my mind É they truly love what they do. They aren't looking for a paycheck."

A thank-you or a smile is their reward, Orner said.

With a bad economy and counties going into debt, communities will count on volunteers, said Frank Underwood, president of the Maryland State Firemen's Association. Volunteer fire companies save taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

"Municipalities can't afford what it would cost to have a fully paid staff," Underwood said. "There will always be a need for some sort of volunteers."

Kimberly Ettinger, director of communications for the National Volunteer Fire Council, is hopeful about the future of volunteering nationally.

Of the 30,500 fire and rescue departments nationwide, 21,600 are all-volunteer companies.

"It has a good foundation," Ettinger said. "We just have to examine how to make it stronger."