Cogs, if there weren’t volunteers (especially in combodepartments) then there would be more paid Firefighter positions. That would mean that many of theseVolunteers would have a paid FF career that they may be seeking. At your full-time career do people comein and do your job for free? Volunteers are good at soup kitchens and other charitable organizations,but in my opinion volunteers do not help the fire service especially incommunities in this area where people pay high taxes. They should be entitled to a professional response when theycall 911.