04/19/2026
Earlier today a local volunteer firefighter, Chris Gerace posted the following to one of our local Facebook Groups. We are, with his approval, reposting his thoughts here:
“ It was recently brought to my attention that a resident in our community was very critical—and even sarcastic—about the response time to their emergency.
Let me start by saying this: Thank you to all the dedicated members of our volunteer fire departments.
To our residents, please keep something in mind—we are all volunteers. And in an emergency, time will always feel longer to the person waiting for help than it actually is.
When you call 911, there is a process. A call taker gathers your information and enters it into the system. A dispatcher then receives it and sends the call out. Depending on the situation, that alone can take 30 seconds to a minute or more.
From there, the call activates our pager system. With changes in technology, many volunteers now receive alerts via text, which can sometimes cause additional delays. Once we receive the call, we stop whatever we are doing—whether we’re at dinner, asleep, at work, at our kids’ events, or in the middle of daily life—and respond to the firehouse.
Even in the best-case scenario, it takes time. We grab our keys, get dressed, drive—safely—to the station, gear up, assemble a full crew (as required by the state), and then respond to the call. We serve a community that spans over 45 square miles. Distance alone is a factor.
And remember—no one is sitting at the firehouse waiting for a call. We come from everywhere.
Volunteering itself is becoming less common, especially in the fire service. The training requirements continue to grow, annual training requirements must be maintained, and the time commitment is significant. Many of us have been doing this for decades.
Personally, I’ve been a volunteer firefighter for nearly 40 years. I’m tired. Like many others, I would love to step back—but the reality is, our community still needs us. We do not have a police department, so there is no way we will have a paid fire department first. Our families understand the drive we have to serve, and they make the sacrifice. They know that when the pager goes off, we could be gone for 30 minutes or several hours. They go on with their lives and look forward to us catching up after.
There’s also something else to consider. The average person may experience 3–5 traumatic events in their lifetime. First responders often experience dozens to hundreds over the course of their service.
So maybe next time, start with two simple words: Thank you.
Thank you for stopping what you were doing to respond to my emergency.
Thank you for the hundreds of hours of training.
Thank you for cleaning and maintaining the equipment our tax dollars provide.
Thank you for leaving your family, your sleep, and your comfort behind.
Thank you for being one of the very few—roughly 2 out of every 1,000 Americans—who choose to serve in this way.
If you’ve never seen it firsthand, stop by the firehouse on a Monday night. See the work being done. Drop off a treat. Shake a hand. Or better yet—consider filling out an application.
At the very least, be grateful that in a time of need, someone is willing to answer the call.”
Chris is just one example of our local volunteer Firefighters. He was, accurately, expressing the feelings many of our unsung heroes feel. Yet, the next time the call come in…yep, he and his fellow volunteers will be there for us!
THANKS Chris and the rest of your colleagues!
