F is for My Fireman

When it comes to my fireman, I'm not clowning around. 

Out here in the sticks, firefighters don't get paid.

• Of the 1.15 million firefighters in the United States, 812,150 are volunteers

And according to this, they drive VW's and paint their noses red and run around the rodeo. 

• 94 percent of volunteer firefighters serve communities with fewer than 25,000 residents

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Our volunteer department is a group of men and women who would drop anything to come to your aid. I know this because I've lived on the side of the road before. I've heard the pager go off at 2 am and seen my man run out the door with EMT kit in hand. I've seen his face when he lost someone to a car crash. He's seen what a drunk driver can do. Can do to a mini van. To an arm. To a soul. 

I've smelled the smell of blood and death when my man came home at 4 am. 

• 86 percent of fire departments are all or mostly volunteer; they protect 39 percent of the population

We don't live on the side of the road now. We live up in the sticks. It's not likely that it will be Adventure Man coming to the rescue if there was a call tonight. It would take him 30 minutes to get to town. But he's pulled people out of the snow. And he's helped guests a time or two. 

• Volunteer firefighters save local communities $37.2 billion per year in taxes

He trains with them all. He's worked on forest fires. 

And controlled burns that aren't so controlled. 

And they're getting a grass truck out here.

• 72 U.S. firefighters died in the line of duty in 2010; 44 were volunteers

They are starting up the search and rescue team in the area again.

He'll be on that. He'll be good at that. 

• There are 21,235 all volunteer and 4,830 mostly volunteer fire departments in the United States

They're all good men and women. No matter where they are. 

And out here, "They haven't lost a foundation yet."

Facts from here. Pictures by Adventure Man