LEWIS -- It's not unusual, when the fire siren and pagers go off, to see people in their 50s, 60s and even older race to the fire house to clamber aboard the trucks.

Some area volunteer fire departments, such as Keene Valley, have plenty of younger recruits, but they seem to be an exception.

Out of the 23 active members at the Lewis Fire Department, 12 are more than 50 years of age, and only four are in their 20s.

Lewis Fire Commissioner Don Huntley knows his fire district is not alone in having many older members.

"Like a lot of small fire companies, recruitment and the retention of members is a difficult thing."

"One of the biggest reasons for not volunteering is that people are more involved with other things," said Huntley, adding that some fire departments have hired firefighters just to cover the day shifts.

"We're fortunate that we have some members that work for the town (of Lewis) that can help during the day."

Much has changed in volunteer fire departments over the years, particularly the equipment and the intensive training. When many of the older firefighters came aboard, it was literally baptism by fire.

"It's hard to recruit firefighters and have them all meet the requirements and do all of the training," Huntley said.

The Elizabethtown Fire Department has a similar situation, as half of their 30 members are at least 50 years old.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Frank Cooper, who fits that category, said he joined the Elizabethtown Department just to help out and keep busy.

Ron Dubay of Lewis remembers his first taste of firefighting, when he lived in Keene Valley almost 40 years ago.

"The house next door burned. It was like the Keystone Cops. I thought there must be a better way. Within a year, they had training.

"Today, it's a lot more work and no pay. It's (about) your pride and helping the community," he said.