Most of us work, some of us are retired, and a few of us are students. Some of us have been here since the department began. Some of us have been here only a short time. We're moms and dads, students and teachers, office and factory workers, dental assistants and emergency medical technicians, business owners and construction workers, secretaries and clerks. All of us are volunteers, but when we're serving our community as members of Marlow Volunteer Fire Department, we work hard, and we work as a team - because without us, our community has no fire protection.

Every month each of us contributes several hours to make sure our department is ready to help whenever you call. This is how we use those hours:

Responding to Calls	35 hours per month (average)
Basic Training	6 hours per month
Advanced Training	6 hours per month (average)
Equipment Maintenance	3 hours per month

Administrative Meetings	6 hours per month
Administrative Tasks	7 hours per month

Administrative Meetings	6 hours per month
Secretarial & Bookkeeping	12 hours per month

Fundraising	2 hours per month (average)
Membership Meetings	3 hours per month
Care of Building/ Grounds	2 hours per month

As you can see, all members contribute an average of 7 hours per month. With the additional 50 hours for Firefighters/First Responders, the majority of our members are giving 57 hours each month. Responsibilities of officers and directors push that total to 70 hours per month.

Sound like a lot of time? You're right. It is. But we think your safety is worth every hour we give!

Unless you've called us for help, your only experience with out fire department may be hearing our sirens, seeing our flashing lights, and pulling over to allow us to pass. Ever wonder where we're going?

Sometimes we're heading to a fire. It may be a structure fire, woodland fire, a car fire, or simply a false alarm. We're sometimes answering a call to a traffic accident to rescue trapped victims, attend to injuries, clean up a chemical spill, and protect everyone from the possibility of a fire or explosion.

We may be headed out to answer a call for assistance from another emergency agency in Anderson County or an outlying volunteer department. Our Rehab Unit, a step van stocked with bottled water, juice, coffee and snacks to provide relief to firefighters and other emergency personnel during long hours of duty, is the only such unit in the area and is often called out by other departments.

Many times you don't see us. We're on our way in our personal vehicles to help someone who is ill or hurt. We're not just Firefighters. Many of us are First Responders, trained to assist the ambulance service in delivering emergency medical care.