Mike Hancock, chief of the Walls Fire Department, told DeSoto Appeal reporter William C. Bayne if 100 new volunteers stepped up, there would be a place for every one of them. About 185 to 200 volunteers protect property in areas not served by the county's four largest cities. That is down from a peak of 300 to 400 volunteers, according to Bobby Storey, director of Emergency Services for DeSoto County government.

Volunteer firefighters are the stuff of legend in literature and the movies - deservingly so, we might add, because they put their personal safety on the line for free every time they answer an alarm. For their job safety and the safety of the homes, schools, businesses and day care centers they protect, we hope Storey and Hancock find all the volunteers they need.

In the long-range picture, however, Storey and the fast-growing county's elected leaders should not take their eyes off the prize of having paid firefighters staff the volunteer fire companies. Storey issued an alarm back in the spring, asking government officials to strongly consider going to paid firefighters.

Residents need assurance that their lives are fully protected 24 hours a day. That cannot be guaranteed when volunteers are at work or a long way from the station house when an alarm comes in.

The reality is that volunteer departments were fine before DeSoto's fields and wooded areas started becoming subdivisions, commercial areas and new interstate highways. With all due respect to the dedicated volunteers, though, the volunteer departments are not fine now.

DeSoto is not a rural county anymore.

Written by Commercial Appeal