Things are different these days, but Carlisle has an ace up his sleeve.

He calls them his AARP crew, although the five members of the group have nothing official to do with the association of older people.

They only qualify because of their age.

The five are sort of Fairview Twp.'s Marines, first to arrive at the "battleground."

"The younger guys all work during the day. These guys are retired. They're often the first ones at the fire, and sometimes they put it out all by themselves," Carlisle said.

Pennsylvania had 300,000 volunteer firefighters in 1976. It has 72,000 today, according to The Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute.

Nationwide, volunteers make up 73 percent of all firefighters. In Pennsylvania, they make up 96 percent.