[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 87 (Monday, June 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE VOLUNTEER FIGHTERS OF VERMONT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 27, 2005

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, there are over 800,000 volunteer 
firefighters in the United States. Of the 30,000 fire departments in 
the United States, two thirds are entirely made up of volunteers--
21,761 companies. Another 5,271 companies are mostly made up of 
volunteers.
  In my own state of Vermont there are 246 small towns--and 244 fire 
departments. Five of them are in large cities, where there first 
responders are full time, paid firefighters. Vermont has 265 paid 
firefighters--all brave and dedicated men and women.
  But in rural Vermont, dotted with small cities and smaller towns, 
there is often neither the population base nor the budget to support 
full-time firefighters. But thousands of remarkable men and women step 
into the breech, giving generously of their time and energy and 
commitment to make sure our residences, our businesses, our farms, our 
towns, are safe. Vermont, with a population of about 620,000, has an 
astonishing 6,235 volunteer firefighters. Just over one person in every 
hundred who lives in our largely rural state has devoted himself or 
herself to protecting the community in which they live.
  These first responders are models for people across our entire nation 
of what commitment to one's neighbor looks like. Every day they 
demonstrate, in good weather and bad, in sweltering summer heat when 
their boots and coats are like ovens, and in the depths of winter when 
the temperature goes to 25 below and frostbite threatens, that they are 
willing to put their lives on the line to protect the lives of others.
  Our nation was built by people who were as concerned about their 
neighbors as they were about their own interests. It has been sustained 
by brave men and women who love their country, their community, their 
neighbors and family, as much as they love life itself. And that 
tradition of service and bravery continues in Vermont. I proudly 
celebrate, today, the remarkable volunteer firefighters of Vermont. We 
all owe them a debt of gratitude: They are among the great unsung 
heroes of our times.

                          ____________________