As he crawled on the floor through the burning McRorie Paint and Wallcovering store – which had become so pitchblack that he couldn’t see his own glove in front of his face – volunteer firefighter Joshua Bain likely asked himself more than once what he was doing there.

 “I was scared,” said Bain, 25. “I was going through all my training I could think of.”

 The June 22, 2006, fire at the paint store was the worst fire Bain said he had ever experienced in his six years of service as a Glynn County volunteer firefighter.

 “It was extremely hot,” he said.

 Ten minutes after he and another volunteer firefighter sprayed water at the blaze, the ceiling fell down onto where they had been standing.

 Exactly what possesses a regular citizen with a full-time job or a college student with a full course load to devote their energy and risk their lives to become an unpaid volunteer firefighter is a question Bain said he often gets asked.

 “I wanted to do more in the community,” he says in response.

 A safety coordinator for a human resource company and admitted adrenaline junky, Bain’s answer is not that uncommon among the other 45 county volunteer firefighters and rehab volunteers.

 “I think a lot of them say to help out and give back to the community,” said Joe Combs, 40, a 13-year volunteer firefighter veteran who serves as volunteer firefighter chief.

 “Some do it for fun and excitement. They like the idea of doing something a little risky and out of the ordinary like someone who mountain climbs or scuba dives.”

 When not fighting fires, volunteers work in construction, insurance, heating and air conditioning and health care to name a few professions, said Combs, who himself works for an architect.

 “It’s not a group that caters to one group of society, we take anyone who meets requirements,” he said.

 Those requirements include completion of basic firefighting training, passing a background and criminal history check, having a valid driver’s license and living in Glynn County.

 “Once they get their training they can assist career firefighters in all firefighter duties,” said Glynn County Fire Department Deputy Chief Ray Marat.

 While career firefighters are trained to handle hazardous materials, teach fire safety, fight wildland fires and have the ability to make initial fire assessments, volunteers are not.

 “They have basic training that would not qualify them for certification, but it would to fight a fire,” Marat said of volunteers.

 Once they become firefighters, volunteers must continue to train regularly to keep their skills sharpened and learn how to use new types of equipment. They must also attend weekly meetings.

 The Glynn County Fire Department has two volunteer firefighter divisions – the St. Simons Island division and the Ballard volunteer division on the mainland.

 Ryan Long, 21, has worked for the Ballard Volunteer Fire Department for three years.

 “I love it,” said Long, adding that he has wanted to be a firefighter since he was a child.

 Long said his mother often jokes that if she had known he would work so hard to become a volunteer firefighter that she would have encouraged him to shoot for the White House.

 An Air Force reservist and student at Valdosta State University, Long said the experiences that he and his fellow volunteer firefighters often go through can sometimes impact other areas of their lives.

 “Sometimes our family and co-workers don’t understand why we’re upset,” he said of the sometimes tragic experiences the volunteers encounter during their service.

 Those who do understand, though, are career firefighters.

 Bain said the volunteers have a good relationship with career firefighters, particularly given that many of them started out as volunteers.

 “It’s a lot like a brotherhood,” said Bain.