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Volunteers at rural fire stations in Prince George's County say the economic downturn has hurt recruitment at the same time demand for services in their communities is rising.

Fire officials said recruitment has grown tougher throughout the county. The unemployed are using their spare time to look for work, while many employed individuals are taking on second jobs. Neither scenario leaves much time for volunteering.

But volunteers at the Brandywine and Baden volunteer fire departments and the Volunteer Marine Fire and Rescue in Baden — the only three located within the rural tier in the southeastern part of the county — said they are feeling strapped for firefighters and medics as the need for services escalates in developing areas that were once farmland.

"As the area is evolving, our call volume is going up, and it's noticeable," said Ernie Daniels, a volunteer at the Brandywine station since 2005.

According to Brandywine station records, the number of calls has increased by about 400 calls annually since 2005. In 2008, the station received about 3,000 calls.

Tony Hall, president of the Baden volunteer department, said that when he joined the station 44 years ago, they would take 100 calls annually. Today, the station gets more than 100 calls in a month. The ranks of volunteers have doubled since he joined, Hall said, but it hasn't grown enough to keep up with demand.

With "more houses, developments, you're running more calls," Hall said.

Recruiting can be especially hard in the rural tier, where there are fewer residents to pull from, said Janet Demeritt, District 5 commissioner with the Prince George's County Fire Commission.

Demeritt, who also volunteers at the county's two Marine Fire and Rescue stations, contrasted the ease of recruiting at the Fort Washington station with the difficulty she has recruiting in Baden.

"I can recruit at the Fort Washington station because I have densely populated neighborhoods ... I have many ways to tap in," she said.

While development is bringing more people to the rural tier — and potentially a larger pool of volunteers — newcomers often do not know volunteer departments exist or have yet to develop the close ties to the community that work as an incentive for longtime residents, Daniels said.

Other challenges facing recruiters countywide include longer military deployments abroad, as military bases are a regular source of recruits, less interest in volunteering among young people, and the time commitment of several hundred hours required for certification, she added.

Although a record 200 volunteer applications were filed in August and September — 585 applications were filed during all of 2008 — stations in more populated areas received the largest share of those, said Vince Harrison, vice chairman of the fire commission.

The three rural tier stations share response duties with career firefighters employed by the county, but budget cuts and employee furloughs have meant more work this year for volunteers, said Brandywine department President Jeff Beavers.

At the Brandywine station, there are 10 active-duty volunteer emergency responders and 24 career firefighters and medics. Combined, Beavers said, they make up the "minimum staffing" needed to meet the needs of the station's primary response area, which is about 35 square miles.

The Baden department has 37 active-duty volunteers and four career firefighters and medics, not enough to cover the station's first-due area of more than 50 square miles, Hall said. None of the career firefighters are on-duty for night shifts, which can be harder to fill since many volunteers have full-time jobs during the day, he added.

Hall said he has received a handful of applications in the last six months, which he attributes to a recruitment push through the mail and aggressive advertising.

Beavers and Hall say they could each use at least 10 more volunteer firefighters and medics. Demeritt said the Marine Fire and Rescue, which responds to water-related accidents throughout the county, could also use about 10 more volunteers, on top of the existing 10 to 15 they have now.

"It would help because we could be able to respond to more things at once," Beavers said.

County Fire Chief Eugene Jones is working with fire stations on recruitment strategies, said department spokesman Mark Brady. Jones hosted a conference on volunteer recruitment in June.

Despite the time commitment and safety risks, most volunteers say the benefits — lifelong friends, a sense of purpose, stake in the community — outweigh any hardships.

"I'm here to serve my friends, family and neighbors," said Ernie Daniels, whose grandfather was a charter member of the Brandywine department in 1955. "It's a family."