They get the call in the middle of supper and run out the door. They’re woken in the dead of sleep to rush to others’ aid. Most of them volunteer to have their daily lives disrupted with no notice, some of them are paid, but they were all honored recently at Beaufort County Fire and EMS Associations awards banquet.

“To me, it’s important to honor Fire and EMS,” said Crystal Marriner, vice president of Beaufort County EMS Association and president of Beaufort County Fire Association. “We see people at their worst and this is just our way of saying ‘Job well done,’ and giving them a pat on the back. … You have people who are doing a normal job during the day and still stepping up afterwards. Unfortunately, 911 doesn’t stop on Christmas Day; it doesn’t stop on the Fourth of July.”

The yearly awards banquet is the Fire and EMS associations’ way of thanking those who serve — a crew of people who are often not thanked by those whom they serve, Marriner said.

Awarded Beaufort County Firemen of the Year were James Smith, Chocowinity Fire Department; Paul Woolard, Bath Fire Department; Ryan Hopkins, Pamlico Beach Fire Department; Kenny Wayne Jefferson, Sidney Fire Department; Jeffrey Nixon, Pantego Fire Department; and Ronnie Jay James, Clarks Neck Fire Department. Beaufort County Volunteer EMTs of the Year went to Kimberly Bissette, Pinetown EMS/Rescue, and Kenny Jones, Aurora EMS. Beaufort County Paid EMTs of the Year were awarded to Douglas Bissette, Chocowinity EMS, and Scott Allen, Aurora EMS.

The only paid fire department in Beaufort County is the Washington Fire Department — the other 14 are manned by volunteer firefighters, Marriner pointed out. Three EMS squads in the county are also all-volunteer: Pamlico Beach EMS, Pinetown EMS/Rescue and Bath EMS.

Marriner said volunteering with emergency services is often a family tradition — her own grandmother founded Bath EMS and Marriner grew up with her example, as well as that of other family members.

“You go to any department in this county and ask them how they got into it, more than half would tell you, ‘Oh, my dad was in it,” or “My granddad was the fire chief at so and so,’” Marriner said.

She explained that one of the most valuable aspects of volunteer services is the proximity between volunteers and those they serve.

“They’re volunteering in the community they grew up in. So they’re going to know the people they’re helping,” she said.

In one case, the future of that relationship is at risk, as Beaufort County’s Emergency Management office has indicated, in an effort to redistribute call volume and cut expenses, the volunteer EMS stations may be either closed, or relocated “to better serve the community.”

But according to the volunteers, closure of Pamlico Beach EMS, Bath EMS and Pinetown EMS/Rescue may do the opposite, creating a gap of service on the north side of the river, leaving the paid squads of White Oak EMS and Broad Creek EMS to split all the calls in the area.

“It’s going to increase their call volume even more — they’ll have to hire more people, and buy more equipment,” Marriner said. “When it comes down to it, you’re going to need those people to be there — if it’s 3 a.m., you’re going to need that contingency of volunteers. … It’s time for the county to jump on board and support the volunteers because they’re going to need them. And that goes for EMS and firefighters.”