A couple of weeks ago, a member of my staff on his way to work in an ice storm skidded off the road, hit a boulder and the guard rail. Glass shattered, airbags deployed, and he and his 3-year-old were shaken up.

 It's happened to a lot of us at one time or another. We all know it can be stressful - and sometimes scary.

 The emergency medical technicians who checked them out were volunteers. So were the fire police who routed traffic around the wreck. And a fire engine filled with volunteers drove by to make sure nobody was trapped and no fires were burning.

 Nobody was hurt, thank heaven, and the mess was cleaned up quickly. But I'm glad volunteers were around to make sure everything was OK.

 What would life be like if fire departments didn't have enough volunteers to respond to emergencies? Not good, that's for sure.

 That's why, after a Request-for-Proposal process, I secured three $5,000 grants to help fire departments recruit and retain volunteers. They went to:

• Apalachin Volunteer Fire Department. They'll use the money to advertise on radio and TV, maybe billboards, and to promote recruitment at a variety of community events;

• Conklin Volunteer Fire Department. They'll use the money to recruit and support non-traditional volunteers - people who might not be able to respond to an emergency, but can maintain equipment and grounds or provide support in other means that allows the emergency responders to more efficiently use their volunteer time; and

• Owego Southside Volunteer Fire Department. They're going to use much of the grant to provide incentives to volunteer, through honors, prizes and awards to volunteers for their continued and extra service.