of the 4,000 Canadian fire departments

3,500 are volunteer?  127,000 Canadians are volunteer firefighters.  80% of Canadian soil is protected by volunteer departments.

This week marks the launch of the 2012 FireFighters fundraising Calendar. My son's picture made the back cover.

The St. Paul volunteer fire department responded to 118 calls in 2010, from traffic collisions to structure fires to alarm bells to grass fires.

Visit www.firefighters1st.com Purchase a calendar. Learn more fun facts about firefighting. Peruse the awesome gallery of photos--maybe even buy one.