By admin 
CAVE CREEK, AZ (AZFamily) — Firefighters continued battling the Kay Fire burning in the Desert Hills area northeast of Cave Creek, attacking the flames from the ground and the air.
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The wildfire was estimated at 40 acres and is one of several burning across Arizona. Fire officials said crews were on scene within minutes of the fire sparking Monday.
Among the first to respond: volunteers with the Tonto Hills Volunteer Fire Department—people whose day jobs don’t typically include fighting wildfires.
“There’s a lot to remember,” said Merrilee Edwards, as she fired up a brush truck outside the station. Each step, she said, is precise and has been passed down for years. “I learned it from previous firefighters that were here,” Edwards said. “Once you do it a couple of times, it’s pretty easy.”
Edwards is one of about 20 volunteers on the crew, alongside Chuck Stoltz and Ann DiChiara, among others. None of them planned on firefighting as a career.
“I’m a real estate agent,” Edwards said.
“So on the weekends I would be here training with the team, and then during the week I’d be playing nurse,” DiChiara said.
“Well, I went to school as a geologist,” Stoltz said.
The crew said there’s a common misconception about volunteer firefighters.
“I think they’re under the assumption that all of us were firefighters and that we know everything about it,” DiChiara said. “But we’re always up.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, nearly 70% of firefighters nationwide are volunteers. And despite the term “volunteer,” the Tonto Hills crew said they are often a community’s first line of defense—especially in rural areas where other departments may have longer response times.
On Monday afternoon, when the Kay Fire sparked northeast of Cave Creek, the call went out.
“I was in Goodwill in Scottsdale,” Edwards said. “But we want to be there to help people.”
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Edwards said nearby resources can take longer to arrive. “Rural Metro, which is in Carefree, would take 15 to 20 minutes,” she said.
The volunteers train regularly so they can respond day or night.
“We’re always ready for a call,” DiChiara said. “And so we trained with the Forest Service and manuals, and we learned how to operate a truck.”
The department’s members bring different skill sets to the team, DiChiara said, adding that everyone contributes in some way.
Because they are volunteers, the department relies heavily on donations, and resources can be limited.
“We need protective gear for our firefighters because we operate on just donations,” DiChiara said.
Still, the crew said the work is worth it—for the people they serve.
The department is equipped with a side-by-side utility vehicle and a brush truck, and members train twice a month to stay ready for the next call, no matter where they are.
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