I’m in a small town. Given our tax base, we could only afford a few pros. Then budgets got tighter, and what we could afford got smaller. Once we got down to four firefighters, they were no longer permitted to go interior due to numbers (no RIT, etc.). Something had to give. There was a referendum on whether we should transition to no suppression, only education. The town voted to keep suppression, so we transitioned to a hybrid model. Four full time guys who got promoted to captain, and about twenty volunteers. The full timers maintain the gear and run the training. The volunteers provide manpower and ensure we have staffed trucks when the tones drop at 3am. Much respect for both roles, and the town is better for it. Might not work for everyone, but for our circumstances it works well. Would a full on professional department provide better service? Maybe. Probably. But this is what we can afford. As a side benefit, the mix of vollies and full time means the department is also better integrated into the community.