NATCHEZ — Adams County wants to find ways to get those who sign up to be volunteer firefighters more engaged.

While the county has a 10-year fire protection agreement with the City of Natchez’s fire department, volunteer fire departments also respond to fires outside — and inside — the city limits. Several volunteer fire chiefs have recently said that while the county has a number of very dedicated volunteers, many of those who agree to work with the organizations never show up to a fire.

“We are getting the numbers, but the numbers are not doing us any good if they are not showing up,” County Fire Coordinator Darryl Smith said. “With the new ones, we have to get them to the scene.”

This week, members of the board of supervisors charged Smith with finding a way to get those who sign up more engaged.

“What we are doing is not working,” Supervisor David Carter said. “We have got to find some way to get those guys active.”

Carter said he has been to several fires and thought there were enough volunteers, but noted that the chiefs said they need more.

Smith said often members of the community turn up to help volunteers at the scene of a fire, to which Carter responded, “When we have needed members, we might not have the greatest turnout, but we have always had enough.”

Smith said those who have signed up receive messages and calls about fires when they are dispatched.

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell suggested Smith work with county officials to develop some kind of incentive program for volunteer firefighters.

“(The incentive program) can motivate them to come out, and to benefit from that that incentive you have to put out some kind of volunteer hours and attend training,” he said.

Grennell likewise suggested Smith look at other volunteer organizations for a template of how to keep volunteers active.

“Some organizations say you have to put forward so many volunteer hours to be able to be a member, so you can’t list it on your resume if you don’t do it,” he said.

Many of the problem fires with low turnout happen during the day when people are at work, and Supervisor Mike Lazarus suggested seeing if members of the county road crew were willing to join a volunteer department.

“If some of (County Road Manager Robbie Dollar’s) guys are volunteers, that is a job where the boss might let them go,” he said. “They are employees of the county, and that would be a good excuse, to let them go fight a fire.”

Supervisor Calvin Butler likewise suggested Smith reach out to retired firefighters in the area to see if they might be willing to help out.