The Woodbury Fire Department is calling on town residents to volunteer as officials say the department is dangerously low on members.

Woodbury has about 15 active volunteers responding to calls 24-7.

Officials say there are typically 100 volunteers among the ranks, but that those numbers have dropped to dangerously low levels in recent years.

"As the numbers dwindle, we have no choice but to then go to maybe a paid department and what happens then is the taxes increase. And people don't understand that it's free right now for the most part, but it'll become a lot more expensive if we have to go that route," says Chris Burke, of the Woodbury Fire Department.

There are state incentives to becoming a volunteer firefighter including property tax breaks, tuition reimbursement and retirement benefits.