In a new episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie interviews Chief Brian Reilly of the Sisterdale Fire Department, who challenges the narrative that volunteerism is dying and predicts a renaissance for rural volunteer firefighting. The episode, published September 28, 2026, marks 50 years of the Sisterdale Fire Department and launches a three-part series on the future of volunteer firefighting in the Texas Hill Country.
Reilly, who also works as a data analyst, argues that rural departments fail when they copy the career fire service model. He told McKenzie, "The problem with the career model is that it basically says if you're not everything, you're nothing. You are playing a game that you cannot win." Instead, Sisterdale rebuilt its bylaws around community membership rather than responder status, a shift that Reilly says helps recruit and retain volunteers in an era of virtual pets, AI chatbots, and Facebook friendships. He added, "The simple fact is your virtual pet, your AI chatbot, your Facebook friends aren't going to cut you out of the car in the ditch at 3 in the morning. They can't. They're not there."
The chief's argument carries weight: 70 percent of America's firefighters serve as volunteers. Sisterdale's origin traces to founding chief Bill Whitworth, who in 1975 rallied neighbors around a 1956 GMC 2.5-ton military transport truck converted by the Forest Service into a brush rig. Fifty years later, the department leverages the professional depth of its volunteers, including social media lead Ashley Taylor, IT professionals, irrigation specialists, land-clearing operators, phone-company linemen, Reilly himself, and even a PhD in emergency management. Reilly recounted the year-long, community-facing process behind the 2018 purchase of a new fire engine, arguing that if he cannot explain the decision to an 8-year-old or a neighbor, he does not understand it well enough himself.
The implications extend beyond one department. As rural areas struggle to staff emergency services, Sisterdale's approach offers a replicable model for other volunteer departments: prioritize community engagement over rigid responder requirements and build a team that trusts one another. Reilly contends that a B-team that trusts one another will outperform a roster of specialists every time. That insight could influence how small-town departments across the country recruit and organize, potentially reversing the decline in volunteerism that national media often highlight.
The public can support Sisterdale's volunteers at the 49th Annual Hunters Supper & Firearms Raffle on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the William "Bill" Whitworth Fire Station, 1207 Sisterdale Rd., Boerne. Supper includes BBQ plates, a Cajun shrimp dinner and homemade desserts, and the raffle drawing is at 8:30 p.m. This year's featured prize is a 2026 Special Edition Custom Sisterdale VFD Henry 30-30 rifle, along with firearms, scopes, knives and more. Tickets are $10, winners don't need to be present, and firearm winners must complete the transfer through a licensed FFL. Proceeds support the gear, equipment and day-to-day needs that keep the station and its volunteers ready, including a new covered bay. Tickets and the full prize list are available on the department's Hunters Supper & Raffle page.
The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard, with subsequent installments in the Sisterdale series releasing in the coming weeks. The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, profiles the people, businesses, and institutions shaping communities across the Lone Star State. The show is sponsored by Chisos Boots.
