Putting your life on the line to volunteer

Whether it's fire, flood or another natural disaster, the majority of people who are risking their lives to protect you are highly trained and totally unpaid.In fact, 90 per cent of firefighters and the emergency services workforce are volunteers.National Volunteer Week is upon us, which raises some bigger questions: how sustainable is a critical system that relies so heavily on unpaid labour, and should they be paid for the work they do?