Three hundred seventy‐two volunteer firefighters from fifteen all‐volunteer departments in a five county area in central Virginia were administered a questionnaire which examined commitment and other attitudinal and demographic variables. The correlation coefficient between number of years a volunteer firefighter and age was. 77. Seventy‐five percent (273) of firefighters had seldom or never considered quitting their role. Seventy‐five percent indicated that over half of their close friends were fellow volunteer firefighters. Sixty‐seven percent responded that being a member of the fire department was of equal or greater importance than church membership. Theoretically it is plausible that the primary group rewards experienced by firefighters as members of communal organizations accounted for the high level of commitment. An empirical example of Smith's (1981) concept of pure volunteers is