Sisterdale Fire Chief: Volunteerism Is Primed for a Renaissance

The latest episode of The Building Texas Show, titled The Power of Community: Sisterdale Fire Department, hosted by Justin McKenzie, launches a three-part series on the future of volunteer firefighting in the Texas Hill Country. Published September 28, 2026, the conversation with Chief Brian Reilly marks 50 years of the Sisterdale Fire Department and challenges a prevailing narrative in national media that volunteerism is dying. With 70 percent of America's firefighters serving as volunteers, Reilly makes the case that rural departments are actually primed for a renaissance if they are willing to evolve.

The episode digs into the specific realities of running a small-town department in Kendall County, Texas, and the strategic choices that separate thriving crews from struggling ones. Listeners can expect three central threads: why copying the career fire service model sets rural volunteer departments up to fail; how Sisterdale rebuilt its bylaws around community membership rather than responder status; and what it takes to recruit and retain volunteers in an era of virtual pets, AI chatbots, and Facebook friendships. Reilly is blunt about the psychological pull of real-world work in an increasingly digital age: "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." He also rejects the commodity mindset of academy-trained career departments, telling 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." The chief argues that a B-team that trusts one another will outperform a roster of specialists every time.

The conversation traces Sisterdale's origin back 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 leans on the professional depth of its volunteers: social media lead Ashley Taylor, IT professionals, irrigation specialists, land-clearing operators, phone-company linemen, a data analyst (Reilly himself), and even a PhD in emergency management. Reilly recounts 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 department will host its 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 on the department's Hunters Supper & Raffle page. The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, profiles the people, businesses, and institutions shaping communities across the Lone Star State. From volunteer fire chiefs to entrepreneurs and civic builders, each weekly episode captures the grit and vision behind Texas life. The show is sponsored by Chisos Boots. The episode is available now wherever podcasts are heard, with subsequent installments in the Sisterdale series releasing in the coming weeks.