Like it or not, and most won't, many communities can expect over the next decade to have a policy debate about how to provide fire protection and the best and fairest way to pay for it. Some of our communities are already having that discussion.

Many volunteer fire departments in the region face a challenge of finding enough volunteers. The system of volunteer fire companies serving small communities emerged during a very different time. Most people worked in the towns where they lived. The communities were socially distinct and fire departments were often a central part of those social units.

Today, few residents work in the towns where they live. When an alarm sounds during the day a volunteer (or would-be volunteer) is likely to be working a sizable commute away.

With so many entertainment options and the decline of fraternal organizations, volunteer fire companies are playing a smaller role in the social life of their communities. And while volunteer firefighting is often a tradition passed down through generations, it will not help a department if that younger generation has moved elsewhere for job opportunities.

Finally, the training requirements are far more stringent than in past generations. While the department or municipality will typically pay the expenses, the training is a substantial commitment that can discourage potential volunteers.

Municipalities are responding with incentives to attract and keep volunteer firefighters, including tax abatements, pensions and stipends for responding to calls. Yet even with these incentives, recruitment remains a challenge for most, leading departments to more readily respond to fires and other emergencies in neighboring districts and towns under mutual aid agreements, an effort to assure staff shortages do not endanger safety.

These new realities should create a corresponding discussion of how firefighting is organized and funded. If it is in the collective interest of a municipality to provide incentives to make sure its volunteer departments are staffed, shouldn't the cost of those incentives be paid through town-wide taxation, not taxes charged by individual fire districts? In some communities, should there be fewer, but better staffed fire companies? With long traditions, fire companies will not easily pass into history. It is an emotional debate, but it is one many local towns will eventually face.

Then there is the role of the paid departments that work alongside volunteer companies in some communities, with debates now going on in Norwich and Groton.

In Norwich, property owners in the City Consolidated District pay a substantial added tax of 7.39 mills to fund the Norwich Fire Department, the only paid department in the city. There are good reasons to have a paid, full-time firefighting force protecting that area. It is the most densely developed and among the oldest sections of the city. Quick response can prevent a fire from spreading from a building to a neighborhood. The City Hall, library and other public service agencies are located in the district.

But is it fair to so heavily tax the property in this area for fire service? We don't think so. It is in the interest of all the citizens of Norwich that the downtown and surrounding neighborhoods are adequately protected and so they should all share in the costs. Plus, this high special tax is a hindrance to redevelopment efforts, which is also not in the interest of the whole community.

A Charter Revision Commission in Norwich is now discussing whether to recommend changing the tax system. Not surprisingly, the five volunteer departments serving districts elsewhere in the city oppose change. Property owners in those fire districts pay an added tax of only .49 mills, which covers modest pension plans and worker's compensation.

In Groton, it is the Poquonnock Bridge Fire District that is the center of controversy. As in Norwich, it is a paid department, surrounded by volunteer companies, but with a responsibility to protect most of the public buildings in the town, densely developed neighborhoods and a large amount of commercial property. The tax rate is 5.9 mills and would be higher if not for cutbacks, including layoffs, which have reduced staffing to questionable levels.

Our region's fire protection system, built piecemeal over generations, rich in tradition, and adverse to change, may have to eventually do just that - change.