Fire department auxiliaries have been around nearly as long as there have been fire departments.

Wives of firefighters would make them coffee, and help them raise money. Today, auxiliaries have changed into a vital part of a fire department.

Auxiliaries are typically made up of women, but men can join as well. In the past, auxiliary members were just the wives of the firefighters. Now auxiliary members also come from the community.

Auxiliaries are in charge of raising money for the fire departments and helping firefighters when needed.

Here are three of the many auxiliaries in Butler County that work to support fire departments.

The auxiliary of the Sugarcreek Volunteer Fire Department has about 20 members. They do not go to fire calls, but they help clean up at the hall and make coffee for the firefighters, if needed."We just go and do what we have to do," said auxiliary president Karen Earley.Their fund-raising events include preparing dinners, sponsoring rummage sales, hosting weddings, and selling Easter eggs.The Easter egg sales are the biggest fund raiser for the auxiliary. Auxiliary members make the eggs, which are chocolate, and come in many flavors including cherry, nut, maple nut, coconut, and peanut butter. Orders are placed for the eggs, and the auxiliary typically sells around 1,000 eggs.

The auxiliary of the North Washington Volunteer Fire Department has about 30 members.Their fund-raising events include banquets at the fire hall, weddings at the hall, a roast beef dinner every February, the annual sportsmen's night, fish dinners during Lent, auctions, and the annual North Washington VFD Rodeo.At the rodeo, the auxiliary is in charge of serving meals. They serve breakfast from 8 to 10 a.m., lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m., and dinner from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Cooking begins in the morning for all three meals, and dinner is often worked on throughout the day. There are normally around 30 volunteers to help with the meals.Auxiliary president Peg Hortent is proud of the support the auxiliary gets."We never have any problem getting volunteers," Hortent said, "They're all special."

The auxiliary of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Department has 25 members.Most of the members are older, and four of the charter members are still active in the organization."We could use some younger members," said Carol Zitsman, auxiliary president.The auxiliary hosts weddings and banquets, serves fish dinners on Wednesdays during Lent, participates in the Saxonburg Arts Festival in the borough, and has a lunch stand in the annual week-long Saxonburg fireman's carnival. It also serves funeral dinners for members of the department or auxiliary.The auxiliary serves a steak and shrimp dinner for the department every year and presents it with a check from the funds it has raised during the year. This year, the auxiliary gave the department $12,000.The Saxonburg auxiliary's main fund-raising events are the fish dinners during Lent. The firefighters also have fish dinners in October.Many people from surrounding communities also attend the annual Saxonburg carnival, which is a great fund-raising event since it draws people from all over Butler County and surrounding counties.