There is little glory in what they do, and recognition is rare. But without them, there is so much in the city that could never be accomplished.

They are the public safety volunteers, and they do everything from making sure that firefighters and SWAT officers have plenty of water on hand and food during long-running incidents, to playing rock 'n' roll tunes at community fairs and parades.

In light of the city's staggering budget woes, Police Chief Anthony Batts told his staff last year he wanted to see the volunteers' ranks increase by 100 in 2004.

That goal was accomplished at the start of the year, and Police Department officials estimate the value of volunteer hours donated to the city, 66,315 hours to be precise, equaled $1 million in savings on salaries and other costs, including overtime.

"In terms of cutting costs, volunteer services was one area the chief felt was largely untapped," said Sgt. David Marander, who heads the department's volunteer services program. "The city is starting to recognize how valuable those hours are, and the Police Department has seen a lot of benefits," for everything from help with crucial criminal investigations to community services.

The Volunteer Police Partner Program is comprised of about 465 people divided among 14 different programs: Advisory Members, the Blue Steel Band, Detective Support, Drags Against Drugs, Event Volunteers, Explorers, Interns, K-9 Association, Mothers' Brigade, Mounted Police, Reserves, Search and Rescue, Senior Police Partners and SWAT volunteers.

Ages range from youth to seniors, and virtually every ethnic group and religious affiliation in the city is represented. None of them, however, get a dime for their efforts.

The top three volunteer hour contributors for 2004 were Detective Support, which logged 13,492 hours; Search and Rescue, with 12,485 hours; and the Reserve program, with 12,485 hours.

Search and Rescue not only carried a heavy load last year, but the city's long-standing youth volunteer program which sees young men and women age 15 to 21 learn the basics of firefighting, police and medical emergency response is about to embark on another milestone.

Long Beach Search and Rescue is working to become state-certified by the California Office of Emergency Services for mid-size disaster response, which would include them among fire departments and professional rescue agencies called out by state officials for disaster relief.

"If we can pull it off, it will be a first," said volunteer instructor and Marine Patrol Officer Joseph Johnson. "It's unheard of for an explorer post, you know a group of teens, to be certified on the level of professional emergency service agencies."

From July 2004 through March 2005, Search and Rescue volunteers have logged more than 21,124 hours for the city, Johnson added.

"Our time is split about 50-50 between the Fire Department and Police Department," Johnson said. "There are more restrictions when we work with the Police Department … when we're working with Fire … we're right in there pulling hoses with them."

The program was the brainchild of Dick Johanson, a former Long Beach Police Department motorcycle officer, and also a former Press-Telegram photographer during the 1940s and '50s. He started the program with the support of the Motor Patrol Association and the Long Beach Firefighters Association in 1962, and to this day he logs more hours than anyone at Search and Rescue, Johnson estimated.

A number of the program's vehicles, which include a 1956 Ford F-500 fire truck with 7,000 original miles that was handed down to the group and glistens with fresh paint and polished chrome, as well as a nearly brand-new 2002 emergency response rig purchased through a local law enforcement block grant, are kept running and looking sharp thanks to Johanson's skill and dedication.

Although many of the volunteers trained by Johanson and other veteran officers and firefighters are only 15, 16 and 17 years-old, Johnson says they are a well-oiled team that never shies from danger.

Girls and boys are recruited from Long Beach high schools, as well as a few campuses in neighboring cities. Volunteers must fill out an application and pass a physical agility test and oral interview. The top scoring candidates are then chosen to fill whatever slots are available and are put through an intensive 18-week academy.

"I just got back from a state resource training seminar and it was a repeat of everything I learned here when I was 15 years old," Johnson said. "Half of this class, most of them are 15 to 17, already know everything they covered at that seminar."

The hands-on experience, and preparation for future jobs in police and fire departments, is invaluable, as is the amount of money the city saves each year on the volunteer's free hours.

The last major fire the Search and Rescue crews worked was a blaze at a Westside vitamin factory in 1999, which caused more than half a million dollars in damage and resulted in three firefighters getting hurt when a portion of the building's roof collapsed.

High schoolers pulled hoses and sprayed water on flames that shot into the sky and blew the doors off the business in the 1300 block of Gaylord Street.

"There's a general rule that if someone ever feels that (he or she) can't handle something, it's too dangerous, they just have to raise their hand and they're out, no questions asked," Johnson said. "I've never seen it happen. They're up for anything."

One out of every four people who graduate from the Search and Rescue program goes on to secure jobs in the public safety sector, either in Long Beach or elsewhere. And the Police and Fire department's top recruits in their last academies were Search and Rescue's top recruits from their graduating classes, Johnson proudly points out.

They've provided support for SWAT teams, answered calls for help following the Northridge Earthquake, have logged countless missing children searches and body searches and are trained to use chain saws to extricate injured motorists and passengers from wrecked cars and to keep traffic flowing around major crime scenes. So far this year, the academy has spent a great many hours helping residents particularly those on the Peninsula prepare for a possible battery of storms and flooding.

"We weren't that well-received at Northridge, they saw a bunch of teenagers and basically told us to wait off to the side and stay out of the way," Johnson recalled. "When it got dark they had to halt their operations, but we have enough power to light up a city block so we set up our flood lights and they were able to get back to work. We got a lot more respect after that."