"The good thing is you're working with a bunch of folks that have the same goals."
He said they didn't get callouts often but when they did it would be a rush to help.
"When the initial call goes, we might only have one or two in the truck and the rest get there when they can because it is a voluntary organisation," he said.
"The sooner we get there, the sooner we can do something. We haven't got the gear to handle big fires but we can contain them for a little while."
Simmons said he was proud of the service his team offered and that volunteers were essential to fire safety in the region.
Hawke's Bay principal rural fire officer Trevor Mitchell said around 300 people volunteered for about 26 rural fire stations in the region.
Mitchell said even though they were volunteers, training was still a big commitment for the variety of roles they performed.
"They do a lot of work in reducing the number of fires in their communities and they also help out with any civil defence emergencies we have."
Mitchell said he knew how valuable volunteers like Joe and his team were.
"We are just totally reliant on the goodwill of these people and the commitment they've got for their communities," he said.
"These are people that are very community-focused and want to provide a service to help out their community."