The emergency pager woke Donald and Shirley MacLean about 2 a.m. on a recent Sunday. Within minutes, they had dressed and driven the short, familiar route to the fire station in downtown Bel Air.

From there, he rode the ladder truck to a two-alarm fire at an industrial park in Forest Hill. She soon followed with freshly brewed coffee and iced sodas for the firefighters battling the blaze.

Once crews had the fire under control, he checked equipment. She returned to the firehouse and made breakfast for several dozen volunteers. It was mid-morning before they returned home.

For the more than half-century that these septuagenarians have served together in the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Co., their response to emergencies has not wavered.

"There is still a thrill about working a fire," said Donald MacLean, a volunteer firefighter for 55 of his 76 years. "It's never routine, not humdrum by any means. It all boils down to wanting to help."

His 72-year-old wife joined the ladies auxiliary soon after their marriage 51 years ago.

"We have spent a lot of our time here, helping in any way we can," she said. "It has meant a lot of missed dinners and family time, but I have not minded. This has always been part of our lives."

Donald MacLean has answered more than 35,420 calls, about 75 percent of the calls in the past 55 years. Early last month, he surpassed the record of 35,416 set by Millard Purcell, who died at 88 in 2004 after giving 65 years to the fire service, officials said. With typical modesty, MacLean underplays the accomplishment.

"We maybe had 100 calls a year in the early '50s," he said.

There were about 2,200 last year.

Many in this 130-member company - Harford County's busiest - respectfully call him "Chief," even though he has not officially held the title for years.

"This has always been a proud fire company, and I have always been proud to make it work," said MacLean, the third generation of his family to volunteer at the Bel Air station.

He served as chief officer for 30 years and chief of the department for 16 years, a tenure that is second only to that of his grandfather, T. Frank MacLean, who held the title for 20 years until 1923.

"There's a lot of responsibility," he said. "The chief is in charge of all the firefighters. He sees to the training, updates the equipment and tries to keep everybody safe."

Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County firefighters and emergency service workers, said Donald MacLean stands out as a model for his community.

"His is a commanding presence," said Gardiner, who recalled how MacLean helped initiate him into the company decades ago. "He has deservedly earned the respect of the fire service in Harford County and across the state of Maryland. As a chief officer, Donald was always assertive, decisive, objective, a quick-thinker and most notably calm under pressure.

"If he told you to do something, you did it," Gardiner said. "If you made a mistake, he told you right away how to fix it."

MacLean, who trained as a mechanic at his father's car dealership, eventually took over as the Bel Air station's maintenance engineer. He retired from that job 10 years ago, but remains "on call," said Ray Belcher, who holds the job now and calls his predecessor "the backbone of this company."

"Donald taught me the ropes," Belcher said. "He did it all - fixed the trucks, drove them and rode on them. He would work on an engine all night to get it back into service. He is the epitome of dedication, and nothing rattles him. I know, if I need a hand, he will help me."

Maintaining the company's historic 1939 Mack pumper truck is a favorite pastime for MacLean, who drove the vehicle until it was retired in the mid-1970s. He still drives the Mack in parades. MacLean frequently checks the maintenance board with its list of equipment problems and often handles repairs.

Paul Sterling, president of the Maryland State Firemen's Association, which represents 377 volunteer fire and rescue companies, called MacLean "a model and an inspiration."

Sterling said that association members are traveling throughout the state, gathering videotaped recollections of longtime volunteers.

"Just listening to their stories is incredible," Sterling said. "We have a 96-year-old in Centreville who still wears a pager on his hip. He can't go to fires anymore, but he contributes."

MacLean is another "real example to follow," Sterling said.

"We sadly don't have the level of longevity that we used to because of all the demands that life today puts on us," Sterling said. "But we can say to young volunteers, if this man can do it, you can do it, too."

The demands of working families, with hectic schedules, lengthy daily commutes to jobs and child-rearing leave little time to volunteer, let alone fulfill rigorous training requirements, Sterling said.

The greatest challenge facing volunteer fire companies is recruiting and retaining volunteers, MacLean said.

"We can get them, but getting them to stay long enough to be of value is hard," MacLean said.

Once the three MacLean children were grown, Shirley MacLean worked as a loan processor but continued volunteering - organizing suppers, bingos and other fundraisers. When the company replaced those events with a mail-in campaign for donations, she took on much of the paperwork.

In retirement, the MacLeans have cut back their volunteer hours and have indulged their fondness for travel. They have been to all 50 states, Europe and Australia.

"Of course, we have checked out firehouses everywhere," she said. "We can't help it."

Her husband added, "I haven't seen anything to compare to Bel Air's."

Unless they are off on a trip, they frequently stop by the station on Hickory Street. With the emergency scanner broadcasting at home, they keep abreast of what's happening a few blocks away.

Donald MacLean still answers most alarms.

"I try to make the early morning ones, because most volunteers are going to work then," he said. "I can't be so quick anymore. But if I miss the first engine, I hang around and go out with the second or third."

His wife added, "Nowadays, we drop in and see if there is anything we can do. I don't think we will ever retire. There will always be something for us to do here."

The MacLean family tradition continues into a fourth generation. Among those battling that blaze in Forest Hill earlier this month was their daughter Pamela MacLean, a career firefighter in Baltimore County, who happened to be off-duty that night.

"She will be retiring from Baltimore County soon, but I know for sure that she will keep volunteering here," said her father.

mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com