The beautiful portraits by Ian Spanier are a wonderful homage to volunteer firefighters, showing with grace and elegance the men who get up when the alarm sounds. As Spanier states in the opening of his book, Local Heroes, "Firefighters are the unsung local heroes of every community." The portraits below are a sampling of the work by Spanier, while his book provides a more in-depth look into their lives with the lively text of Marek Fuchs .

Daniel Mansdrof started as a member of the Hastings, N.Y., Volunteer Fire Department as soon as he turned 18, and later joined the Charleston, S.C., fire department.

Gruff and stubborn, Charles G. "Jerry" Saeger of the Hastings, N.Y., fire department turned in more years of distinguished service as captain and later chairman, an administrative post, than anyone could easily count.

Will Webster is a volunteer firefighter at the Sparta Fire Department in Georgia.

Former Chief Robert C. Allison, of the Sparta Fire Department, has a reputation for fearlessness.

Former Chief Mario Chapple, of the Sparta Fire Department, was the first black firefighter to join the Georgian department.

Devoris Lamar, of the Sparta Fire Department, became a firefighter after a fire destroyed his family's home.

John Petas, a member of the Hastings Volunteer Fire Department, works as the firehouse treasurer.

Chris DiBenedetto works as a firefighter in New York City and as a volunteers for the Hastings Volunteer Fire Department.

Marek Fuchs, of the Hastings Volunteer Fire Department, also wrote the test of Local Heroes.

More work by Ian Spanier can be seen on his website, www.ianspanier.com. More information about the Local Heroes project can be seen here on Tumblr.