If the Guelph Fire Department decides it wants live music in the future at its charity events, such as the fire department calendar release, fashion show and Hallowe'en haunted house, it won't have to look far.

Two local firefighters, along with a couple from Hamilton and Maryhill, have formed a band called Full Turnout, which is putting the finishing touches on its first CD.

The band plays "edgy pop/rock," says Matt Krusky, a Guelph fire department captain and rhythm guitar player who wrote most the 14 songs on the CD.

"It started out as a hobby," says Dean Curtis, a bass guitar player and acting captain with the local fire department. But after getting encouraging comments, they thought, "why not put it out on CD and see what it will do?" he says.

None of the songs has anything to do with firefighting, but the name of the band does. "Full turnout" is a term commonly used in the fire department for an alarm response that requires everyone in a fire hall to respond.

Neither Krusky, 43, nor Curtis, 35, have been in a band before, but the other two members of Full Turnout do have band experience. One is Grant Halsey of the Hamilton Fire Department, a singer. The other is drummer Pete Zettle, a Maryhill firefighter.

The band is still looking for a lead/rhythm guitar player for the live performing they hope to do, starting with a CD release party once the CD called "Perfect Neverending" comes out in a few weeks. "We're still in the mixing stage" with the CD, Curtis says.

A band made up of firefighters faces certain logistical challenges. "It gets a little dicey getting all of us together to play, because of different shifts," says Krusky.

However, a band made up of firefighters also attracts attention, like a calendar made up of photos of firefighters. And the various charity events involving firefighters would be a natural place for them to perform live shows, they say.

The band is on Facebook and has its own website (www.fullturnout.com), where people will be able to listen to songs from the CD and find out where the band will perform.

They're hoping the CD sells well enough to recoup the cost of recording it at a Guelph recording studio, Revelation Sound, and to make a bit of money for charity.

"But if it becomes bigger than that, then that's all gravy," says Curtis. "We'd obviously love to get some radio play out of the songs."