Among the shock and disbelief in Florence, N.S., of two volunteer firefighters being charged with multiple counts of arson, there is an overwhelming outpouring of support for their fire department.

Florence Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dave Julian says words of encouragement have been pouring in from across the continent for the department’s staff.

"I actually just came from breakfast and I had a woman come to our table, and she shook my hand,” said Julian. “Said she knows it's just the two of them and not the whole department."

Stephen Tremblett, 49, of North Sydney is facing 13 charges of arson. James Clayton MacDonald, 24, of Bras d'Or is facing 16 charges of arson.

Phone calls of support have been coming in from fire departments across Canada and the United States.

Julian says public reaction could have been a lot different.

"I was scared it would be extremely negative. 'Shut us down,' all that negative stuff. But it's been positive," he said.

"These are the guys that are running in when we're running out. We depend on them in life and death situations," said Tom Vickers, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 83.

Many community members believe the sense of faith in the volunteer fire service has not been shaken. 

“You can't let stuff like that bother you,” said resident John Northen. “You get bad apples that you don't expect."

"The fact that one or two of them might have gone off to do something different does not affect me in the long run,” said resident Nancy Jane Young. “I have faith in people who will take care of me.”

While support has been pouring in from across borders, Julian says there is one group much closer to home that he's disappointed not to have heard from yet.

"So far, there's been nothing from the mayor, council, or CBRM fire service," he said.

Julian vows this dark time for the fire service will make them stronger in the long run.

"It has already. We've already done multiple 911 calls after this situation happened and we've stuck together through it,” he said. “We're going to come back from it. We're the Florence Fire Department. You can't bring us down.”

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald.