Its a voluntary rescue serive.... So we have the police, fire and ambulance(paramedics), all funded by the tax payer/government. Then we have the RNLI, mountain rescue, air ambulance amd a few others tjay allude me at the moment, thay rely on charity to fund them. And unlike the police, fire and ambulance service, the volunteers get no monetary rewards just a pay on the back. Whicj is why i always donate to them.
To answer your question - yes they are. Lol
Ah okay, so a little bit, but I think the coast guard here is almost like another branch of the service. They definitely get paid, I know some folks who are service members.