Sentence:  Volunteer firemen are called <WSD>vamps</WSD> because they often went to fires on foot, <WSD>"vamp</WSD>" being an old English word for "walk." Syosset's first <WSD>vamps</WSD> responded quickly to fires and formed bucket brigades to extinguish them. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A volunteer firefighter.