The year of 1997 saw the Fire Department start a new fire prevention campaign. One of the posters that we used showed a Firefighter in all his gear, covered with soot, mud and debris, soaking wet and looking exhausted. The caption to this poster said “PLEASE…. PUT US OUT OF BUSINESS!!”

For another year, we saw the total number of calls we responded to fall below the 10-year average of 115 calls per year to just 65 calls last year. Structure fires increased from previous years but in other areas, we saw no concern. The calls that we responded to were:
Hazardous Materials Calls 7 Automatic Alarms, False 8 Automobile Fires 1 assist other agencies 12 Structure Fires 17 Vegetation Fires 4 Mutual Aid to others 7 motor vehicle Accidents 2 Utility Lines 3 Other Calls 4

Having a lower number of calls allowed us to catch our breath and to work on the many programs that we are called on to do. Much needed maintenance was performed on both our trucks and equipment. Intense training was presented honing our skills and real progress was made in putting the towns “on paper” disaster plan into a working status.

One keen success that I would like to present is in our ongoing program to get smoke detectors into all of our homes. The benefits of having these important devises became very obvious to one of our towns families when they were awakened at 2 in the morning to their detectors going off. On the Fire Departments arrival, we found that an aftermarket light dimmer switch had malfunctioned; causing an overheating condition that was on the verge of causing a serious event for this family. I credit the smoke detector for both alerting the occupants of this house to a serious emergency as well as potentially saving their lives. I cannot stress to you all enough just how important it is to have working smoke detectors in your homes. They are proven lifesavers and I can see no responsible reason for not having them installed.

A number of our members took time out of their busy schedules to attend a variety of State offered training classes and have added to the Department a vast variety of skills and services. Lt Dean Tozier, and Firefighters Darren Robinson and Jason Blocker completed training as Operations level Hazardous materials specialists, Lt. Jeff Reed and Firefighter/EMT’s Matt Heel, Doc Epstein, Tom Blythe and Wayne Patton have strengthened the capabilities of our Emergency rescue services and Firefighters Rob Gaiser, Beth Gaiser, Jonlee Roth and Dianne Willey have fine tuned our Emergency Shelter system. And all of the other members have increased the level of training in all areas to bring a very solid and capable force for any emergency that we may be called upon to deal with.

The Fire Association has also been very busy this year. Through its fundraising activities such as the haunted hayride and dinners, they have raised a significant amount of funds for the Fire Department. This year the Fire Association presented to the Fire Department a purchase of new protective clothing that is both extremely expensive as well as badly needed. They also provided funding again for their numerous scholarships, welfare donations, and other projects that directly aided the townspeople. In all, during the Associations short existence, the funds that they have raised and donated back to the Town is rapidly approaching $75,000. I applaud them for all their efforts and their selfless dedication to the community.

This year, I am please to report that we have finally made advances toward a new home for the Fire Department. This past fall the voters agreed to purchase a piece of property on Main Street for the Towns use. A committee has been formed to investigate what would be in the best interest for the Town for using this property. I am in hopes that a conclusion can be reached in far less time than the 8 years that it took to acquire this property.

I again remind all that your emergency service providers will always be needing more help. Both the Ambulance and the Fire Department rely on volunteers to provide what they do. There will always be something that any citizen can do to help.

On behalf of the Towns people and the visitors, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the Officers and Firefighters of the Fire Department and the Members of the Fire Association for the time and talents. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed nor unappreciated.

Respectfully Submitted
Samuel T. Chisholm, Chief