Archive for General

Thank you for those who attended the Board Meeting Wednesday

Thank you to those in the community and beyond last night that came to sit in and participate in the meeting of the FCFD Fire Board. We had a room and a kitchen full of firefighters, fire cadets, family members, spouses, community members, representatives from council, and those from neighboring communities.

ARTICLE LINK HERE

In addition to that amazing force of volunteers we have within our firehouse that are discussed in the article by KnoxPages News, Knox County, Ohio are a few other groups we would like to mention. First, there is our families, without their support and grace we would not be able to provide the services to our community that we do. It through the sacrifice of our spouses and children that we make it happen and have such a strong and unique department. The second group is a group of 13 young adults involved with our Fire Cadet program. This cadet program, geared toward high school aged youth is a solid group of individuals serving their community through the department.

The KP article points out many key factual pieces of our fire district that we are very proud of, and in an upcoming letter from our Chief we will be sharing many more.

“Daytime staffing” as referred to in the article and at the meeting is a Monday through Friday around the 8am-4pm time period when our volunteers are least available or delayed in responding from a neighboring town or workplace.

Am I served by the FCFD?

Am I served by the Fredericktown Community Fire District? This is a great question that we sometimes field in the public at events and during public safety presentations. Here is a map of the district as it is laid out.

The two red dots represent our firehouses, the first being in Fredericktown (built 1980) and the second being in Pike Township on the property of the township house (built in 2013).

We encompass this area of Knox County which makes us the second largest fire district. In addition we cover a small portion of Perry Township in Richland County that is more readily accessible by the FCFD.

Does this mean the FCFD only provides services in this area? No, this is just our primary and “first due” area for our department. In addition to this, we provide mutual-aid to adjoining departments in Knox County, Richland County, and Morrow County when requested. Under agreements with the State of Ohio, we have resources that can be requested anywhere in the case of a large scale disaster.

Map of our District

ARTICLE – District board split on paid staffing proposal

Sharing this article out from local news source Knoxpages.com

http://www.knoxpages.com/news/fredericktown-fire-district-board-split-on-paid-staffing-proposal/article_d086e2ba-f699-11e7-a061-8f918d83a4ce.html

Who are we?

Who are we? Who are our members? Over the course of numerous articles in the media names aren’t always there, the word “firefighter, or officer, or cadet,” are often used when referring to situations. To really understand how the FCFD functions however, we want you to know a little more.

We are volunteers, technically paid per call according to how the state and federal reporting systems would classify us. We come from a variety of backgrounds, experience, demographic, careers, education, and for the most part what bonds and ties our firefighters together IS firefighting. Outside of the walls of the FCFD we are all employed part/full time in a variety of fields. We have people in maintenance/facilities management, machinists, construction workers, information technology, farmers, truck drivers, security officers, deputy wardens, police officers, those who do general labor/trades, and those who work part/full time fire positions outside of the district. We have an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience that we bring to the table whether in training or on the scene.

Line firefighters are those that have successfully completed their training requirements (36, 120, 240), probationary requirements, and all required check offs per department policy. Our firefighters are trained at various levels from the Ohio, basic 36-hour class, to the 120-hour (Firefighter I) level, and even the 240-hour (Firefighter II) professional level. Beyond this training many of our firefighters are also trained in extrication, heavy rescue, rope rescue, trench rescues, structural collapse, water rescue, ice rescue, rescue diving, fire instructors, fire safety inspectors, and a variety of other areas.

Our chief is voted upon by the fire board yearly and the Chief appoints the Assistant Chief yearly. Our officers (Lieutenant/Captains) go through a promotion process involving, written knowledge tests, an interview process, and a tabletop exercise before being selected to their position. Officers are required to have the line firefighter skills in addition to others for their position.

Fire cadets are our high school aged component to our family at the FCFD. Beginning with their freshman year in high school they can apply to join the program and then attend a summer long rigorous training program that closely mimics the same Ohio 36-hour firefighter certification. This training prepares them for the duties that they are permitted to perform within their position as a cadet. Our academy also prepares them for the ability to easily complete their initial firefighter training once they turn 18 if they choose to become a firefighter with our district. Cadets are permitted to perform a variety of tasks on the fire ground and in training. They can assist firefighters with getting equipment, setting up ladders, changing SCBA bottles, doing rehab, water supply setup, assisting with public safety events, and a long list of other potential duties. Yearly we attend local schools to recruit new cadets.

YOUR firefighters proudly serving the Fredericktown Community Fire District are:

Chief Scott Mast
Assistant Chief Dwayne Canter
Captain Shane Smith
Captain Tony Schwartz
Lieutenant Cody Beacom
Lieutenant Jeremy Moss
Lieutenant Charles Swank
Lieutenant J.P. Murphy
Lieutenant Kevin Suain
Jason Bostic
Jason Whaley
Bernie Douglas
Heath Kempton
Anthony Reed
Bronson Mast
Carmen Kyle
Andrew McNeil
Hunter McVay
Josh Staats
David Bennett
Dalton Canter
Brayden Mast
Ben Beever
Dale McVay
Ronny Flynn
Seth Popham

YOUR Cadets proudly serving are:

Cadet Lieutenant Rhylee Wilson
Cadet Lieutenant Haley Rook
Mason DeChant
Trevor Fry
Kenzie Gannon
Jayden Hillman
Jacob Rook
Nathan Silliman
Noah Smith
Madison Swick
Lane Swihart
Angelo Tino
Gavin Wilson

How busy are your firefighters at the FCFD?

Just how busy were our volunteers in 2017? Quite busy is the answer, and our busiest year to date statistically speaking as far as runs go. The Fredericktown Community Fire District responded to a total of 259 calls. This resulted in a total of 2811 hours of combined time for all our members. This number of hours does not include training and continuing education that members attended outside of the FCFD.

Of those runs, some of the highlights to the responses were the following:
Building Fires – 13
Vehicle Fires – 2
Trash/Waste Fires – 14
Assists to EMS – 6
Motor Vehicle Crash with Injuries – 25
Search for missing person – 4
Extrication from vehicles – 6
Ice/Water Rescues – 3
Gas leaks (Natural Gas/LPG) – 4
Carbon Monoxide Calls – 4
Downed power lines – 18
Motor Vehicle Crash (General Cleanup) – 27
Assist Law Enforcement – 3
Dispatched / Cancelled Enroute – 58
False Alarms – 7

Outside of the 259 calls listed above, our members performed countless hours of maintenance, work around the station, continuing education, attended workshops, conferences, seminars, hands on training, and so much more. They provided fire safety and prevention discussions and events around the fire district as well as tours at the firehouse. Our firefighters were part of tabletop and hands on exercises. Your firefighters held another successful fire cadet recruiting throughout local schools, conducting a training academy over the summer. Firefighters have been out in the community training with our trucks, familiarizing new members with the area, and staying on top of issues within the district. Egg hunts, parades, attending local meetings, assisting the community with other special events, and answering the call.

This by no means encompasses everything that our firefighters handle throughout the year, but it’s a great snapshot.

Poinsettia Sale

FCFD firefighters are selling poinsettias to raise fund for the annual toy drive and food for the hungry. Prices are the same as last year small $5, medium $10, large $15. Red and white are available. Final order must be in by November 27.

Firefighters will also be selling at the Fredericktown Christmas Walk on December 2 from 3:00pm – 7:00pm

Orders can be placed through one of our firefighters or by calling 740-507-8605

Dry hydrant testing

Crews were out in the fire district the other day working on the dry hydrants that we utilize for water supply.  With 115 sq miles of district and only about 2 sq miles that have hydrants, these are crucial for us to have for suppression.   Firefighters spent time testing, flowing, maintaining, and training on the hydrants and trucks.

Have a pond or body of water and interested in letting us use it?  Contact us!

Fireground work, topic of training

Firefighters at our last regular training worked on response, sizeup, making the stretch, tactics, and search. This was a great opportunity for our crews to work together, bond, and build teamwork while grabbing some great training.

First Responder day at Kokosing campground

Great day out doing some PR at the Kokosing Lake and Campground for first responder day. Fredericktown Community Fire District, Fredericktown EMS, Air Evac 107, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. We enjoyed meeting so many people, sharing, and answering questions.

Plenty of goodies for the kids to pickup, truck tours, and plenty of water to be sprayed.

Looking forward to next time.

Truck checks

Vehicle maintenance and truck checks. Doesn’t seem like much to many, but it is a large part of staying mission ready and knowing that your equipment will do its job.

Crews last night went over the apparatus top to bottom, every compartment, tool, engine, etc.