DEPARTMENT
FUNCTION
The Fire Department is
dedicated to the saving of lives and property for the Citizens of the
We not only do fire prevention and suppression, we do inspections on a
complaint basis, issue burning permits, perform maintenance on the apparatus
and equipment in the station and building maintenance.
By providing fire
protection, there are several State and Federal Laws, Standards and Rules to
which we must adhere. These laws, standards and rules govern the type of
training and equipment that we must provide, and the designing of equipment
along with medical requirements. OSHA, MIOSHA, and the National Fire
Protection Association are some of the different agencies that set these laws,
rules and standards.
Some of the different
rules that we must adhere to are the Mandatory Training Bill, Part 74, which
defines the type of equipment that we have to furnish to our personnel and the
maintenance of the equipment in our station. Some of the other rules
include the Bloodbourne Pathogens, TB, MIOSHA 3502, Confined Space Part 90, to
mention a few and, of course, there are other rules that do not specifically
mention the fire department. Some of these are ladders, hand tools, air
compressors, etc.
Truck and Vehicle Maintenance
The full-time personnel
do daily, quarterly, and yearly maintenance on all vehicles and equipment to
insure that everything is working properly when needed.
Building Maintenance
Building maintenance is
never ending. The floors are cleaned at least once a week, and during the
winter months, may be cleaned everyday. The walls and windows are done at
least semi-annually. During the summer months full-time personnel do all
grounds maintenance.
Fire Prevention
Presenting fire
prevention programs is ongoing all year long within the department.
During Fire Prevention week, the department visits all area schools presenting
programs to students. As an added note, the personnel that do this do it
without pay.
Hose Testing
Once a year by MIOSHA
Rules, all fire hose must be tested to meet certain standards. This
usually takes about 12 to 14 hours with the cooperation of both the full-time
employees and the volunteers.
Other Testing
Not only do we have to test all of the fire hose, we also are required to test
all of the Pumps on the fire trucks, SCBA and the all of the ladders. This is
done by outside agencies with the assistance of the full-time and part-time
personnel.
Training
All members of the department go
through various training three times a month, the first and third Wednesday
night, the following Thursday morning, and the third Saturday. This training
includes, SCBA, Search and Rescue, ladder Training, Ice and Cold Water Rescue
and Medical First Responder training, etc. In addition, members also attend
Fire Officer Classes, Wildfire training, extrication training, etc.