As we enter in the almost-spring season on the mountain, we are always glad to see the daffodils and warmer weather arrive. We were in high hopes of our high call volume slowing down this year, but that has not been the case so far in 2023. We continue to be good stewards of your donations and always appreciate the support.
Open burning is allowed in Hamilton County until April 30. Before burning, please obtain your burn permit and be aware of the requirements of open burning. You are allowed to burn brush and leaves and other items from your yard. You are not allowed to burn trash, hazardous materials like treated lumber or other construction materials.
We also very much appreciate notice that you will be burning. We were notified a few weeks ago that residents would be burning some brush and leaves along the brow. Sure enough, we got a call from someone calling from their car on Mountain Creek Road to say that they could see smoke and fire on the mountain. Well, we are glad to know that people are paying attention, and we always appreciate an early call versus a later call. Know that we very much appreciate our residents letting us know they will be burning so we don’t get too excited about a phone call like this.
When you do burn your brush and natural vegetation, please follow the guidelines of your burn permit. Never leave the fire unattended. Winds change on the mountain, and something can get out of control very quickly. Also, you are not allowed to leave your fire burning after 4 p.m. in the afternoon so please have a plan for putting out your fire before this time.
Last year, we ran a record number of calls, with over 400 emergency calls reported. This is more than one a day, which is higher than normal for us. We seem to be starting off this year with the trend continuing, averaging at least one call per day. Now, these are not all emergencies that require a huge response, but every call is important. Most of the calls we run are for citizen assists or medical emergencies. These are legitimate calls, and we take them seriously. If you are having a medical emergency, yes, please call 911. If you cannot get up or out of your car for some reason, yes, please call 911, and we will be there to assist.
We completed our annual fundraiser and always, always appreciate the community support. Running an all-volunteer fire department may not sound like a financially stressful burden, but at times, it can be. As a fire service, we operate under the guidelines of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which sets the standards for all fire departments in the U.S. and, to keep our insurance and for the general safety of our members, we have to follow NFPA guidelines. For example, we have to pressure test the pumps on our firetrucks every year to confirm that they meet the current standard. We then document this testing to show to the Insurance Services Office our fire service rating, which affects all of our residents’ homeowners insurance policy pricing.
Imagine, with all the vehicles we operate, how many feet of large and small fire hose we have to carry. We have to pressure test this hose every year to insure it meets the current standards, but we also have to track the age of this hose. The National Fire Protection Association has a standard that dictates firehose can only be used for a set amount of years. So, despite the fact that this hose looks good and performs properly when tested, when it hits a certain age, we are required to replace that hose with new hose. We do this to maintain our ISO ratings and for the safety of our members who use this hose, although it can run into thousands of dollars for this replacement. Know that your donations are what allow us to keep up with the standards and help keep our volunteers safe, so thank you.
To contact WRES, you can stop by Station One on Taft Highway next to Ace Hardware any Thursday night at 7 p.m. when we conduct our weekly training; visit our Facebook page; or call the station at (423) 886-5974 and leave us a message. However, if you have an emergency or even think you may need some assistance, always call 911 for immediate assistance.
Open burning is allowed in Hamilton County until April 30. Before burning, please obtain your burn permit and be aware of the requirements of open burning. You are allowed to burn brush and leaves and other items from your yard. You are not allowed to burn trash, hazardous materials like treated lumber or other construction materials.
We also very much appreciate notice that you will be burning. We were notified a few weeks ago that residents would be burning some brush and leaves along the brow. Sure enough, we got a call from someone calling from their car on Mountain Creek Road to say that they could see smoke and fire on the mountain. Well, we are glad to know that people are paying attention, and we always appreciate an early call versus a later call. Know that we very much appreciate our residents letting us know they will be burning so we don’t get too excited about a phone call like this.
When you do burn your brush and natural vegetation, please follow the guidelines of your burn permit. Never leave the fire unattended. Winds change on the mountain, and something can get out of control very quickly. Also, you are not allowed to leave your fire burning after 4 p.m. in the afternoon so please have a plan for putting out your fire before this time.
Last year, we ran a record number of calls, with over 400 emergency calls reported. This is more than one a day, which is higher than normal for us. We seem to be starting off this year with the trend continuing, averaging at least one call per day. Now, these are not all emergencies that require a huge response, but every call is important. Most of the calls we run are for citizen assists or medical emergencies. These are legitimate calls, and we take them seriously. If you are having a medical emergency, yes, please call 911. If you cannot get up or out of your car for some reason, yes, please call 911, and we will be there to assist.
We completed our annual fundraiser and always, always appreciate the community support. Running an all-volunteer fire department may not sound like a financially stressful burden, but at times, it can be. As a fire service, we operate under the guidelines of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which sets the standards for all fire departments in the U.S. and, to keep our insurance and for the general safety of our members, we have to follow NFPA guidelines. For example, we have to pressure test the pumps on our firetrucks every year to confirm that they meet the current standard. We then document this testing to show to the Insurance Services Office our fire service rating, which affects all of our residents’ homeowners insurance policy pricing.
Imagine, with all the vehicles we operate, how many feet of large and small fire hose we have to carry. We have to pressure test this hose every year to insure it meets the current standards, but we also have to track the age of this hose. The National Fire Protection Association has a standard that dictates firehose can only be used for a set amount of years. So, despite the fact that this hose looks good and performs properly when tested, when it hits a certain age, we are required to replace that hose with new hose. We do this to maintain our ISO ratings and for the safety of our members who use this hose, although it can run into thousands of dollars for this replacement. Know that your donations are what allow us to keep up with the standards and help keep our volunteers safe, so thank you.
To contact WRES, you can stop by Station One on Taft Highway next to Ace Hardware any Thursday night at 7 p.m. when we conduct our weekly training; visit our Facebook page; or call the station at (423) 886-5974 and leave us a message. However, if you have an emergency or even think you may need some assistance, always call 911 for immediate assistance.
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