We have now been in our new Station One on Taft Highway for one year and still are unable to host an open house! This is very disconcerting to the members of WRES, as we are very proud of our facility and want to thank the county and the community for your support. So, while we are still in this pandemic, we thought it might be interesting to share details of the station until we can proudly walk the community through the entire station in person.
Not only is this a fire station for WRES, but the building is also designed as a community center. Before we were locked down, we hosted the Signal Mountain Lions Club and served as a polling place for voting in recent elections. The front of the station is designed to have a public entrance that allows for public access to a large meeting room and bathrooms. This entrance and area of the station is completely separate from the operations area of the station. We look forward to the community being able to use this space for public meetings.
Another interesting area of the station is the decontamination area. When we return from a call, if we have encountered hazardous substances or a highly infectious area, we can decontaminate without spreading the substance throughout the entire station and spreading contamination everywhere. There is a completely separate entrance into the “decon” room, where members can remove clothing and place it directly into washers for cleaning. There also are sinks and showers for cleaning ourselves. This can all be done before entering the rest of the building so that only “clean” people and items enter the station.
But what about the heat and air conditioning circulating any contamination? This was also planned in advanced by station design. The decon room has a positive pressure system that prevents any air from the decon room from being spread to the rest of the station. When the outside door is opened to the decon room, positive pressure forces the air out the door and not into the rest of the station. The same is true when you open the interior door from the decon room into the hallway. Positive pressure inside the station forces the air into the decon room, not allowing it to escape into the hallway and potentially contaminate the rest of the building. All in all, pretty advanced stuff!
Yes, we are still excited about the new station as we are starting to hit our stride here. But what we are not excited about is all the reporting that has to be done. Like any other task in life, nothing is completed until the paperwork is done. While running an emergency call can be exciting, having to complete the report after the incident is never anyone’s favorite task. It is necessary and important, however, and actually assists us in obtaining grants and other outside funding to keep our operations going.
For example, according to our recent reporting, in January we ran a total of 32 calls. Yes, these are actual 911 calls that are dispatched to WRES from the 911 center in Hamilton County. To give you an idea of the diversity of calls we get, know that of the 32 calls received, there are 17 separate incident types. Yes, 17 separate types of emergencies in just one month!
The incidents range from house fires and grass fires to false alarms. In between, there are motor vehicle accidents, emergency medical calls independent of fires or car crashes and some general service calls for a person in distress or in need of public service assistance. There are also mutual aid calls, which may be as simple as being on standby to cover another district while it is busy with another call. We get this a lot and very much appreciate our association with the Town of Signal Mountain Fire department. If they are called to an emergency and everyone is busy, then we get notified to be on standby so that if they happen to get another emergency call and no one is available, then WRES stands ready to answer the call. This works for WRES also, as Signal Mountain Fire Department will be on standby and ready to respond in our district should we be dispatched to a call and have most everyone tied up somewhere else on the mountain.
If you have questions or comments, or would like to become a member of WRES, we encourage you to contact us at any time. To contact WRES, stop by Station One on Taft Highway next to Ace Hardware any Thursday night at 7 p.m. when we conduct our weekly training or call the station at (423) 886-5974 and leave us a message. We are also social media active on Facebook and you can like our page and message us on Facebook – look for Waldens Ridge Emergency Service. However, if you have an emergency - or even think you may need some assistance - always call 911 for the fastest response.
by Jay Heavilon
Not only is this a fire station for WRES, but the building is also designed as a community center. Before we were locked down, we hosted the Signal Mountain Lions Club and served as a polling place for voting in recent elections. The front of the station is designed to have a public entrance that allows for public access to a large meeting room and bathrooms. This entrance and area of the station is completely separate from the operations area of the station. We look forward to the community being able to use this space for public meetings.
Another interesting area of the station is the decontamination area. When we return from a call, if we have encountered hazardous substances or a highly infectious area, we can decontaminate without spreading the substance throughout the entire station and spreading contamination everywhere. There is a completely separate entrance into the “decon” room, where members can remove clothing and place it directly into washers for cleaning. There also are sinks and showers for cleaning ourselves. This can all be done before entering the rest of the building so that only “clean” people and items enter the station.
But what about the heat and air conditioning circulating any contamination? This was also planned in advanced by station design. The decon room has a positive pressure system that prevents any air from the decon room from being spread to the rest of the station. When the outside door is opened to the decon room, positive pressure forces the air out the door and not into the rest of the station. The same is true when you open the interior door from the decon room into the hallway. Positive pressure inside the station forces the air into the decon room, not allowing it to escape into the hallway and potentially contaminate the rest of the building. All in all, pretty advanced stuff!
Yes, we are still excited about the new station as we are starting to hit our stride here. But what we are not excited about is all the reporting that has to be done. Like any other task in life, nothing is completed until the paperwork is done. While running an emergency call can be exciting, having to complete the report after the incident is never anyone’s favorite task. It is necessary and important, however, and actually assists us in obtaining grants and other outside funding to keep our operations going.
For example, according to our recent reporting, in January we ran a total of 32 calls. Yes, these are actual 911 calls that are dispatched to WRES from the 911 center in Hamilton County. To give you an idea of the diversity of calls we get, know that of the 32 calls received, there are 17 separate incident types. Yes, 17 separate types of emergencies in just one month!
The incidents range from house fires and grass fires to false alarms. In between, there are motor vehicle accidents, emergency medical calls independent of fires or car crashes and some general service calls for a person in distress or in need of public service assistance. There are also mutual aid calls, which may be as simple as being on standby to cover another district while it is busy with another call. We get this a lot and very much appreciate our association with the Town of Signal Mountain Fire department. If they are called to an emergency and everyone is busy, then we get notified to be on standby so that if they happen to get another emergency call and no one is available, then WRES stands ready to answer the call. This works for WRES also, as Signal Mountain Fire Department will be on standby and ready to respond in our district should we be dispatched to a call and have most everyone tied up somewhere else on the mountain.
If you have questions or comments, or would like to become a member of WRES, we encourage you to contact us at any time. To contact WRES, stop by Station One on Taft Highway next to Ace Hardware any Thursday night at 7 p.m. when we conduct our weekly training or call the station at (423) 886-5974 and leave us a message. We are also social media active on Facebook and you can like our page and message us on Facebook – look for Waldens Ridge Emergency Service. However, if you have an emergency - or even think you may need some assistance - always call 911 for the fastest response.
by Jay Heavilon