I am now a FIRE CHIEF... PICTURES & VIDEO added! take a look...

fireman616wfd

fireman616wfd

Veteran Member
Member
May 24, 2010
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Oxford, MS
Ok so let me start by introducing myself to those who dont already know me.. I am Casey and I live in a small "village" in Webster County, Mississippi. I have been a full time firefighter for 6 years in a city about 45 minutes away from where I live and I am a part time deputy sheriff in the county in which I live where i am currently going through K9 training.


I was voted in Tuesday night with seventeen members present for the vote and the vote went 17-0 in favor of me being the new Fire Chief/Training Officer which I feel good about knowing I have the backing of that many people on a 25 man roster. Even though a few of the older members expressed concern about my age but said I was the most qualified.


Let me give you a little detailed insight about the dept... We have 25 members, 1 Chief / Training Officer, 1 Asst. Chief, 3 Capt's, 1 Safety Officer. The population of the WHOLE county is 13,000 people. In our fire district we have close to 1,000 people and are centrally located in the county and represent the county seat where we have the largest building in the county being the Courthouse which is a very large 2 story and the second largest church in the county.


We run fire and EMS where we have multiple members certified EMR's, EMT's, and a Medic.


We have 1 Engine which is a 1991 GMC manual with 1,000 gal tank. (a POS! haha)


1 "Rescue" which is a 1989 Suburban (have to ether it to crank it)


1 brush truck which is a 1988 GMC army truck (have to ether and put battery pack on it to crank)


Our Budget right now is $17,000 which is the most we have ever had at the dept. We have nice gear, and nice tools/equipment but no vehicles and nowhere to put stuff. We purchased new TNT tools off of a grant and had to mount them in a tool box on top of the Fire Engine.


I really want to be a good chief for the village of Walthall and do some upgrading for faster responses to the citizens and to make the guys on the dept feel more like firefighters rather than mechanics...


If anyone has any advice for me please feel free to let me in on some things..


........ Just some other stuff about the dept below .......... trying not to bore you guys haha.................


We have new scene lights by akron in the boxes, 3 big generators, 1 new 2,000 watt silent generator, 2 new saws, Rope Rescue equipment, Stokes basket, laying in the floor at the station because we have nowhere to put it. Our Engine has the comparments full from just a few air packs, a PPV fan, and a couple halogen tools and etc.. We mounted a pickup truck tool box on top just to have room to put the Jaws on there and that is horrible and slow and dangerous getting those up and down from the top of an Engine. Our brush truck has been sitting outside uncovered because of no room in the station. Its pump is busted and I ordered that part today to fix it. It has 50 feet of 1 3/4 cotton hose laid in the back of the truck. I think I may have us a reel donated.


I could go on and on but I wont, I will keep everything updated here and post pictures of the trucks and equipment and stuff....


[highlight]The Station:[/highlight]


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[highlight]Engine 691:[/highlight]


ai75.photobucket.com_albums_i295_fireman616wfd_1298240258586.jpg


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And this is where our Jaws are located haha...


ai75.photobucket.com_albums_i295_fireman616wfd_1298240474663.jpg


[highlight]Rescue 6:[/highlight]


ai75.photobucket.com_albums_i295_fireman616wfd_1298240332684.jpg


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[highlight]Truck 6:[/highlight]


ai75.photobucket.com_albums_i295_fireman616wfd_1298240152794.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If you have twinsonic lightbars, I have mx7000's to trade.


And congrats!!
 
ryan said:
If you have twinsonic lightbars, I have mx7000's to trade.

And congrats!!
Click to expand...

haha no twinsonics... however there was one up there somewhere, I will see if I can find that thing for you. I remember seeing an all red one somewhere.


And thank you.
 
I'm sure you are aware of this already, but grants are your friend. Not just gov't, but private fondation and corporation grants also. Also, a new way of funding is emerging in that departments are seeking funds from businesses, corporations, etc. If you have any, hit them up. They may not be able to give you much, but, it could be something towards new equipment, trucks or whatever. I've read of several departments selling add space on truck doors etc. Just some "outside of the box thinking" for you since your budget is so tight.
 
we have put in grants for a truck the last 6 years through numerous grants with different people writing them... I just want to give up on them, they have been a major let down in my opinion but of course thats because we have not gotten accepted. idk what else to do.
 
ledguy said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but please don't let the shift of power change who you are. Just because you're the chief, you are not better than the other 25 members. Congrats!!
Click to expand...

you dont have to worry about that, I am a sergeant at my full time dept and have been for two years and all of the firefighters and me really get along just because I'm not like others who got a little power and changed... which being a deputy sheriff has helped me alot with that.. I am very humble, they had to do some convincing to get me to take it. and thank you..
 
What is your run volume like and how many working fires do you have a year? If you can express the need for apparatus (maybe get some of the grant-writers involved) you can petition some of the companies in the northern states for help. Some states (like mine) have a lot of tax money ear-marked for the fire service and you'll see companies with 500 runs a year have all kind of fancy shiny gear just laying around. Example... my company has 2 2006 Rescue-Engines, 2 1996 Quints (good shape!), a 1992 Squrt, 4 ambulances (money makers!), a 1992 F-350 brush truck, 2 chiefs vehicles, 2 support pickups including a squad-51 type F450, etc. And we're looking at building a $3m new station (needed, our main station is getting old and cramped, we do over 7000 runs a year combined fire/ems) and maybe ordering a new tower or ladder truck to replace one of the Quints.


Given some time you might find a company willing to flat out donate an old (by their standards) engine. My station has donated or sold dirt-cheap equipment in the past. I'd start by contacting the various state chiefs associations.
 
Congrats on the position! I can't add much to what's already been said, other than check with some other departments in your area, even a few counties away, to see if they have any equipment they would be willing to donate. A small department in the county next to us got a bunch of hose that way, and actually got an old pumper also, though it has cost them a bit to fix up. Other than that, keep writing those grants, and ask businesses to help. Your electric company or other local utilities may also be willing to donate money or items.


I had heard a story about an agency somewhere (I can't remember where) that made an agreement with the electric company to add a voluntary $1 surcharge onto the monthly bill for it's customers to help support the department that was providing fire protection for them. I believe it actually netted them a decent amount of money while not asking much of the community.


Good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes!
 
Casey,


Congratulations on being selected as Fire Chief. From reading your post(s), I have no doubt that you will be an outstanding chief. You have the support of your fellow firefighters (and likely the community you serve). I consider that to be the most valuable resource you have - far more so than any piece of technology or apparatus.


My only advice is that carried over from my personal experience - that being it will likely be harder to fight politicians, than to fight fires. Don't let negative politics dampen your enthusiasm.


Terry


Chief of Police, Ret.
 
ledguy said:
Don't take this the wrong way, but please don't let the shift of power change who you are. Just because you're the chief, you are not better than the other 25 members. Congrats!!
Click to expand...


Amen. Don't let your ego swell, and follow your moral compass - when you're making a decision, ask yourself how this will benefit your firefighters and, consequently, the public at large. If it benefits them, do it. If it doesn't, figure out how it could and do it.
 
I have watched a number of affluent suburban volunteer departments "adopt" a rural department that is in a situation similar to yours. Rather than sell off used gear, they sent it out to the "adoptee." And that can certainly include vehicles.


I am certain that you can find a department that would be eager to give your team a hand. It may take some looking around, but they're out there. In one case that I know of, it turned out to be co-workers in a factory that talked to each other over lunch and discovered their common ground and things just blossomed from there.


Something not to be overlooked is local fund raisers. Spaghetti dinners, chicken barbeques, pancake breakfasts, etc. are a good way to get your department in front of the community in positive way and (hopefully) add a few dollars to your funds. What is also very important about these things is that they are a super opportunity to sell yourselves to the community and to educate them about your needs and how those improvements would directly benefit each resident. People don't usually think about the fire department until they really need them. You can raise their awareness and teach them about your mission.


From your first post, it sounds like some shelter for trucks and storage space is an urgent need. Get that need in front of the community. They may not be able to do anything about it now, but they will know about it and you will gain support for solving the problem.


Same goes for any other critical needs including vehicles.


Best of luck to you!
 
im a little confused here


your a fulltime paid firefighter for 6 years and a part time deputy.


and the dept you work for operates off a 17,000 budget? how do you get paid with that budget?


and if its a career dept you shouldnt be the one having to acquire funds for replacements and upgrades, the municipality you work for is required to do that


unless im missing something here, or mississippi does things differently
 
shott8283 said:
im a little confused here

your a fulltime paid firefighter for 6 years and a part time deputy.


and the dept you work for operates off a 17,000 budget? how do you get paid with that budget?


and if its a career dept you shouldnt be the one having to acquire funds for replacements and upgrades, the municipality you work for is required to do that


unless im missing something here, or mississippi does things differently
Click to expand...

haha yea you missed it... The volunteer dept where i live voted me on as fire chief (100% volunteer) I work as a full time firefighter 45 minutes from the small town i live in.
 
If your are trying to purchase new trucks the the rural fire truck acquisition program we have here is Mississippi really helps. Im sure you probably already know about it but in case you dont its a $70000 grant provided by Mississippi. I realize that with $17000 a year coming in paying the note on the remainder of the cost of the new truck might be a little difficult but its just something to keep in mind. To get this grant you need to apply for it through your county fire coordinator.


Also if you are needing a generator or a skid pump or new brush truck check with Sandra Snell at the Mississippi Forestry Commission. They are great at trying to help get these items to the folks that need them.


And the Federal grants such as FEMA and Homeland security grants.


Also if you just so happen to serve an area that has a Georgia Pacific facility in it they have their Bucket Brigade grants.


I am trying to think of other things that may bring in more funding but its late and my brain is not in full gear.


If there is any way I can help you out with any of this stuff I will be more than happy to. PM me and I will give you my phone number if you have any questions that cant really be answered without a lot of deatail.


And as far as your age goes I was elected to president of our department board last year at the age of 24. We have seventy members, cover over 200 square miles, and have five stations with five engines two tankers two brush trucks and two rescue trucks. So I know how the responsibility part of it feels.


Good luck from Marion County Mississippi.
 
Whats your run total per year? Glad to see you guys have good airpacks and not ancient ones. Im assuming you dont have a cascade, where do you fill them at? Theres always some equipment/ vehicles for sale on govdeals that are fairly cheap. There are firehouse construction grants also if you wanted to put in another bay or meeting room or something. Good luck to you! :)
 
Congrats on the new position!


Check with your forestry service, they usually can help with a vehicle donation. They usually want their name plastered all over it, but hey, it's another vehicle! As other have said, check with EVERYONE and ask for donations/help in getting new equipment and a new building. The fed's have building grants too. Good luck and stay safe out there!
 
yea our truck and rescue truck came from the MS Forrestry Comm. but they just wont crank anymore, I am going to call them Tuesday morning.


Thanks alot for the help guys.. are there some web-sites for all these grants that I can check out?
 
www.firegrantshelp.com


This site allows you to search for grants specifically for Mississippi. I think you have to sign up or something but its free. Its what got me started on grants. Also talk to your county fire coordinator. He/she may be performing multiple roles such as 911 coordinator/fire coordinator/ civil defense/ ema director if he is anything like ours. But he/she may still be able to help with stuff. The fire coordinator will have to sign off on any request from the Mississippi Forestry Commision and will also have to request money from the rural fire truck aquisition program that I mentioned above. Unfortunately with these two grants you cant do them without the fire coordinators signature. So hopefully you wont have any trouble with that. Also check out the rural development grants from the USDA. They provide alot of assistance to fire departments in communities with a low income rate.
 
I don't know what your EMS call volume is, but I would look at getting an EMS rig. You could sell the Suburban and pick up a decent ambulance in the 4000-5000 range at auction. Perhaps with a little fundraising or corporate donations you could get that together. Providing an EMS rig to your community may boost a positive image. Again, depending on need. I don't know how your area handles transports, but even as a first response it's a big piece of the pie.
 
Congrats on the new Position Chief. Check around with other departments and Homeland Security, there are people out there that write up grants and manage to get them all the time. Just have to know how to fill in the right blanks and spaces. Best of Luck with all your endeavors..
 
EMS_Installer said:
I don't know what your EMS call volume is, but I would look at getting an EMS rig. You could sell the Suburban and pick up a decent ambulance in the 4000-5000 range at auction. Perhaps with a little fundraising or corporate donations you could get that together. Providing an EMS rig to your community may boost a positive image. Again, depending on need. I don't know how your area handles transports, but even as a first response it's a big piece of the pie.
Click to expand...

Well.... this is kindoff what has went on in the 3 months as me being Chief.


*Applied an AFG Grant after hiring a company to write it for a "Quick Attack" rig. It will have the 12 ft body and will pretty much be used as our rescue rig/equipment truck.


*Almost has the county talked into purchasing my dept a new Engine. (its very close as we are talking prices now) the county has not outright purchased a fire truck in 20 years, just gave a little money to 3 depts in 20 years to help with a grant received.


*Put on 3 new GOOD members who have been attending every run and meeting.


*Set aside an older gentelman as my Safety Officer and sent him through training at the State Fire Academy where he is Safety only and does no firefighting.


*Talked my "Village Board" into purchasing two 18 wheeler loads of gravel to finally give us a fully graveled drive after being mud and grass for as far back as i can remember. Also asked them for the purchase of landscaping around the station with bushes and mulch which they agreed to.


*Brought in 16 dump truck (bob trucks) loads of dirt to build a drive on the side on the Station and purchased a shed to place the Brush Truck under. (donated dirt and dozer work)


*In the process of getting a used ambulance from the local hospital if/when they hurry and receive their new rig. We do not do transports but we will use it as an equipment hauler if our grant falls through on the "Quick Attack/Rescue".


*Had an electric hose reel donated and just had it welded onto the tank of the brush truck yesterday. Finishing wiring and such now. Will repaint tank to try to match truck best we can.


*adding some LED warning lights in a few places on the brush truck and engine, also placing a siren in the brush truck for the first time in 8 years.


*Have a really big political rally planned for June the 8th with 2 bands, a henry lever action 22, $250 walmart gift card, a handcrafted gun cabinet and some other small things.. This is a fundraiser.


Just been alot going on, been wearing myself out! haha but have got alot done and the members are really noticing it.
 
fireman616wfd said:
*Have a really big political rally planned for June the 8th with 2 bands, a henry lever action 22, ... This is a fundraiser.
Click to expand...

i was gonna say thats one way of getting attention!


congratulations chief! youre doin a right awesome job it seems!
 
Sounds like you have accomplished alot in only 3 months. Keep at it and your community will definatley notice the difference.
 
Chief;


Congrats on the position! NOW you're going to find out


who your REAL friends are!


Some constructive critique...After looking at the pics of


the inside of your station, it seems that you have some


wasted space on the floor that with some small cleanup


and organization you could comfortably fit all of your ve-


hicles in at the moment.


The "bones" of your fleet don't look all that bad! Seen a


lot worse! Looks like you need to create/appoint a position


of "Engineer" to take responsibility for the fleet's health.


Many FDs have this position as part of their officers.


A piece of apparatus that must have the battery placed


back in it in order to respond is totally unsat! You need to


get all of the present vehicles up and running properly in


order to responsibly protect your community and justify


requesting replacement from agencies.


The outside of your station is in really good shape and you


have already indicated that you are working on improvements.


This is a GOOD thing! Good from a public relations standpoint


and god from a department morale standpoint! Pride in


ownership means a lot! If the community sees that you all are


serious about taking care of your gear, then they know you


are serious about taking care of THEM! And THEY will respond


in kind with more support to YOU! Then the troops will also be


more interested in something that THEY have a stake in as well.


Good thinking!


Grants....Don't give up on applications! Keep submitting and keep


RE-submitting! It might be wise to retain a professional grantwriter


to do this for you as it mostly depends on "buzzwords" appearing


in the apps. I've done a lot of these and understand the process.


It will be an investment for you all for this service!


Fundraisers...Great PR tools and a great way to acquaint your


community with what you are there for and what you can do for


them as well as passing the hat. Don't forget to shine and detail


the apparatus and display it at these functions so the community


can see waht their investment is! Don't forget to have the troops


dress appropriately. Class-As are not necessary, but nasty T-shirts


are a turn off. Be PROUD of your FD! Make our community PROUD


of THEIR FD! Remember...you exist at THEIR pleasure! Please them!


Budget...$17 isn't much today, but it IS actually more than a LOT of


FDs out there! Do you have a good treasurer in your FD who can be


wise with the $$ and know when to say "no" in order to survive?


It appears that you ahve already been exploring alternatives to out


right expenditures by getting donations of materials and labor for a


lot of your projects. Great! The money saved can go to new batteries,


PMs and work on the apparatus. Think about doing a mass-mailing


for donations maybe once a year. You might be surprised.


Also think about having the wives and supporters forming an auxiliary


to the FD (the old "ladies" auxiliary). These folks can do a LOT for you


with fundraising, accounting, PR and just plain networking. This will


free your troops for better operational capabilities. Auxiliaries can also


perform non-firefighting duties at scenes as well such as rehab and


refreshments for firecrews, re-racking hose after operations and


admin duties at the station and delegates to meetings with the city or


county. (Show strength with the Chief at such meetings.)


Your FD looks like it has REAL potential and it seems like you have some


great ideas! Your work has only begun!


Good luck to you sir!


PS...Keep us posted about your apparatus situation.
 
EngCo4 said:
Chief;

A piece of apparatus that must have the battery placed


back in it in order to respond is totally unsat! You need to


get all of the present vehicles up and running properly in


order to responsibly protect your community and justify


requesting replacement from agencies.


.
Click to expand...


The battery has already been replaced along with an electric reel mounted onto the tank... its just pulling power from somewhere and losing battery power and noone can find where, we even put a "kill" switch on the batteries and have trickle chargers (i guess that is how you spell it) on them. Either way we still have to spray starting fluid in them before they will crank lol


Thanks alot, I will keep everything updated.. we are preparing for our big political rally next week so i have just been busy from being on here.
 
This is something to consider, The engine in the suburban is more than likely a 5.7 liter engine, To have it replaced would take about $4000 to $5000. You can replace that truck with a newer truck for the same amount of money. The same for the brush truck. About $12000 to $15000 for that one. I would just rebuild the engine in that one because you can not beat a 6X6 for brush truck or tanker. Don Myhre
 
Casey....tried returning the PM to you....


fireman616wfd has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.


:thumbsup:
 
As said a few times already, just with my own twist...


An organization is only as good as it leaders, and the leaders are only as good as the men/women under them.


Lead by example, do not ask your crew to do anything you wouldn't do. Being the Chief, your no different that your men/women, continue to train, train, train~!


Best of luck, sounds like you have a bit of an uphill battle!
 
well... things are really looking up around the firehouse. Now everytime I drive by the station someone is there either playing with equipment or working on/fixing something.


The political rally was really good Saturday. We tried things this year that we have never done in the past and it really paid off. The most we ever made was $1,300 doing the rally and this year we cleared $2,000 and I still have one more to plan in August called "Election Live" where everyone comes to the fire station because we are across the street from the courthouse and we have big boards up and you get to see/her first come on each election box. We feel we will make maybe even more that night.


We have redone the brush truck, and just ALOT of stuff. I will try to get pics of stuff up next week of progress.
 
hey i asked around and quite a few ppl told me that fdny donates retired trucks to rural depts so google that and try to contact some one there none i new had info on who to contact but they said that they heard that it was possible and that it has been done in the past try contacting the fdny direct good luck and


and congrats thats amazing and after reading every thing said here i am sure u will be a amazing chief
 
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