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What is the time commitment expected from a member?
How do I remove myself from your mailing list?
Why does a fire truck respond to automobile accident?
Why are there two fire trucks at an automobile accident?
How many fire trucks do you need?
What is the value of on station response?
Why do the vehicles' call letters start with the number 8?
How much does it cost to run the Fire Department?
What are the differences between the Red and Blue flashing lights?
The department has a mandatory training attendance policy, which is a minimum of 4 hours per week. That is the minimum time requirement to be an active fire or rescue member of the department.
The amount of time required to respond to and handle
emergency calls is unknown (the key is prevention!).
We average about 10 calls per week and an average call last one hour. Most
of the members make 3-5 calls per week.
Emergency services do not work from
appointments, so our members must be ready 24 hours a day.
How do I remove myself from your mailing list?
If you
want to be removed from this web site's mailing list, please send email to germanweb@insightbb.com
and put "Remove from mailing list" in the Subject line. Chief
Buckman maintains his own mailing list to send out information on fire fighting
tactics, FEMA news, etc. That mailing list is different
from this web site's mailing list and is not maintained via this web
site. If you would like to be added or removed from his mailing list, please send
email to JMBuckman@aol.com.
Primary reason is to save a life and reduce
injuries. Specific reason is that 8Rescue 8 truck coming from the Kasson Drive
fire station carries the "Jaws of Life." And
8Rescue 9 squad from the St.
Wendel Road fire station brings the Jaws of Life. The Jaws of
Life are used to extricate someone from an accident. In German Township we
have many high speed accidents that require the use of the Jaws of
Life and other extrication tools. The other two reasons are fire
suppression and fuel spill cleanup.
Have you ever tried to start the lawn mower to cut the grass and you flooded it? You waited five or ten minutes to try again and it started. The injured can't wait ten minutes if a gasoline motor that controls life-saving equipment does not start.
The Jaws of Life receive power from a
gasoline engine
or on the new rescue(8R9)- a power take off. Department
policy requires that we respond the second as a backup and in case we need two
tools. Time is what the fire fighters are fighting. Serious injuries require
that we extricate and have the injured party in surgery within one hour of the
accident. That is a very tight time schedule that requires rapid response,
trained and experienced fire fighters performing their tasks without hesitation.
In German Township, we have a self-imposed service level agreement to deliver 500 Gallons Per Minute (GPM) in a continuous flow to the scene of a fire. Twenty years ago when the water district was formed the members of the water district voted not to install a fire fighting system. The fire department asked for fire hydrants that would have required larger lines to supply the water and an additional charge of $5 per month on the water bill. Unfortunately, that request was not acted upon.
The
lack of fire hydrants every 1000 feet require this department to supply water
for fire fighting in many instances with Tanker
trucks. In order to supply the 500 GPM, it takes four fire trucks. All of
our fire trucks, except for the oldest, are dual purpose trucks. These vehicles
can operate as a Pumper or a Tanker
depending on the situation.
An on station response is defined by having fire fighters at the station when an emergency takes place. In some cases, a few fire fighters may be paid to be "on station" during slow periods when most of members are working (e.g. during the day).
A fire at 3206 North St. Joe Avenue highlights the value of on station response. The fire started in a two car garage filled with a lifetime of collections for Mr. Julius Krack. The investigation pointed to an electrical short in the wiring which was most likely caused by water from a rain storm. Two open garage doors provided the fire with an ample supply of oxygen.
A County Dispatcher notified the Fire Department's members of the garage fire by sending an emergency alert via the radio's the members carry. The first engine responded from the Kasson Drive station which was manned by two firefighters. Their response time was six minutes from the station to the scene. The second engine arrived 13 minutes after the initial dispatch. The second engine was a home response. Volunteers at home awakened, got out of bed, responded to the station to pick up an engine, and THEN responded to the scene.
Upon arrival of the first engine, four fire fighters were on scene to assist in fire suppression operations. Two of these firefighters had left work to respond to the fire call. These firefighters just happened to be working close to German Township on this day of this incident.
The garage had three exposures (buildings or valued property surrounding it that could ignite). An old barn that was previously used as a broom factory was about 5 feet from the garage. An occupied dwelling about 15 feet from the garage was shielded somewhat by a wooden picket fence. The third exposure was Mr. Krack's house which was about 25 feet away.
There were five people at home in the Hutchinson house. There were three people inside, asleep. The baby's bedroom was directly adjacent to the burning garage. The noise and commotion awoke the occupants and they safely evacuated the house. If this fire had occurred at night the baby's room may have become untenable. Access to the baby's room on the second floor was limited to one 24 inch stairway.
The radiant heat from the garage had ignited the Hutchinson's house immediately before the fire fighters arrived. The old broom factory had severe fire conditions and Mr. Krack's house was beginning to smoke from the close proximity to the fire. The Hutchinson's house was on fire! Vinyl siding on the Hutchinson's house was melted and the siding material was flaming.
This incident helps remind us why every minute
counts and on-station volunteers are so critical to our operations.
All of the German Township Fire Department
vehicles begin with the number eight so that it is easy to distinguish our
department's vehicles from the other Suburban
Fire Chiefs Association's vehicles. Each of our member's IDs also begin with
the number eight so that they can talk and be called via the two-way radio.
The eight distinguishes them from the other suburban fire
association's personnel.
For example, when a member goes outside of the township he or she might say
"8x47 out of service." Each of the other departments have a
similar numbering system beginning with two, three, four, etc.
The business of saving lives and property is expensive. Every year the fire department submits its annual operating budget to the Board of Directors for approval. The major accounts for this budget are:
|
Truck Payments Insurance Maintenance Utilities & Fuel Equipment & Training Administration |
$90,000 $33,000 $23,500 $21,000 $20,000 $13,500 |
Without the assistance from financial support, we cannot meet
our operating budget. Every year we as ask the households in our
protection area to
support the department. For our fiscal year 2000, we are asking for a contribution
of $55.00
to help maintain the level of emergency response that our residents have come to expect
from their fire department.
The
flashing light is called a beacon. The red
beacon denotes a fire department-owned vehicle such as the ones on
our Vehicle page. The blue
beacon denotes the private vehicle of an Indiana resident affiliated with a
volunteer fire department. Any time you are approached by a vehicle with either
colored beacon flashing like the one's pictured above you are legally required to yield the right-of-way, usually by safely
maneuvering your vehicle to a stop and off to the side of the road.
A
beacon is sometimes referred to as a "light" or
"siren." While the light reference is accurate, a siren
is actually the sound-generating accessory on the emergency vehicle that you
hear rather than see. Sirens make the following sounds: Yelp,
Yelp 2, Woop,
and Hyperyelp.
Our rescue and brush vehicles
use sirens that can make those sounds. Most of our fire trucks use a Federal
Q mechanical siren. The vehicles also have air
horns although an air horn is not considered a siren.