PHOTO (above): Sparky the Dog® teaches children what to do if their clothes catch fire

PHOTO (above): Firefighter Collin Steward explains the operations of a fire truck to youngsters.

PHOTO (above): a student practices dialing 9-1-1

What comes to mind when you hear “fire department”? As adults, you may think “fires”. As children, you think of firemen and fire trucks. But fire department volunteers and fulltime firefighters do a lot more than put out fires.

Besides putting out fires, firefighters answer the calls for highway accidents, gas leaks and even false alarms. Their role as dedicated professionals who partner with other organizations are not often recognized.

During Fire Prevention Week in October, the Grand Lake Fire Department partnered with the Grand County Sheriff’s Department, Grand County EMS, Grand County Search & Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service, and American Red Cross, and opened their doors to the families and children of the community for a barbeque and program of activities. Activity stations were set up throughout the building where learning survival of emergencies and crisis were both fun and educational. A steady flow of families and couples registered on arrival and moved along the activity centers. Kids at the end of their tour received a certificate of achievement along with a t-shirt or water bottle.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Department “hands on” activity for 911 phone calls where deputies spoke to children about the D.A.R.E. program, teaching kids about life skills needed to avoid involvement with drugs and making sure kids understood the reasons for dialing “911”.

In the kitchen, kids were lined up at a counter as fire department personnel talked about kitchen fires and prevention. Grand County EMS talked about first aid and “Stop, Drop and Roll” in the case where your clothes caught on fire. Sparky the Dog® was right there as a reminder to keep rolling, and call for help!

Hug a Tree, a presentation by the Grand County Search & Rescue, taught families on what to do if you get lost in a forest; something that can easily happen to a young child who may wander off from a campsite, or an adult who may get turned around in the forest.

The U.S. Forest Service had information on mitigation, defensible space, and wildfire prevention tips. Bill Ross of the Forest Service was right there to answer questions. Bill said, “The Forest Service has a good partnership with the Grand Lake Fire Department.” As one professional organization to another, working together for the greater good of the community is something that was heard throughout the evening. Smoky the Bear was there as an added reminder to “prevent forest fires”.

Steve Waldorf, a 3-year veteran was quick to credit all the participating organization --“we all work closely together”. In the past year, firefighters went out on eight fire calls but 65% of their calls were related to Emergency Medical Service call. “We were fortunate this year there were no major wildfires.” There are 25 volunteer firemen and women; 6 paid employees on the staff of the Grand Lake Fire Department. The Grand Lake Fire Department sponsors the annual Easter Egg Hunt, scholarships to students traveling outside of the country under the “People to People” program. Most recently Alaura Cox, Alex Sidell and Adam Weaver won scholarships to travel to Greece, Italy and France. But the $1,500 awarded didn’t come easy; they had to be involved with civic projects in the community, assist in the Easter Egg Hunt and the Kole fundraising dinner. There was a lot to see and a lot to experience and everyone came away learning something new.

Mindy Everhart, a volunteer firefighter for 10 years before becoming a full-time employee of the Grand Lake Fire Department in February of 2008, said with pride, “I love what I do and its giving back to my community”.

It takes dedication, bravery and commitment to be a volunteer or fulltime firefighter. Our community is fortunate to have Fire Departments in each of our districts who give back to their community by educating families on fire safety, offer scholarships, pancake breakfast fundraising events, turkey bingo, and open house barbecues. Most of all--they give of themselves with bravery, dedication and passionate commitment.

One retiree, Dave Terwell said, “I wanted to be active in my retirement. I volunteer to give back to my community and I’m working around a good group of people”.

Collin Steward, a fulltime firefighter said, “It’s the camaraderie—firefighters are very family oriented. Becoming a firefighter was always in my heart. Isn’t it every kids dream to get to ride in a big, red fire truck? It’s personal for me—my Dad was a firefighter”.

All fire departments are looking for volunteers. There are many other skills needed besides firefighting. If you have it in your heart to give back to the community, contact anyone of the fire departments in our community.