Firefighters

WELCOME TO THE PINE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY

As a means of introduction, my name is Richard Quinn (most refer to me as Dick), the Fire Chief of the Pine Mountain Volunteer Fire Department (PMVFD). It is my fervent hope that you will find this beautiful area of the country to your liking and that you will soon feel that you are one of us.

The PMVFD currently consists of about 17 certified firefighters, 4 in training and 5 Basic Life Support First Responders. We operate 1 municipal style pumper truck, 2 tankers, 2 wildland fire trucks, a rapid response bush truck, a rescue vehicle and a service truck. Our main station is next to the Community Center on MC 8004 and Station 2 is on MC8059. We recently completed constructing a third station at the airstrip in Webb's Landing. However, as with many volunteer organizations, especially one with a largely aging population, we suffer from a lack of new volunteers to replace retiring members and those moving out of the area. We are constantly recruiting new members, asking them to give some of their free time to better serve the community as a volunteer firefighter or medical first responder. The Pine Mountain Community is a community built on volunteerism, whether it be as a firefighter, first responder, a member of the Board of Directors, a trash hauler, someone ready to clean up the cemetery for annual reunion, or part of a team that picks up trash along the district's roadways once or twice a year. Volunteerism is a way of life here and all are welcome to participate. There is something for everyone to participate in.

You are, no doubt, asking yourself – What does it take to be a volunteer firefighter in PMVFD?

First of all, you must have the desire to be a volunteer, ready to give up some of your personal time to attend courses of instruction, business meetings, training sessions and, of course, respond to fire calls day or night. It is also very important that your overall health be adequate for you to perform duties required of you. Not all firefighters will be called on to enter burning buildings, but may be required to drive, operate apparatus or control traffic. No one will be required to perform duties where he/she is unwilling or is not comfortable in performing.

If you are willing to sacrifice some of your time and are considering volunteering as a firefighter, the basic requirements to become a certified firefighter, and thus covered by Workman's Compensation, are to satisfactorily complete the following courses of instruction:

Introduction to Firefighting (12 hrs.)

Personal Protection Equipment (12 hrs.)

Wildland Firefighting (8 hrs.)

Also, FEMA requires all firefighters and first responders to attend courses as follows:

National Incident Management System
(NIMS) (IS-700a)(on-line course) (3 hrs.)

Incident Command System
(ICS-100a)(on-line course) (3 hrs.)

The total time required to complete all of the above is approximately 36 hours usually spread over many dates and times. All but the Wildland Firefighting course are taught by our Company Training Officer at our fire station. Once certified, firefighters must receive an additional 16 hours of certifiable training each year. Also, the PMVFD conducts routine training, work session, etc., for 3 hours on the 3rd Saturday of each month.

I'm not asking you to make up your mind right now, or even in the near future.

Take your time, and then, if you feel like helping your community as a volunteer firefighter or first responder, please contact me at 436-3309. If you want more information, you are welcome to attend one of our business meetings, which occur at 7:00pm on the second Thursday of each month. You may get a better idea on what it takes to be a firefighter or first responder and meet those who have already volunteered.

R. H. Quinn
PMVFD Fire Chief