I recently met with Fire Chief Pete Hornberger, Bob Clements (Committee Chair, Friends of TVFD and Fund Raising) and Trustee and Past President Bob Gebhardt of the Twin Valley Fire Department to learn about the operation of the fire department.
The easiest way for me to describe our discussion is to visualize a three-legged stool. Each leg of the stool must be solid in order to brace itself against any emergency the fire department may have to respond to that “sits” on the seat of the stool. The seat, representing those perils that may sit on it (building and brush fires, vehicle crashes, reports of dangerous odors, etc.) putting pressure on the legs of the stool itself must be broad because the fire department responds to an average of 398 calls a year in the following locals: West Nantmeal, Honey Brook Township, Caernarvon Lancaster, Elverson Borough, East Nantmeal, Warwick Township, New Morgan Borough and Caernarvon Berks.
The first leg of the stool represents having proper equipment in the department so it can respond to the hazard at hand. Obviously, the purchasing of the equipment is the first step. It has to be continuously and mechanically maintained and kept clean. Planning must be ongoing to update and replace older equipment. Ordering of large new equipment can take at least a year after providing specifications to the manufacturer. In addition to the equipment, the physical building where the equipment is housed must be maintained along with the cost of utilities.
The second leg of the stool represents financing of all the costs in running the fire department. The budget for 2017 shows income of $444,001 and expenses (cost of income, operating expenses and fire truck payments) total $557,266 or a deficit of $113,265. Income includes various fund raising activities by the members such as a BBQ Competition, Harley Raffle, Golf Outing and 5K Race.
A great thanks to Iron Mountains, LLC, 70 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Morgantown, which is keenly aware of the value of a well-equipped fire department and its volunteers, which is in the process of contributing just under $80,000 to the Twin Valley Fire Department. The donated funds will be used to purchase four new gas meters for detecting carbon dioxide in residences and a new hydraulic pump with a new combination tool and spreader (Jaws of Life). Also, the Department’s hydraulic tools will be upgraded to the new version of tools.
“Everyone benefits when the Fire Department has proper tools and equipment,” said Nate Saint, CEO of Iron Mountains, LLC, explaining the reason the company is making this donation. “We are thankful for the local volunteers at TVFD who serve the surrounding communities and are grateful for the opportunity to be able to assist them in the valuable work they do.”
Additional donations both from individuals and companies in the Twin Valley Fire Department operating area will be solicited this fall by mail and (with some commercial and industrial businesses) personally.
The third leg of the stool represents manpower. The first two legs of the stool would be valueless without the approximately 50 volunteers who are members of the Department (Department’s members are not paid). Responding to emergency calls is just a part of the volunteers’ efforts. They also must go through extensive training. For example, recently two members each completed 180 hours of the Fire Fighter #1 class and another 80 hours each of the Vehicle Rescue Team training. This training involves additional expense. Members also spend about two and a half hours one night a week for training and maintaining the equipment. They also provide a multitude of community services, educating school students about their work and providing, through AAA, helmets and inspections of child car seats. If the seats are faulty, AAA will replace them.
Each time you hear the fire sirens in the future, I hope you will think of the three legged stool, what each leg stands for and be proud that we all have a dedicated fire department that is available 24 hours a day to save lives and protect property.
Jeff Hall, of Honey Brook, contributes columns to the Tri County Record and Berks-Mont Newspapers.
