Thursday, July 5, 2012

Our Fire Department

Tuesday night my neighbor ??? came over and said he had been checking in to starting a volunteer fire department in this area. He said he talked to one of the judges and a couple of commissioners (not ours) and they told him to just do it. I called several of our friends around here and got them to come over and we officially started the department.


If any of you living in our area want to join let me know. We are about 25 miles from the Terlingua / Study Butte fire department and at least 60 from the one in Alpine so this could be a good thing.






24 comments:

  1. It's great to be proactive about a Volunteer Fire Department but will the judges/city commissioners provide funding for water vehicles and equipment?

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    1. Sandy, Lee is the one checking in to all of this. He thinks we can get some vehicles donated. Water will probably be the main problem. I think this is going to be one of those wait and see deals. (At least on my part) Lee has a lot of resources to draw from.

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  2. I thought you moved there to get away from all the structured municipal stuff? If there were a fire, wouldn't you all rush in to help anyway? If you get the local government involved you will have strings attached. Just go help when needed.

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    1. Good point DD, but things are changing and before long this isn't going to be the same Terlingua we know now. A lot of people are buying down here and the pre-built building are being hauled in pretty quick. Hate to see it, but that's the way it goes.

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  3. Great idea! I always worry about fire out there.

    Seemed like I thought there was already a VFD for the ranch? At least at one point I talked to a couple who claimed they part of the VFD. This was about 7 years ago and I can no longer remember their names. In fact, I can't remember what I ate for breakfast. At least I think I ate breakfast...

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    1. QKid, As far as I know the only EMS/Fire department down here is in Study Butte/Terlingua. Perhaps there was a VFD here at one time and it got dropped?

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  4. I would be open to helping out. I left an all volunteer department when we moved from Colorado. I was really starting to enjoy it too.

    I think the blessing of the county would be a good thing as their is a lot of liability that goes along with fighting fires. I don't know all of the rules and laws, but it's certainly something to look into.


    Chris Miller
    Our180.com - One Family's Journey To Finding True Happiness

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    1. Chris, I'll post about this as I learn about it and how things are coming along.

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  5. Tffnguy,


    (captain crunch again)


    I would join up if I was living up there in Terlingua. I was a fireman/engineman in the Navy. Only problem now is I kinda crippled up. The only hose Im pulling now is a garden hose. I guess if I moved up there I could work at dispatch/technical support and I can buy beer after every rescue (I think if that was the case someone would take advantage of that) Every Friday and Saturday night there would a cat stuck in tree (where there are no trees)

    I think what you guys are doing is great and has real potential to help others out and can save peoples lives.

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  6. CC, I think its either 3 or 4 more people want in so the number is rising. If we get enough people in different areas I guess that might help. Problem will be getting any equipment we might come up with from right around here to the fire. Still that would probably be faster than a truck or ambulance coming from 25 miles away.

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  7. Tffnguy

    (captaincrunch)

    Maybe you guys can score a dontated old fire engine, as long as it works. Who cares what it looks like or how old it is.
    I also think an old "duece and half" with its all-terrain cabability my be a better choice. I think what you guys are doing is great and it helps to build bonds in the community.

    Maybe you guys at the legion can have a "Charity Wet T-Shirt" and mud wrestling match to fund the fire dept. (Only problem is, where you gonna find the women) Terlingua, Texas ain't Cancun, Mexico thats for damn sure!

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  8. CC, Lee is going to get some unused equipment donated to us, but if so it will need some work to get it back in service. He's trying to get a snorkel truck and some type ambulance. I guess we would take anything we could get like that. We can't associate it with the legion or anything else so that sort of thing is out. (Even if we could find some hot babes to do it)

    Anon, we would never BS!

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  9. Water,Water,Water. There's no damn water. C'mon guys you no the only volunteering going on down there is to eat a free meal at the Legion. If it happens, I want to drive the Fire truck.

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  10. Hahaha. Captain crunch up there has me dreaming of the deuce and a half now. I've taken the rescue trucks and engines out, but that deuce was more fun than any of them.

    I agree with BK though. Where we getting the water?

    I joked with Nicole about this tonight... I see no reason to ever dial 911 down there. I don't care what the emergency is - no one is going to show up in time. Shoot the intruder, wave goodbye to your burning house or deal with your own medical situations.... waiting 20 minutes to an hour for help is out of the question for all real emergencies. Might as well dial 411!

    I guess we can dream though... if nothing else this would be a great excuse to get together and drink, in which case I am ready to join!

    Chris Miller
    Our180.com - One Family's Journey To Finding True Happiness

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  11. Bkid, you should know that there are storage tanks down here for fire use only. I think the closest one is down by the grub shack though.

    Ron (the guy selling the buildings) used to work for the state checking and monitoring water wells around the state. He says we've been going to the wrong people trying to get a community well. He thinks we can do it.

    Chris, there are a few deuces down here and we actually talked about how that would make a good fire truck, but chances of getting one is slim to none.

    If all else fails we'll make sure no one is in the burning buildings. Then we'll have a weaner roast and do a rain dance around the burning building.

    Actually we'll just be trying to buy time until the Terlingua or Alpine fire department could get here. An ambulance in this area could save lives.

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  12. Yep, I forgot about those water tanks scattered around the area. Remember the fire that started in Alpine about a year and a half ago? I was at Pizza Hut in Alpine when the fire started, one cigarette a lot of wind and several thousand acres later they got the fire stopped.
    I'm just saying that you've got a great idea but there's no way that a small group of people are going to be able to put a dent in a west Texas wildfire.

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  13. BKid, no doubt a wildfire would be way out of our league and I doubt that we would be allowed to fight one. I've heard of volunteers being turned away in such cases because of lack of training. I suppose we would try though until the real fire fighters told us to get out of there.

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  14. You might want to get a local attorney to guide you through all of the hoops your BOUND to have to jump through to do this endeavor, pro bono I hope.

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  15. SUERTE, this is Lee's brainchild and he's already been told that. Since he owns a place in Alpine and down here to. (Has lived in Alpine for many years) he has a lot of connections none of us have down here. I'm sure he will get it done.

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  16. Most fire departments are primarily interested in saving lives, either those in physical danger or those in medical danger. Typically the only way to save a house from fire is to install sprinkler systems, which are now becoming code in some locations for new houses. Otherwise a fire department wants to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent properties, probably not a problem in your neck of the woods.

    If a volunteer group can stop the bleeding or do CPR or provide a defibrillator (fairly cheap now), then they have the potential to save many lives.

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  17. David what your friend needs to do is contact the county fire authority, that is who sets up the program.

    The Texas Forest Service has a program with several million dollars of grant money to cover costs of training and equip once the Volunteer program is approved by the county.

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  18. Thanks RH, I'll pass it on to the boss.

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  19. Tffnguy,

    I truly hope Lee can get tanker vehicles donated. It's a fabulous idea to have ya'll volunteer your services. Lord knows every area needs this type of support.

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  20. Sandy, one of the volunteers has a tanker truck he says he will use for hauling water so now we need a fire truck and some more stuff. I guess we'll see how this plays out as it goes. I figure it will take a pretty good while to come about (If it does come about) In the mean time if we see any fires we'll do what we can.

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