15 / 104
13
more rapidly and with more trained responders to handle both fire and emergency medical
calls. One of the biggest success stories that comes from this program are the amount of
overlapping incidents that we are able to cover. During 2015 the department responded to 175
calls that overlapped one another, this is nearly 18% of all of our calls. Without current staffing
the department would not have been able to handle the incident without utilizing mutual aid,
and drastically increasing response times for both fire and medical emergencies.
• Apparatus Acquisition: In June 2015 the department took delivery of the Tanker/Pumper that was
approved during the 2014 Town Meeting. This truck replaced Engine 3 at Chicopee Station that
was not a certified pumper. The replacement allowed us to gain ISO points that we otherwise
would not have been awarded, the purchase had a positive effect on our PPC Rating.
• Training: As I speak to every year, our members spend a tremendous amount of time away
from their families on calls and for training. During 2015 the officers and members of the
department spent 5,885 hours training. This year that included live structural firefighting in an
acquired structure donated to the department by Eric and Barbara Low. This type of training
is extremely valuable to our members.
• Response Times: If there is one single thing that we can do to positively effect the outcome of
an emergency it is to reduce response time. Due to added staffing and moving an ambulance
to Groveville Station, the department has been able to reduce response time in some cases
by more then four minutes! In comparison, in 2014 our longest response time was thirteen-
minutes, and in 2015 the longest was nine-minutes. We continue to work on our turnout time,
however in just the two-year snapshot four minutes is a great start!
• As you can see we have been working hard to not only prepare for emergencies but to also reduce
homeowners and business owner’s insurance costs through the reduction in the Towns ISO PPC
Rating. We will hear what our final, approved rating is sometime in the late spring/early summer.
• I would be remiss if I did not tip the helmet to all of our members, but also to the select few
who were recognized as award recipients during our 20-Year Annual banquet:
♦
Paul Yarumian – Junior Firefighter of the Year
♦
Firefighter/EMT Jeff Roblee – Student Live-In Firefighter of the Year
♦
Firefighter Corey VanDevener – Firefighter of the Year
♦
Paramedic/Firefighter Lori Thompson – EMS Provider of the Year
♦
William Goff & Carlton Berry – Fire Police Officers of the Year
♦
Captain Jamie Grant – Officer of the Year
Lastly, Thank You! Thank you to all of the members of this community that support our first
responders, and especially to the families of our first responders. Without the support we would
not be able to provide the service that we do!
Respectfully submitted,
Nathan R. Schools, EFO
Fire-Rescue Chief
Buxton Fire-Rescue (Cont.)