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Creston Fire Rescue delivers third-quarter report to town council

Creston Fire Rescue responded to 61 incidents in the third quarter, including 15 motor vehicle incidents...
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Retiring Creston Fire Rescue Chief Bruce Mabin presented his final quarterly report to town council at Tuesday’s regular meeting. In it, he said the fire department responded to 61 incidents in the third quarter, including 15 motor vehicle incidents.

A total of 339 man-hours were devoted to fighting structural fires, in which losses totalled $301,200. Total property value saved is estimated at $542,000.

Mabin’s report expressed concern about the recent loss of a number of volunteer firefighters, some of whom have had to take work out of town to support their families. The department now has 24 members, of which 15 are allowed to enter a structure for rescue or fire suppression purposes.

It takes three to five years to fully certify a firefighter and an equal amount of additional time to train to officer level.

Industry standards indicate a firefighting force of 39 is considered necessary to ensure that a minimum of 13 personnel respond to an emergency call to a family dwelling, small business or light industry.

“It is a common issue facing many departments today that the loss of senior experienced members, who provide direct leadership, mentoring and experience needed to work in these dangerous environments, are leaving the fire service for various reasons,” he reported. “Without having the experienced leadership on scene, responders may be limited to performing exterior protection to adjacent property and may not be able to rescue of trapped victims.

“The recruitment of members is ongoing, but as mentioned previously, it takes time for training and experience.

“The consequence of this situation may seem obvious in the threat of possible loss of life and property. However, the limitation of not being able to succeed in saving a life, protecting property and helping those in need is a direct conflict with the intent of the volunteer paid on-call member for joining the service. It may cause critical incident stress that affects the members both personally and professionally which could see members leaving the service, resulting in a reduction of responders.”

Mabin added that the result could be increased insurance rates to property owners.