January 18, 1977

Number of fire runs increases in White River Township

       "It used to be it wasn’t so bad,” Larry Robinson, an officer with the White River Township Volunteer Fire Department said. He was reflecting upon the effects of inflation upon the department. Robinson also reflected, “Gas prices were lower and we had fewer runs.” He remarked that he would definitely favor some sort of clothing allowance to help out the volunteer firefighters to purchase the firefighting clothes they need. “These guys are just average guys with average incomes,” Fire Chief Robert Wehrman said. Both Robinson and Wehrman said the compensation plan would probably not be instituted for at least another year. Time is probably the most expensive commodity of the fireman volunteer, the fire officials pointed out last year. Last year, 4,120 man hours were logged by the department’s staff, compared to 2,054 man hours for 1975. (Man hours consist of all time spent in service to the department, including stand-by duty at the station.) The total time “out of station” recorded by the fire department in 1976 jumped to 254 hours, compared to 135 hours in 1975. “Out of station time,” Robinson explained, is the time the trucks and men are gone from the time the tone rings until they return.
 

Equipment care

After they return, the volunteers cannot just go home, Wehrman noted, “equipment has to be put up, cleaned and re-racked.” “We have to have every truck ready to go again,” he explained. Each emergency run takes at least one hour, Robinson estimated. But, Wehrman noted, “fire runs are just part of it.” Men must also put in many hours for training. New members to the department must attend fire school one night per week for ten weeks at the Wayne Township fire station in Indianapolis. Advanced first aid classes are required within the first year. These classes meet two nights per week for twelve weeks. The department also conducts its own training sessions every Tuesday night. By, 1978 emergency medical training will be required of some volunteers, since a state law will make it mandatory to have an EMT on each emergency run. Volunteer time increases as runs increase, not only in time spent on runs, but also for paperwork, Wehrman noted. The volunteers are urged to make every run they can, Robinson said. When more than four show up for an emergency ambulance run, the rest are sent to the station for standby in case another emergency is received. “It’s happening more and more- we’re getting calls for two runs at the same time,” Wehrman reported. Wehrman said when more than four men report to the scene of an ambulance call the result is usually confusion. However, more manpower may be needed in the case of a fire or a personal injury accident.
 

District coverage

The White River coverage area is set up in districts, with men residing in the district where the call is made usually responding. However, Wehrman noted, a major part of the department’s manpower lives in the northern district, thus men from throughout the township are usually needed at the scene of emergency calls. Robinson noted that large working fires at residences or barns are the most time consuming runs, taking usually six to eight hours. They are called out most frequently for vehicle, field and brush fires according to 1975 statistics. Fireplaces in new homes are also a frequent fire cause.  (Reprinted with permission of the Daily Journal)

 

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