Firehouse Smoke

January/February 2020 

In our last edition of Firehouse Smoke, we were very excited about the recent training opportunities to keep our skills sharp and to training collectively with other community departments that support us.  Our hard work, dedication and training paid off.  We had two significant fires that we responded to.  The Gallup Farm had an apparent electrical fire that spread to the basement and front room.  Challenging high winds worked in our favor as for direction, blowing the flames from the building.  This home is over 300 years old and thankfully the fire was reported quickly with moderate damage. 

We responded mutual aid to Griswold to an fully involved structure fire that destroyed the residence.  Multiple departments were involved in this fire that took hours to fight.  We had low temperatures creating hazardous/icy conditions for responders.

The last few months we have had several car accidents that were severe and unfortunately one being fatal.  Life Star responded to a motorcycle accident and transported to RI Hospital. With icy roads, temperature fluctuation, snow/rain we are seeing puddling on the roadways, Slow down, be extra vigilant on the roads with the rapid changes it makes driving hazardous.  We want to see you at a barbeque and having a good day.  Unfortunately, all too often we see you when you are not having a good day.

Now for some fun news!  Children’s Christmas Party on December 15th was a huge success.  We love seeing all the children and their faces light up when Santa arrives.  We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and set a New Year’s resolution to make sure you have working smoke detectors and CO detectors.  These simple items can save your live or the life of your loved ones…even the four-legged ones!

If you are interested in becoming an Emergency Medical Technical, we are looking for a few good people.  We will provide the training, we just ask you to help us with responding to our neighbors in need. 

Our Community Fund that was established in 2019, is comprised of several agencies within the Town of Voluntown.  This fund was designed for the people of Voluntown when they are in need of help.  Recently, we were able to help a family obtain heating oil during a cold spell when heat was needed most.  We also were able to help a resident that was severely injured.  The assistance provided to both of these residents proves the good we all are doing for those who need it.  Any disbursement receives consensus with the community agencies that are part of the Community Fund.  If you know of someone that is in need of help please contact Chief Jody Grenier or Tracey Hanson to get the help started.

In 2020, the Community Fund Agencies plan to come together again for a fundraising event to help build this fund.  The synergy of these events makes all the efforts seamless as if we work together every day!