LVFD Chief Responds to Fanning the Flames

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I had a conversation with LVFD Fire Chief, Jerry Walters this morning and he responded to the comments that were left about the fire department.
Informer: What type of training does your department have?
Walters: Everyone must get 40 hours of training each year, we must complete an 80 hour course and we must pass a written comprehensive exam; anyone that fails any portion of their training will not receive their certification.
Informer: What would you like the citizens of Lumberton to know about you and the LVFD?
Walters: I want people to know that we are here because we love this city. It's obvious that we are not doing this for fame or fortune, we are doing this because we want this city to thrive and they need a fire department. I get tired of people sitting back and laughing at me whenever I ask them to join the fire department. Th first thing they ask is "How much does this position pay?" and when I tell them that is a volunteer fire department, they respond by saying "I'm not risking my life for free." Unfortunately, that's a response I receive over and over again. There are some that like to say we have access to $1,000/month, but we have to use that money to maintain the equipment, training and a very small portion goes to those that respond to fire calls. Public perception is one thing, but we need to be about the business of this city. When people sit back and watch us fighting a fire, they don't realize that we have a check list to follow. We are making sure that there are no gas leaks, we have to be aware of the power lines, we must make sure that no one is in the house, we must make sure that by-standers are not in the way and we must do this while wearing over 50lbs. of equipment; battling 1000 + degree weather. Nobody wants to volunteer, but everyone has an opinion. . I just want people to know that we will never use a tragic situation to try to get funding. We do not want anyone to lose their house to a fire, but we need more young, able-bodied men and women that can help fight a fire. We are all in this together. I have a file cabinet full of applications for volunteer firefighters and anyone that want to find out what it takes to fight a fire can join and get first hand experience. I would like to go on record saying that if my department is attacked, I will defend it.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 30, 2011 at 11:17 AM

    Very Well said! Keep up the good work chief!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Roy KingJune 30, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    My name is Roy king, I am a member in good standing with the Lumberton Fire Department. I am the training officer for Lumberton Fire Department, as well as the hief of Rockhill Fire Department. All I can say is this......we have never refused to enter any area of town, or the county, we treat every resident/community equally. We risk our lives on a daily basis so that the residents of Lumberton, and Lamar County may be safe. To the persons responsible for posting those things about us being racists.....if we're so racist....why do we continue to respond to all the emergencies we do. I hope the good citizens of Lumberton can see through these politically motivated statements and see the truth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 1, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    I think Jonathan was onto something when he said that there is a disconnect between reading and comprehension. I didn't read anything in this post calling anyone a racist, was it a coded message?

    ReplyDelete

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