Crozet Volunteer Fire Department

2007 Was A Busy Year For The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department

Twenty four hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year for almost 100 years when the call for service was sounded the Crozet Volunteer Fire Department answered. In 2007 our fire pagers would shout out their shrill beeps seven hundred and seventy seven times with members responding to a wide variety of calls. At the top of the list of calls responded to were motor vehicle accidents which accounted for 220 calls. Many of these calls would be a dual effort between the fire department and the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, who provide not only their medical expertise, but are also the experts in extrication of accident victims. Interestingly, 138 of these calls would have an address of Interstate 64 and included 25 incidents involving tractor trailer trucks. I’m not sure if the problem is the steep grade of the mountain, but most of the car or truck fires we responded to were also on Interstate 64.

When reviewing the list of calls, one item that did catch my attention were the number fire alarm activations we respond to, which came to 133 calls. The vast majority of these would be false alarms, but from a fire department perspective each one has to be treated as a potential fire and we always prepare for any eventually. For the firefighters there are two potential dangers responding to these types of calls. The first comes with fact that about 25 percent of firefighter fatalities occur while responding to a call. Thankfully the members of our community are most cooperative in yielding the right of way to our emergency vehicles making life much easier for our drivers who have to navigate our narrow country roads. The second is a problem for those of us sitting in the fire engine and that’s getting too complacent when this type of call is received and not being totally ready when we arrive on scene.

One type of call that I thought would account for a much greater percentage of calls were brush fires, which totaled 133 calls. Considering our fire department covers such a large rural area and the fact we were in a drought much of the year I thought the brush fire season would be much worse.

Obviously the most feared of all types of calls we respond to are the structure fires. In 2007 we would hear the Emergency Communication Center call us out for structure fires 81 times, ranging from small fires put out by a couple of squirts of water to monster fires that would require the efforts of multiple departments to extinguish. On 14 occasions the Crozet Fire Department would be called to cover the fire stations of other departments when all of their equipment was out on a call.

At the bottom of the lists came calls from a category titled “Public Service”. This is the catch all for everything from flooded basements to my favorite (not really), the animal rescue call.

So what’s new for the fire department in 2008? Here’s my first headline “Firefighter Fink Fights First Fire”. Jimmy Fink, son of firefighter Glen Fink and recent graduate of Firefighter I class got to be part of the attack team at a recent structure fire up in White Hall. For Jimmy this would be his first structure fire and his baptism into the brotherhood of fire and smoke. As part of the team, which also included Firefighter Paul Quillon and Ty Milnor, I can attest to the fine job Jimmy did in helping to make a good stop of a fire that was blowing out the roof vent when we arrived. Jimmy is a freshman at Bridgewater College in the valley and was a member of the Crozet Fire Department Junior Firefighter program. We look forward to Jimmy being a value member of the department for years to come.

Also in the good news category are congratulations to Firefighter Jeff Bodine who just passed his Firefighter I state exam as well as the fact we now have two new members, Lance Blakely, a Charlottesville Fire Department Firefighter and Mark Carlson, who just moved this way from Chicago.

Remember we can always use new members, so if your interested stop by the fire house any evening from Monday through Thursday after 6 PM and talk to someone about joining. The department pays for all the training and equipment you’ll need to become a member of a first class fire department.


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	2007 Was A Busy Year For The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department Twenty four hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year for almost 100 years when the call for service was sounded the Crozet Volunteer Fire Department answered. In 2007 our fire pagers would shout out their shrill beeps seven hundred and seventy seven times with members responding to a wide variety of calls. At the top of the list of calls responded to were motor vehicle accidents which accounted for 220 calls. Many of these calls would be a dual effort between the fire department and the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, who provide not only their medical expertise, but are also the experts in extrication of accident victims. Interestingly, 138 of these calls would have an address of Interstate 64 and included 25 incidents involving tractor trailer trucks. I’m not sure if the problem is the steep grade of the mountain, but most of the car or truck fires we responded to were also on Interstate 64. When reviewing the list of calls, one item that did catch my attention were the number fire alarm activations we respond to, which came to 133 calls. The vast majority of these would be false alarms, but from a fire department perspective each one has to be treated as a potential fire and we always prepare for any eventually. For the firefighters there are two potential dangers responding to these types of calls. The first comes with fact that about 25 percent of firefighter fatalities occur while responding to a call. Thankfully the members of our community are most cooperative in yielding the right of way to our emergency vehicles making life much easier for our drivers who have to navigate our narrow country roads. The second is a problem for those of us sitting in the fire engine and that’s getting too complacent when this type of call is received and not being totally ready when we arrive on scene. One type of call that I thought would account for a much greater percentage of calls were brush fires, which totaled 133 calls. Considering our fire department covers such a large rural area and the fact we were in a drought much of the year I thought the brush fire season would be much worse. Obviously the most feared of all types of calls we respond to are the structure fires. In 2007 we would hear the Emergency Communication Center call us out for structure fires 81 times, ranging from small fires put out by a couple of squirts of water to monster fires that would require the efforts of multiple departments to extinguish. On 14 occasions the Crozet Fire Department would be called to cover the fire stations of other departments when all of their equipment was out on a call. At the bottom of the lists came calls from a category titled “Public Service”. This is the catch all for everything from flooded basements to my favorite (not really), the animal rescue call. So what’s new for the fire department in 2008? Here’s my first headline “Firefighter Fink Fights First Fire”. Jimmy Fink, son of firefighter Glen Fink and recent graduate of Firefighter I class got to be part of the attack team at a recent structure fire up in White Hall. For Jimmy this would be his first structure fire and his baptism into the brotherhood of fire and smoke. As part of the team, which also included Firefighter Paul Quillon and Ty Milnor, I can attest to the fine job Jimmy did in helping to make a good stop of a fire that was blowing out the roof vent when we arrived. Jimmy is a freshman at Bridgewater College in the valley and was a member of the Crozet Fire Department Junior Firefighter program. We look forward to Jimmy being a value member of the department for years to come. Also in the good news category are congratulations to Firefighter Jeff Bodine who just passed his Firefighter I state exam as well as the fact we now have two new members, Lance Blakely, a Charlottesville Fire Department Firefighter and Mark Carlson, who just moved this way from Chicago. Remember we can always use new members, so if your interested stop by the fire house any evening from Monday through Thursday after 6 PM and talk to someone about joining. The department pays for all the training and equipment you’ll need to become a member of a first class fire department.