Aug. 25--The Leitchfield Fire Department is continuing its mission to better serve its citizens.
To help cut down on response time, the LFD recently purchased new furniture and converted its Fire Station Number 2 recreation room into a dormitory. And on Wednesday, August 21, the first two Leitchfield volunteer firefighters stayed the night there.
Since being sworn in as Leitchfield Fire Chief on Friday, June 28, Jerry Schlosser said he has tried to incorporate new emergency response techniques into the work performed by the LFD.
Schlosser said he came up with the idea to convert the recreation room into a dormitory after seeing how quickly a number of other Kentucky fire departments with dormitories are able to respond to emergency situations.
According to the rules and guidelines for the Station 2 Night Duty Dorm Area, the time in which firefighters occupy the Station 2 dorm area is not set in exact hours or minutes.
"The purpose of manning Station 2 on a nightly basis is to shorten response time during hours in which response times have traditionally been slower but when emergencies are often more serious," the guidelines read.
The guidelines also specify that the firefighters who volunteer will keep their boots and bunker pants beside their beds and their coats and helmets "at the ready in the front seat of the first out apparatus."
By implementing these duties, Schlosser said, "We're hoping that we can have a truck en route between 90 and 120 seconds."
According to the guidelines, "If the LFD is successful in improving response time, it should result in reduced damage from fire and better survival chances for people involved in accidents and other emergency situations."
Schlosser said the LFD has been fortunate to have enough members that a number are willing to volunteer for night duty at Station 2.
Leitchfield Firefighters Hugh "Papoose" Noe and Bill Meredith were "very enthused" to volunteer to be the first firefighters to stay in the Fire Station 2 dormitory, and currently four other firefighters have volunteered for the night duty, Schlosser said.
The hope is that at least two firefighters in the dormitory at a time to optimally operate a fire truck on an emergency run, Schlosser said.
Currently, Leitchfield Firefighters Albert Riggle, Clint Abner, Bryan Langdon, and Sam Coffey have also volunteered for LFD Station 2 Night Duty.
Copyright 2013 - Grayson County News-Gazette, Leitchfield, Ky.
