Congratulations

Thanks are due to Glenn, Ed, and Phyllis for their work on the grant proposal for a new pumper. Ed hit the submit button last night, and the proposal was complete. Phyllis started it off with a rough draft a couple of weeks ago and Glenn and Ed spent a grueling week polishing it to perfection. The FEMA Assistance to Firefighters application rules were pretty stringent, and the final result was what we all thought a very good proposal. Well done!

A large part of a grant proposal is in documenting the personnel and the accomplishments of the fire department as a whole. This includes:

• Those who keep our books and records.



• Those who organize and come to training.



• Those who attend our business meetings.



• Those who help to raise funds, and who contribute to them.



• Those who have written proposals in the past, for that turns out to be a record of the past.



• Those who spend their vacations fighting fires elsewhere.



• Those who show up at calls, for that's why we're here.

All these things have to be established and verifiable - the first hurdle in evaluating a proposal is that it will be thrown out if these things can't be substantiated. So in addition to Glenn, Phyllis, and Ed, all those who have been a part of this deserve thanks as well.

There's another part of the documentation that goes into a grant proposal, and that's to establish the support of the community. The Wolfskin community that we serve has been steadfastly supportive through the years. We hope they realize the accomplishments they've made possible, and so a very large appreciation is due to them as well.

Thanks also to Mike Geraci, our former fire chief now in Michigan. He and colleagues encouraged and advised us in the early stages.

I don't mean to get all syrupy but you really don't realize how many efforts by so many people turn out to be important until you're involved in writing a grant proposal. It kind of lays it all out.

Call for Volunteers

Over the last few months we've bid, or will bid, farewell to several of our fine fellow firefighters. Andy took a job in southwest Georgia and is on indefinite leave. Scott will be leaving us at the end of June to the next step in his career. And Brian is off to the west to fight forest fires for the summer. We wish them all the best and grateful thanks for everything they've done for us.

And so that brings us to volunteers. We urgently need more firefighters, but there are plenty of jobs outside of that to do as well. You don't have to live in Wolfskin - Brian and Andy are/were Athens-Clarke County residents. You don't have to have previous training in firefighting - all of us started out as folks who didn't know anything about that and just wanted to learn and help the community.

Or maybe you've had a connection with or done firefighting in the past and want to take it up again on a more relaxed basis.

Whatever the case, think about it. Don't dismiss the possiblity because you think everything is under control and we have all we need. We don't. We need you, and welcome all of good will. Take a look through this website - there are well over a hundred posts here and I think you'll agree that we're an enthusiastic, relaxed, and committed group.

Finally, tell others you know, who you think may be interested but might not read our website. And let us know you did - that in itself is a volunteer effort that shouldn't go unthanked!

You can contact our Fire Chief, Ed Frey, or myself, at any of the phone numbers or email addresses located in spots all over this page. Or you can just drop by on any Thursday evening. That's when we're at 854 Wolfskin Road, working on the trucks, practicing a variety of skills, and generally having a good time.

Fire Alarm Call

Thanks to David, Phyllis, Brian, Glenn, Wayne (pumper), Ed

Dispatch at 10:20pm Thursday night for unknown fire alarm on Bridges Way, which is our only major high density subdivision off Double Bridges Road. I had Central notified en route and the pumper just leaving the station 10:30pm when the 10-22 came 10:31pm so all is good. Phyllis, Brian, and David went directly to the address. Arnoldville FD and Crawford FD also responded.

False alarm. Nonetheless, very good response. Everyone had checked in by 11pm, and that's great.

Notes: if you're playing around with your security system and the fire alarm goes off, call Central (911) to cancel. Unless you want a visit from three fire departments within ten to fifteen minutes.

We've had more fire calls in 2009 so far than in all of 2008.

Vehicle Accident Call

Saturday evening brought a 6pm call for a two-vehicle accident on Hway 78 (Athens Road between Old Edwards and Wolfskin), initially to Arnoldsville. At 6:20pm, Wolfskin was paged out for apparatus support.

Thanks to Ed, Glenn, David, Wayne (pumper) for response.

We were there for the usual reasons, Just In Case, but also for possible cleanup need. The idea seems to have been to wash off the road but there was leakage of transmission fluid/coolant mix and they used dry absorbant instead. Good on Oglethorpe County for choosing an appropriate cleanup method. It didn't take long, and I think we were back in 45 minutes.

Good response, well-done. Thanks, all. Only mistake was me running over the chock, but Ed caught that I was just trying to make him feel better.

Early Thu Apr 9: Structure Fire Call

Thanks to David, Glenn, Wayne for response. Tanker driver: Wayne

Original dispatch was to Arnoldsville FD around midnight Thursday morning for a structure fire at Meyer Farm Road (just this side of Hargrove Lake Road, 10-15 miles from Wolfskin FD). Devils Pond FD and Beaverdam FD were also called, then Crawford FD and Winterville FD. Sounds like around 7 pumpers and tankers involved, as well as EMS and LE. The road was very well blocked.

The WFD tanker was dispatched at 0021, I was enroute by 0029 with Glenn on way to lock up and follow. I believe I arrived at 0045, David already there. We provided a tank of water (2500 gal) nursing to DPFD tanker.

Structure, a residence, had been reported as fully involved shortly after we were called. There may have been a smoke inhalation injury but otherwise no one was hurt. Refilled the trusty tanker and were back at station at 0253.

Beaverdam's Ray did a fantastic job as IC this morning, convening a short meeting of firefighters toward the end to tell us what would happen now, and moving up and down the row of engines keeping us all informed. Bill Moody was sharp as a tack, relaying to Central that we had arrived, and also when we had been released. Oglethorpe Central dispatcher also did a great job, including thanking folks as they arrived back at station.

I was unsuccessful in reaching anyone by phone, but since it was out of district, only tanker water was needed, and so many FDs were present, I figured it would be mostly just standing around for a couple of hours after getting things going. Which it was. Otherwise I would have been more persistent.

Note: our county roads are quiet and nice to travel on between midnight and 4AM.

Late Wed Apr 1: Good Will Call

During mid evening, Central requested we respond to a residence, close to the fire station, who reported that their carbon monoxide alarm had sounded. Ed, Glenn, Phyllis, Jim, and David each responded in their POVs. The owners said that the alarm went of after a gas heater was turned on. The owners had turned off the heater before Wolfskin arrived and Jim scanned the area with his own monitor and confirmed the absence of carbon monoxide. Ed made sure the unit and its gas supply were both turned off and told the owners to have the gas heater checked by a repair person.

Note: carbon monoxide is a highly flammable, tasteless, odorless, invisible, and lethal gas produced by incomplete combustion. Install carbon monoxide detectors near fireplaces and where propane or natural gas is burned. Although it has the same density as air, the gas will rise along with the other warm combustion gases; place the monitor above the the flames but more importantly where you can easily get to it to test it, change its batteries and to turn it off.

Brush Fire Late Afternoon

Thanks to Phyllis, Ed (pumper), Glenn, Brian, and Lisa.

Sunday Feb 22, about 6pm, Central paged out a 1070 brush fire for Wolfskin FD off Double Bridges Road, called in by a resident of "The Bridges" subdivision. The brush fire itself was north of the subdivision. Crawford FD and Arnoldsville FD were also called out, and as first arrivals CFD was incident command. Forestry was also called but cancelled soon after. From Wolfskin, Brian got there ahead of our pumper and was already busy in the field. He grabbed the booster hose and continued working.

Note: Callers don't always know the geography. Since this was called in from the subdivision, at least some of the engines went down the access road to the subdivision. The fire was actually in a field that could not be accessed from the subdivision road - the field was accessible by a road farther up Double Bridges Road.

Lisa quickly realized this and informed Central - to their credit they quickly paged out the information. This was important since if the wind had been a bit different the fire could have approached the houses while the engines were on the other side!

This is really our only subdivision where houses are built right next to each other.