Fewer fire department calls in 2017

2017 saw significantly fewer calls for service for the Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, compared to 2016. According to information from the TVFD, there were a total 72 calls last year, compared to 108 in 2016.

Fire Chief Mark Collins attributed the decrease in calls to people being more cautious, and there were not as many controlled burns that got out of hand.

Among the 72 calls, there were 14 for grass fires — 24 total acres burned in Hot Springs County, and 264 acres burned in Washakie County — 12 for vehicle crashes, six involving hazardous materials or gas meters, six good intent/service calls, five for vehicle fires, three structure fires, three downed powerlines, two dumpster fires, one chimney fire, one oil tank and one gasoline spill.

There were also 18 calls which were false alarm.

Tuesday night, the department elected officers for 2018, with Mark Collins as chief, Bryce Gilbert as assistant chief, Cory Gilbert as captain, Ryan Georgious as first lieutenant, Jay Erk as second lieutenant, Carnell Deere as treasurer and James Coates as secretary.

Though we’re in a bit of a lull from the snow, winter’s still got a couple months left to it. When the flakes fall again, in addition to keeping sidewalks clear it’s important to remove snow from around fire hydrants as well. Any snow and ice should be removed from the hydrant, there should be a wide enough perimeter — about three feet — to walk around it and there should be a clear path from the hydrant to the street.

Making sure hydrants are clear can help firefighters have easy access when an emergency happens.