Thanks Fire & Rescue for being there when you’re needed

[j_gluck]

Sunday afternoon, just as the sun was setting, we noticed the smell of burning plastic in the basement. The pipe that attaches to the chimney from our wood boiler was orange hot.

We called 911 and within minutes Fairfax Fire & Rescue showed up. They took time out of their day and showed up with temperatures below zero to do their job promptly, professionally and courteously. They are our neighbors and they take their responsibilities seriously.

They noticed that there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. They sent a couple of guys up to the roof to drop a chain down the pipe to clear any blockage. When the chain came down, so did quite a bit of creosote. Once the blockage was cleared, you could hear the sound of the smoke going up the chimney.

The Chief used an infrared scanner to check the temperature of the stack that houses the chimney on all of the floors. They also checked for CO2.

Everything checked out fine, but we were told not to use the wood boiler until the chimney is cleaned and inspected – which was not welcome news since we had the chimney cleaned and inspected before the heating season and I had set aside some nice large pieces of wood for the minus 20 temperatures, but the right thing to do.

There is a lot of discussion on this forum about the taxes we pay in this town. Although the Fire & Rescue squad is all volunteer, their equipment, vehicles and facility are a considerable expense. Our taxes help pay for those things that allow them to do their job efficiently.

I am grateful all of it is there when needed. Thanks for being there for us today.

[slpott]

I totally agree.I know we pay a lot of taxes but I thank the town every day when we drive to school. I guess my feelings about the Fire Department can go unspoken. Art in Bloom is a beautiful way for me to show my appreciation. There are a lot of other people that feel the same way and show it by participating and coming. Some do other things too. The calcutta is a great way to help them too. I think the greatest feeling for me is seeing them in town or running into them at sporting events and they are always happy to be there to help. They are a great group of individuals. They do much more than just fight fires.

[Chris Santee]

We agree, j_gluck, we agree !
Fairfax Fire & Rescue are the best.
I am so happy to hear you're okay.

[logical]

I totally agree that these people put a lot of hard work and time into volunteering for their community and keeping us safe.    Please remember this when voting for their budgets! 

[HayesFXFD17]

Thank you for the kind words.  It is always nice to know that people appreciate the work that we do and that not all of the situations we respond to are doom and gloom. 

To be fair and honest to all those reading this thread the word volunteer is used quite a bit and in an attempt to be completely transparent with our taxpayers we are a paid on call department.  Simply this means that once we respond to a call, are actively training or performing station and fleet maintenance we become a paid part time employee of the town covered by workers compensation and other applicable laws (we do not incur health benefits that a full time employee would). 

We are volunteer in the respect that when the pager goes off each member has the choice to respond or not based on their work schedules, family priorities etc.  Those members whom do not respond, or participate in training or maintenance do not receive compensation for the specific event.  Those that pay close attention to the municipal budget will note that we do carry a line item for roughly $33,000 for compensation or payroll. 

Again than you for the kind words and I will be sure to pass this along to the membership.

Justin Hayes
Deputy Chief
Fairfax Fire

[7F24]

The pay has nothing to do with people being members of the fire department.  It may help cover the gas people use in their vehicles responding, or may replace clothing they ruin on a call or in training, and it does make them eligible for workmans comp if they do get injured. Honestly, there is no way you could get most of us to go out in the middle of the night when it's -20 for the money we get paid.  We understand how important the fire department is to our community and our families, and cannot imagine not being a member.