Local firefighters keep county safe

Most volunteer work does not require responding to 3 a.m. emergency phone calls or running towards a burning building. However, for the fire departments in Mineral County that is exactly the case.

The St. Regis and West End Fire Departments are volunteer operated. With the vast wilderness and Interstate winding through a mountain pass, the local departments keep busy.

“We cover every type of call you can think of,” West End Volunteer Fire Chief Bruce Charles said.

The St. Regis and West End are prepared to handle structure fires, wild land fires, crashes and search and rescue if needed. Fire Chief Charles said with the spring flooding, his crew also did flood control.

With a volunteer operation, the department is at the mercy of who is willing to volunteer their time. Fire Chief Charles said when he came on as chief six years ago; most of the staff was retirees.

“Six years ago, we had four or five volunteers and a 1962 engine,” Fire Chief Charles said. “The only people I knew were retirees like myself. Now, we have a much better mix of people.”

Now, St. Regis and the West End have nearly 30 people ready to be called out on a moments notice. Fire Chief Charles said it takes an especially wire person to handle that sort of volunteer work.

“In the fire business, they say most people run away,” Fire Chief Charles said. “These are the guys and gals that run toward a fire or run toward an emergency.”

“They don’t stand there and try to get out of the way,” Fire Chief Charles added. “They are the people that go and help immediately.”

This fall, the West End is hosting another EMT training course.

“We need people who are willing to be EMTs,” Fire Chief Charles said. “We cover all expenses, training and licensing.”

Less than half the St. Regis and West End crews are EMT certified. Susan Charles and Sherill Christensen are the only two EMTs on the West End crew. Fire Chief Charles said it is necessary to have EMT presences on the crew and that is what makes the training courses important.

To help with training the crews, Fire Chief Charles hopes to build a training facility in Saltese, where the West End department is located along with the station in Deborgia.

“It will be a live fire training facility,” Fire Chief Charles said. “I hope to get some of it done by this winter.”

Along with up-to-date training, the West End and St. Regis Fire Departments are just as equipped as any other fire department.

The only noticeable differences are that the fire trucks haul their own water with no fire hydrants in the area.

Also, the fire trucks do not have tall ladders because it is not necessary out in the country.

Between the Saltese and Deborgia fire stations, the West End Fire Department has five fire trucks, one quick response unit (similar to an ambulance), one crash truck and one brush truck.

The brush truck is a smaller, six-wheel drive truck that has an 80-gallon tank. “You can do just about anything with it,” West End Assistant Fire Chief Art Drobny said about the brush truck.

In the crash truck, the Jaws of Life equipment is stored. By the Jaws of Life, the crash truck also stores a chain saw and cribbing equipment. Also the truck holds air bags that can be inflated to lift a vehicle up or apart in emergency situations.

Each fire truck in the West End fleet is equipped with various hoses. The hoses range from one-inch interior diameter to four-inch interior diameter.

One important feature Fire Chief Charles pointed out is the use of foam through the hoses. Unlike water, foam does not ball up and it destroys surface tension. Charles said foam is three times more effective because is covers the oxygen and kills fire.

Similar to the West End, the St. Regis Fire Department has four fire trucks, one QRU and two brush trucks.

With fire stations full of equipment and vehicles, the St. Regis and West End volunteer crews are ready to help in a diverse amount of ways.

If not retired, ex-military people, the crewmembers have day jobs with the Department of Transportation or some other work.

Fire Chief Charles calls the volunteer work part of an interesting life.

He said when the crews arrive on a scene the value of the work is revealed.

“You can see the good you are doing,” Fire Chief Charles said. “And everyone is working together.”

“This is a 100 percent team operation,” Charles added.