West End department builds its own truck to fight wildfires
From left, West End Volunteer Fire Department members Rod Byers, Frank Magee, Isaac Belzak, Joseph Belzak, Damian Belzak and Anthony Lower stand next to a Type 6 Fire Truck they built themselves that will be used as a revenue stream in the summer for fighting wildland fires. (Bill Mitchell photo)
“We want the taxpayers to see what they are getting for their money. What their tax dollars are going for,” said Frank Magee, West End Volunteer Fire Department Chief and chairman board of trustees. “That’s why we hold events at the station like the open houses, chili cookoffs, car shows and so on. It’s to get the people to see what we have and who we are.”
Magee has a roster of about 11 volunteer firefighters but would like to have 20, just in case. And for the first time in many years, every one of them is wildland fire trained -- firefighter II certified.
Wildland fire is a general term describing any nonstructure fire that occurs in vegetation such as trees, grasses and shrubs. Structure fires are composed of human-made objects like buildings or cars. This means that any West End firefighter can respond to a wildland fire when called which they did last summer for the first time in a decade.
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