Millersburg firefighters get new recruits

An open house at the Case Township Fire Hall to bring in new recruits July 25 was very successful, as the department almost doubled in size.

The Millersburg Area Volunteer Firefighters Association (MAVFA), which serves Case Township, had a crew of about 16 to 18 before the mid-day event, but had 15 come in and express interest in joining the department. One person is interested in emergency medical services only.

Firefighters rolled the trucks out of the hall, including their brand new pumper unit. They had pictures of fires that have been fought over the years, set up the drop tank and filled it with water that was warm enough to swim in, gave demonstrations with equipment such as the ?Jaws of Life?, and had MAVFA members talking about the expansion of their building. There was a lot going on, but the main goal was to lure in some fresh recruits.

EARLY OFF, just before mid-afternoon, only two were pledging to get involved. A few of the firefighters arrived a short time later and decided to make some phone calls, which did the trick.

?We were basically wrapping up for the day and it was like flood of them came in,? said Mitch Winfield. ?Realistically I was hoping for four or five to possibly join. At the end of the day I was absolutely shocked — everybody was shocked.?

Now the MAVFA has a nice problem on their hands. They have a lot of rookies to train, and some major fundraising as their means to getting it done. Each recruit will be required to take the Firefighter 1 Training Course and the earliest a class will be conducted is next year.

?It isn?t as simple as the Case Township Fire Department calling up and scheduling a class,? said Winfield. ?We have to register the class with the state of M

ichigan and we have to get a certified instructor. It is a pretty major undertaking to get to the point of having a class.?

WINFIELD SAID there are functions the new recruits will be able to get involved with, before getting certified. ?We can bring them along with in-house training. We have to have outside support on fires. We don?t necessarily need everybody to be suited up and packed up with the air packs and ready to fight the fire. We have to have a lot of guys out at the scene, running the equipment, running the trucks, supplying us with water, all of that. It?s a good problem we have right now.?

Along with the fundraising to pay for the training, especially for the extra expenses for the emergency medical services, new gear will need to be purchased. But again, it is a problem MAFVA will gladly take

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