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EFLAND VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT <br />Dec 17, 1998 <br />To: Orange Co. Board of Commissioners <br />From: Efland Volunteer Fire Department <br />Re: 1999 Goal Setting Retreat Statement <br />The department has a number of objectives for 1999. We are in the <br />process of renovating and repairing the station. Gutters, eves, and other exterior <br />surfaces are being repaired and painted. The inside of the station has been <br />painted. The kitchen has new cabinets where insect damage * has occurred. The <br />stove is being upgraded to gas so that all the appliances and HVAC are gas <br />operated. This will allow us,* at some future date, the option of installing a <br />transfer switch so that it is easier to run the entire station from a small generator. <br />We are continuing with our program of purchasing two firefighter's worth of <br />equipment each year (approximate cost $ 8,000) so that our personal protective <br />gear is in good working condition and our firefighters are safe. <br />Our commitment to training continues. We have three participants in the <br />Junior Fire Fighter program. We continue to schedule classes throughout the <br />year to assist firefighters in obtaining their Level I and 11 certification. We are <br />particularly proud that at Hand, as with other departments, more and more of our <br />firefighters find full time positions in the paid municipal departments. The <br />volunteer rural departments are becoming a primary source of qualified, trained <br />firefighters.for the municipal departments. Despite this growing role in the county, <br />there is a disturbing trend towards limiting access to resources that are best <br />shared by the county departments. <br />Our efforts to obtain a better ISO grade (insurance rating) continue. This <br />has proven to be a very long, detailed task for which there is little assistance from <br />county resources. We still are committed to the effort, since it provides us with <br />the only way to decrease the burden on our taxpayers while increasing the value <br />of their fire protection- a rare event in governmental services. <br />There are some areas of concern we have that are appropriate to voice at <br />long term goal planing retreats. Their solution also requires the sort of broad <br />overview that is most appropriate at the county commissioner level. We present <br />them here in a non-critical "heads up" fashion. Overall, we have a. good working <br />relationship with the various county agencies we work with and feel that the few <br />pro . blems we are about to state are more a result of a lack of overall <br />understanding than a problem with a given agency. <br />Ten years ago, we purchased our firs ' t out engine/pumper and it cost about <br />$ 128,000. To purchase a similarly equipped unit today would cost around $ <br />