Hello Theodore and Dawes Communities and welcome to the year 2024.
I certainly hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to what the new year brings. As we crank up our new year, I’d like to reflect on some of the Theodore Dawes Fire Rescue accomplishments of 2023. Our department had another busy year
responding to over 5,000 calls for service, averaging close to 400 calls monthly. Those numbers include responses outside of our area as we also aided our neighboring departments. I’m very proud to tell you that we had an increase in our Volunteer Roster. We have had several people step up and join our ranks and commit to helping the TDFR serve our communities. I cannot say enough about these dedicated volunteer members of our department, their participation makes our department whole and are able to provide a better response to your needs.
As I have mentioned in past Tailboard Talks, we purchased a building and another fire engine to provide a better response to our western sector and that project continues into the new year. I really wanted to have that facility up and running by years end but there have been unfortunate setbacks that have delayed our progress. The future for our fire department is bright, as is that for our communities. Several new neighborhoods are currently in the works and there is new business construction across the area.
Everyone likes to make New Years resolutions as we embark on another trip around the sun and we here at Theodore Dawes Fire are no different. We have set some goals or resolutions for the new year as well.
1) Get the new station on Three Notch Rd. at Ben Hamilton/McFarland intersection operational.
2) Pay off our Ladder truck three years early.
3) Begin construction of our new Central Fire Station which will be located on our property at S. Schillinger Rd.
4) Grow our fire district.
All are very attainable goals and with the support of our Fire District Board and our communities they can be accomplished. One thing that everyone needs to keep in mind is that everything we can accomplish is funding driven. Our department depends on your annual fire fees, which are collected with your yearly property taxes, to provide the services you have come to expect. For the average homeowner in the district your fire fee amounts to around 0.33 cents per day. That 33 cents afford you two fire engines, one ladder truck, one tanker/engine, two brush trucks, three sprint vehicles, paid personnel, and volunteers on duty every day. Plus, fuel and maintenance for those apparatus, equipment, day in and day out essentials, along with training for all our paid and volunteer members. We do our best to be good stewards of your funds and provide our communities with a quality fire rescue service. Our department lives and breathes on your fire fee, so without the community support there isn’t a Theodore Dawes Fire Rescue. I will discuss the historical aspects of fire fees in a later Tailboard Talk.
For now, I would just like to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to provide your fire and rescue service. The Theodore Dawes Fire Rescue Department looks forward to serving our communities in 2024.
Happy New Year and God Bless.