Hollis Creek Volunteer Fire Department

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HOLLIS CREEK
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
Serving Hollis Creek and parts of Liberty & Grant Townships since 1923
29 members · 0 paid · 100% volunteer

*** PANCAKE BREAKFAST SUNDAY OCT. 10, 7 TO 11 AT THE STATION *** FIRE PREVENTION WEEK OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY OCT. 9 *** CHANGE YOUR SMOKE DETECTOR BATTERIES WHEN YOU SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK ON OCT. 31 *** WE NEED VOLUNTEERS ***

[ About Us | The Trucks | 1999 Calls | Events | Join | Safety Tips ]

WHO WE ARE
When the siren on top of the station goes off at 3 in the morning, that's us. We're 29 men and women who farm, teach school, drive truck, fix cars, work at the co-op and the grain elevator, and carry pagers everywhere we go, including church. Nobody gets paid. We cover about 96 square miles of farm ground, two state highways, a stretch of the river and the town of Hollis Creek, population 1,140 if everybody's home.

The department was started in 1923 after the fire that took half of Main Street, including the bank, the hotel and the livery. The first truck was a Model T with a chemical tank. We've come a long way since, but some things haven't changed: when your neighbor needs help, you go.

This page is run by me, Travis Meinke, Firefighter/EMT, six years on the department. If something's out of date, it's because we've been busy. Call it a good sign.

THE TRUCKS

Unit	What it is
Engine 1	1991 International pumper. 1,250 gallons a minute, carries 1,000 gallons. First out on every structure fire.
Engine 2	1978 Ford pumper, 1,000 gpm, 750 gallons. Older than some of our firefighters. Still pumps like a champ.
Tanker 3	1995 Freightliner, bought used from a department downstate this spring. 2,500 gallons plus a 3,000 gallon fold-a-tank. Out here there are no hydrants, so this is the most important truck we have.
Brush 4	1994 Chevy one-ton with a 250 gallon skid unit. Grass fires, field fires, ditch fires.
Rescue 5	1989 walk-in van. Hydraulic rescue tools, air bags, cribbing, lights, and first-responder medical gear. Goes to every wreck.

The new tanker was paid for with four years of pancake breakfasts, street dances, raffles and one very generous estate gift. Thank you, Hollis Creek. Pictures are coming soon. The Chief's wife took a whole roll the day it came home, and we're trying to find somebody with a scanner.

1999 CALLS SO FAR (January 1 through September 20)

Structure fires (houses, barns, sheds)	6
Chimney fires	3
Grass, field and ditch fires	19
Vehicle fires (incl. 2 combines)	5
Motor vehicle accidents	22
Medical assists with the ambulance	31
Alarms and carbon monoxide	10
Mutual aid to other departments	9
Other (power lines down, flooding, a cow in the creek)	7
TOTAL	112

Recent:
Sept. 18, combine fire in a bean field out on the county blacktop. The operator got out fine and had the extinguisher on it before we got there. We lost the combine's engine compartment but saved the field. Bean harvest is just getting going, folks. Blow the chaff off your machines and keep an extinguisher in the cab.

Sept. 9, two-car accident at the highway junction, one to the hospital, everyone going to be OK. Please slow down at that corner. The corn is still up and you can't see a thing.

Aug. 22, barn fire north of town, mutual aid from two departments. We lost the hay and the old haymow, but saved the house, the machine shed and every one of the animals. Thanks to everybody who brought water and sandwiches out at 2 a.m.

COMING UP
Saturday, Oct. 9, 10 to 2: Fire Prevention Week Open House at the station. All the trucks out on the apron, the county's smoke house trailer so the kids can practice getting out of a smoky bedroom, and yes, Sparky the Fire Dog will be there. Kids can try on the gear and spray the hose at a target. Free hot dogs.

Sunday, Oct. 10, 7 to 11: Pancake & Sausage Breakfast. $4 adults, $2 kids under 10. All you can eat, real butter, sausage from the locker. Money goes to new turnout gear. Four sets of our gear are over ten years old and it's time.

Training night is every Monday at 7:00. Second Monday is the business meeting.

WE NEED YOU
Here's the truth. Most of us work out of town during the day now, and a weekday call at 10 a.m. might get four of us. We need more people, especially folks who are around in the daytime. You don't have to go inside burning buildings to help. We need drivers, pump operators, people for traffic control, and people to run the radio.

18 or older and live or work in our district
Valid driver's license
Pass a physical (the department pays)
Make most of the Monday training nights
Take Firefighter I within your first two years. The state pays for the class.

Women are welcome. We have four on the roster, and one of them is a captain who will outwork you. Stop by the station any Monday night after 7, or e-mail me.

SAFETY TIPS FOR FALL

Test your smoke detectors once a month and put in new batteries when you set the clocks back on Oct. 31.
Get the chimney cleaned before your first fire. Three chimney fires this year, all in the first cold week.
Space heaters need three feet of room on every side. Plug them straight into the wall, not an extension cord.
Practice a fire drill with the kids. Two ways out of every room, and a meeting place outside, like the mailbox.
Get a green reflective address sign at the end of your lane so we can find you at night. The department sells them for $10, and every penny goes to equipment. Ask at the co-op.

Chief: Merle Eichhorn (33 years on) · Asst. Chief: Roger Tjaden · Captain: Deb Frahm · Lieutenants: Craig Hinrichs, Luis Medina · Sec./Treas.: Travis Meinke

THANK YOU to Hollis Creek Co-op, Schroeder Hardware, Farmers Savings Bank, the Legion Auxiliary and everybody who ever bought a pancake.

IN AN EMERGENCY DIAL 911. Don't e-mail us, we won't see it in time!

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