WORDS OF WISDOM

STORY VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUE

Medical & other emergencies:

Help us help you with fire, medical and other emergencies – CALL 911.

One of the most common comments the Fire Department receives when responding to a medical call is ”How did you get here from Sheridan so fast” or “I didn’t know Story Fire responds to 911 medical calls”.  In actuality, 85% of our calls involve some type of medical response.

The fastest way to get help with a medical problem (or any emergency) is to call 911.  Story Fire will respond within minutes to begin treating you.  Our role is to stabilize the situation and prepare the patient for transport by the ambulance.  

Most of the current firemen are certified in Basic Emergency Care (BEC).  Under current laws, a BEC can perform nearly all the medical functions that an EMT is allowed to do.  Calling 911 and having Story Fire respond will provide you with help 20 – 30 minutes sooner than waiting for an ambulance to arrive from Sheridan.  Calling one of the firefighters directly will actually slow down the response time as that fireman will have to call 911 to page the other firemen to the call.  Never call the fire hall in an emergency as we do not man the station on an ongoing basis.  We are all volunteers and will be at home when an emergency call comes in.

Burning yard waste & slash piles:

There are also a few ways to help the Fire Department when burning yard waste and slash piles.  When cleaning up our yards in the spring and fall, many of us in Story burn the pine needles and branches.  Remember to always burn safely and observe the burn ban rules during the summer!  Keep the burn piles small, locate them on a piece of ground that is bare around the fire, keep a water hose handy, watch out for trees above the fire and always check the weather before burning.  A small fire can quickly get out of control if the wind comes up.  Never leave a fire unattended.  If you feel the fire is in danger of getting out of control, call 911 and Story Fire will respond quickly.  

If you have a large pile to burn, please contact the Sheridan Police Department dispatcher at  672-2413, as well as a Story Fire Department Officer before burning.  By contacting the Police and a Story Fire Officer, we will be aware of the location of a large burn and can avoid responding to a false alarm if someone driving by reports your fire.  

Story Fire Department Officers:

Mike Onstott is Story Fire Chief (683-2140) and Randy Bochmann is Story Deputy Chief (683-2744). 

Thank you and please have a safe burning season.