| HOME | HISTORY | EMS | APPARATUS | SCHEDULE | PICTURES | LINKS | CONTACT US |
 |
Fire Chief Steve Reis |
| HOME | HISTORY | EMS | APPARATUS | SCHEDULE | PICTURES | LINKS | CONTACT US |
|
Fire Chief Steve Reis |
Welcome to the official website of the Green Mountain Fire & EMS Department. The Green Mountain Fire Department is owned and managed by the Marion Township Board of Trustees and the Township Clerk, the current members Robert Michels (Chair), Lynn Beichley, and Mel Buls. Wayne Hartwig is the current Township Clerk.
The Green Mountain Fire Department protects approximately 64 square miles in the Northeast corner of Marshall County, and the EMS division covers about 45 square miles. The fire department answers 35-40 calls for service each year, calls as simple as fire alarms going off to house fires and car accidents.
Our firefighters train 2 hours per month on topics like driver training and initial attack. The department created a training night on the third Tuesday of every month, because members recognized the need to keep our skills up. Another incentive was the establishment of State guidelines requiring departments to perform a minimum 24 hours of training per year. The department roster has two certified Firefighter instructors in Todd Hoing and Patrick Cornwell, and two certified EMS instructors in Scott and Tesha Sederburg, but we also bring in outside instructors and classes to prevent boredom and to ensure high quality training. Within the State of Iowa, certification is not required, but a basic skill level is expected. All of Green Mountain's active membership has completed the national firefighter curriculum, seven have certified Firefighter I, six at firefighter II, and only one has opted out of certification.
Since 2000, the fire department has applied for grants from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. It is very difficult to receive an award as some 20,000 fire departments from across the nation apply for over $1 billion in equipment or apparatus, and only $500-600 million gets awarded each year. There is a matching fund requirement currently set at five percent for volunteer departments like ours, down from ten percent in 2004. This program has provided for our department quite well, and we’ve tried to be responsible in things that we have asked for.
Green Mountain received their first grant for $122,200 in December of 2004 for a new tanker. The truck was delivered on September 29, 2005 and can be viewed under the apparatus section. Then on January 4, 2008 we received our second grant for personal protective gear and airpacks. The bidding process will begin in March, and end in April.
We have been awarded over $189,000 worth of apparatus and equipment with just two grants, and the matching funds requirement will cost our local tax payers an estimated $20,000.
One last note, we shouldn't forget the sacrifice our families make when we go running out the door at the worst possible moments. Without their support and understanding, none of this would be possible.