Story Published:
Mar 31, 2010 at 3:51 PM CST
Story Updated:
Mar 31, 2010 at 3:51 PM CST
I'll bet you thought that firefighters sat around the station and played cards or watched TV all day and night waiting for your call. Not hardly!
Cookeville City operates with a paid Fire/Rescue Department; Putnam County has an all-volunteer department.
The Cookevillel Fire Department operates a main station, located on the lower level of City Hall, and three substations strategically located around the City.
Firefighters work a 24-hour shift and then are off 48 hours.
They are on call for the 24 hours immediately following their "onduty" shift. There are three shifts.
Each engine at the four stations is manned by at least one firefighter who is also trained an an EMT/Paramedic and carries an AED.
In many cases a fire engine will be the first unit on the scene of a medical emergency.
In the City limits, their prompt response has saved lives since AEDs were placed on the engines. They also do extrication of auto accident victims in the City.
Firefighters train daily. Their most recent training was in high angle rescue techniques. That involved rapelling down the outside wall of a structure.
There are three buildings in Cookeville that would require such techniques: the First Tennessee Bank building, the Frontier Telephone building, and the hospital.
Think about it.
Tethered to a rope specifically designed for rapelling and utilizing equipment that relies on friction to control one's descent, a rescuer steps off into space and heads down the side of a building or cliff, relying on equipment to defy gravity.
It's a controlled descent. Heights can't scare you.
These people stand ready to serve the citizens of Cookeville should that 911 call come in.
So, you see they don't sit around the Fire Hall all day waiting for your call. Neither do the firefighters of the Putnam County Department or the Algood, Baxter, and Monterey Departments.
Staffed entirely by volunteers, they provide a selfless service to the communities they serve.
They train many hours per year and receive very little pay, if any, for the protection they provide to their respective locales.
Again, think about it. Would you go into a burning structure, ourfitted in turnout gear and breathing apparatus, to rescue somebody or fight a fire?
All departments in Putnam County enjoy a mutual aid agreement with each other. This ensures an adequate response to a major event. If needed, they're there.
I'm thankful for the service they provide 24/7/365. You should be too!
