Fire department has come a long way

Our Fish Springs fire station is sure looking good nowadays. It's got a fresh new paint job on the firehouse itself and also on the garage so it matches. It looks as good as new - or better than new.

It all started back in 1981 when a group of Fish Springs residents saw the need for a fire department. These were the original members or "plank owners": Larry Cowden, Don Hale, Ray Watley, Rich and Susan Lammay, Connie and Don Stomprud, Eldon Miller, Ray Patane, Wayne Snider, Darrel Grouse and Bill Hilton. The group all met at Ray and Diane Watley's house and decided to elect Larry Cowden as Fish Springs first fire chief. Cowden had a good background after spending time in the Marine Corp.

Stoddard Jacobsen donated the 2-acre parcel of land on the corner of Fish Springs Road and Myers Drive. Larry met with the Fire Marshal, Bob Dinsmore, and also with the County Fire Chief Dar Ellis. Then Jimmy Smith and Terry Hughes from Tahoe-Douglas Fire Department became the training officers for the first class of Fish Springs volunteer firefighters.

The firemen began clearing the sagebrush off the land in preparation for a station to be built there. They also cleared off a lot of dirt. That's when they burned the brush piles that never seemed to go out. Now their motto is "Don't burn the dirt."

You can't have a fire department without a fire engine. After awhile "Greenie" was donated to the volunteers. It was an old, much used, 1952 Studebaker 6x6 from NDF. The volunteers received another donation, "Big Red," which was a 1954 Reo 6x6 which was also a hand-me-down. Ten years later they received their very first brand new fire truck. The new 1991 pumper had an International chassis and was all-wheel-drive. It contains a 1,000-gallon water tank that, when hooked up to a water source, pumps 1,000 gallons per minute and is still used today.

In 1993 the Fish Springs Volunteer Fire Department received a much needed donation from Sierra Pacific Power Company through the intercession of our good neighbor Ted Griffin. "Utility 9" was a utility truck that was stocked with medical supplies for vehicle accidents and emergency medical calls. And that's when the Fish Springs volunteer firefighters built the garage. It was needed to store the utility truck in a secure place. Today the garage looks brand new with its new paint job.

But that's not all. The fire station has been enlarged and modernized over the years. Now there's also a 3,000 gallon Water Tender, a Rescue Ambulance and the County's Hazardous Materials Response Vehicle. Fish Springs has top-of-the-line equipment and wonderful well-trained volunteer firefighters. And it all started with a group of residents who saw the need for a fire department. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter or EMT in Fish Springs, they will train you. Call Chief Elaine Pace at 782-4344 and leave a message.

-- Linda Monohan can be reached at 782-5802.