Training is tough when it’s 105 degrees in the dog days of summer in Texas.  Firefighters from Greenwood VFD were doing skills training Saturday August 14^th, when firefighter Rod Bass and Captain Sheldon Scott decided it was time to initiate rookie Chase McBride.

     The firefighters are all working on improving their state certification by at least one level this summer. The project is being funded by Greenwood’s 2009 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The department has hired fireintexas.com to help them with the certification project and Assistant Chief Luis Ramos says the training is going well. The department was working on drafting water exercises when Bass and Scott decided it was time for rookie initiation.

     McBride took the incident well and is glad he has officially been welcomed to the brotherhood. He hopes to become a firefighter and is working on Basic Certification and becoming a First Responder.

     Chief John Burgoyne said that the training will pay many dividends in the future and is pleased that the volunteers are willing to give up one Saturday a month to work on the certification.

It’s a lot of hard work in the heat of a Texas summer and the firefighter’s must be monitored continuously to assure that they don’t develop heat exhaustion.  One of the firefighter’s compared the training to the two-a-days that he went through in high school football.

As the number of certified firefighters grows it will help the department to improve its insurance rating, which ultimately will yield lower fire insurance premiums for the district’s residents.

     Members of Greenwood Rural VFD (ESD # 7) joined many other department members for classes in Emergency Vehicle Driving, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and Pump Operations / Alternative Water Supply classes. 

     Although all the members of Greenwood VFD are volunteers, they still need to meet training requirements, attend  classes and exercises, in addition to meeting the State, County, and Department guidelines on training and certifications. We applaud all those members who gave up their weekend with family and friends to further their education. Although many of these classes are required to be a firefighter, but more importantly, help firefighters learn new skills, expand their knowledge and experience, and train with other departments in the county and area.

     Greenwood VFD had nine members attend classes, all of whom passed and received their Certificates of Completion, and gained additional hours and credits in their Continuing Education. Weatherford  College Fire School is already looking forward to the next session of classes which may be held later this year.

     Lt. John Sharp completed Highway Scene Safety and Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction classes. FF John Young completed Tank Operations / Alternative Water Sources. The Emergency Vehicle Driving Class was completed and passed by FF Tom Palatino, ECA/FF Milt Riechek, FF Ryan Klix, FF Phillip Grippon, and Lt.  Ben Meche.

Article Written by Lt. Ben Meche

     Chief John  Burgoyne and Chaplain Nancy Burgoyne were in Beijing China recently and while there they visited some firefighting brethren from China.  In China, the firefighting service is national, similar to how our military is organized.  Firefighters there are dedicated to firefighting and do not perform Emergency Medical Services as most fire departments in the United States do. The Burgoynes had a great time with their counterparts in Longfang and came away from the experience talking about the firefighting “Brotherhood” because of the warm reception they received.

     The Burgoynes were in China with a delegation from Fort Worth Sister Cities which visited the two finalist city candidates, Zhaoqing and Guiyang.  After the delegation ended, the Burgoynes traveled to Beijing where they lived for 4 years in the early 1990s when John worked for IBM.

     The Burgoynes make a habit of visiting other fire departments whenever they travel. They say they always learn from the experience as do their hosts.  Longfang is a suburb of Beijing.  They were very impressed by the professionalism of their counterparts in China and enjoyed discussing tactics and war-stories with their hosts.

 By Chief John Burgoyne 

It is with great pride and pleasure that we give our sincere thanks and gratitude  to Howard Lovett and Greg Garcia who so graciously donated their materials, time and talent to ensure our Department was not long without our friend, Smokey the Bear.    Thanks guys, not only from us but from our entire community as well!!!

The Young family has many ties to the department – Kenneth Young, JW’s father was one of the early Chiefs, and JW was Chief back in the late 80′s or early 90′s.  JW’s son John carries on the family tradition and is active in the department today.  JW held every position in the department from probie to chief and he was a mentor to everyone at the department.  It is only fitting that our medical team answered the 9-1-1- call when he passed away.  JW was a very generous man who would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need.  He never let the sun set on a disagreement at the department.  He was a very kind man.  He served his community for over 40 years until his health began to deteriorate – there aren’t very many people who are as dedicated to serving others as he was.  We at the Greenwood VFD will miss him; the Greenwood Community will miss him; and Heaven is a better place with him there!

     The evening started with a great dinner prepared by Greenwood’s auxiliary members and then the firefighters spent several hours working on their first-aid skills. 

     The participants were divided into small teams, led by Greenwood EMT’s or ECA’s, and practiced several separate scenarios such as:

Fall From A Ladder:

 This scenario presented the victim at the foot of a ladder.  The group was to make a preliminary diagnosis and then decide upon the treatment or packaging, i.e. spinal immobilization, C-Collar, CID and checking neurological function of the victim.

Fall From A Horse: 

 This scenario covered the many and various injuries that can result from a fall from a horse.  The participants discussed broken bones, hip fractures, and femur fractures, along with packaging and splinting options.

 Bleeding:  

  This scenario covered capillary, venous and arterial bleeding.  The participants were to use direct presure, elevation, pressure points and tourniquets (as a last resource).

Removal of A Patient From A Vehicle:   

This training touched on arterial bleeding, possible impalement and other complications, with spinal immobilization, packaging and removal from the vehicle.

Firefighter Down On An Incident:

The participants discussed how to diagnose what has happened and the appropriate first-aid measures that should be applied.  Could it be an MI; Heat Exhaustion; a CVA; could the firefighter be a Diabetic;  suffering Smoke Inhalation?  

 LifeCare Ambulance:

 The LifeCare Medics showed the participants where items such as oxygen cylinders, backboards and C-collars are located on the new ambulances.  They showed and discussed how the firefighters can assist them by spiking an IV bag, helping package a victim, lift assistance, etc.   In addition to answering further questions, the medics demonstrated their new electric cots.

      Two additional scenarios of Burns on the Arm and Face and Electrocution (lightening strikes included)  and the procedures that a first-aid provider should go through were demonstrated.

     Every month one of the West side departments host the other departments  for an evening of great food, team building and skill training.    In February the departments will meet in Millsap for Hazardous Materials training.

     Greenwood’s Assistant Chief Luis Ramos said “It’s really important for the departments to train together, because otherwise the only time they see one another is on an emergency scene.  Joint training builds teamwork and is really important.”

     The new Commissioners are:  Mike Bright, Jim Eggleston, Johnie Herbert, Mike Hernandez and Bill Sewell.  Our new Board are all  residents and taxpayers in the Greenwood Fire District.  The Board is planning to have their organizational meeting in the next couple of weeks. 

     Chief John Burgoyne said, “I am really impressed with the breadth of experience of the new Board.  All of us at Greenwood Rural VFD are excited about working with the new Commissioners to improve the quality of emergency services provided to our citizens.”

On November 3rd, the voters of the Greenwood Fire District voted overwhelmingly to form an Emergency Services District or ESD.  The ESD passed by a margin of 75% to 25% of the voters. Shortly after the first of  the year, Parker County Commissioners Court will appoint 5 ESD commissioners to serve as  representatives of the residents of the district. They will make the key decisions about the future emergency services for the district and they will establish the tax rate and the budget for the ESD. They will also contract with the fire department which will provide fire, rescue and emergency services for the district. Their efforts will assure that the residents of the fire district get the best possible emergency services at the lowest possible cost.

On May 18th several Parker County TX volunteer fire departments, including Greenwood, met in Cool Texas at Johnny’s Wrecking Yard to practice vehicle extrication – using the “jaws of life” to free victims pinned in car wrecks.  This training helps prepare firefighters for the real thing. Key to the exercises was safely removing the patients who may have  spinal injuries. Firefighters also practiced with air bags, stabilization struts, air chisels and  other rescue tools.

On April 18th Greenwood and Hudson Oaks VFDs trained at the Johnson County Live Burn facility near Cleburne. The facility  duplicates the environment of a real house fire with smoke so  dense you can’t see 4 inches and temperatures are 5-600 degrees . Here three Greenwood FFs enter the burn chamber to put out the fire and test themselves in a difficult environment!