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| Membership is on the uprise...good outlook on future | ||||
| After several years of low membership numbers, things are looking a little brighter for the Athens Volunteer Fire Department. In the last six months, 8 new members have joined the fire department. "It's a suprising turn of events when you look watch the national averages for volunteer firefighters drop year after year," said Captain Derek Belcher. "It's also a great outlook on our future in the county. The "old" guys aren't getting any younger and it has started to give the whole department a renewed since of pride," said Belcher. In the past, AVFD has relied heavily on recruitment among the college students, but the majority of the new members are just ordinary citizens stepping up to the call. | ||||
| Athens Fire Officer gears up to head out West | ||||
| Every year around the end of July a local group of fireman come together and head out west as part of a wildland firefighting team. This team assists local firefighters and groups from all over the country as they deal with devestating wildland fires from California up through the Pacific Northwest. This years team includes an officer from the AVFD, Assistant Chief John Casey. Casey completed the required training and certification around the end of May and has been waiting for the opportunity to assist. The team, led by Division of Forestry Officer Chris White, will join several other teams for the trip and then break off into various ares to assist local crews already on the ground. Each deployment typically lasts about two weeks with the potential for a three-week stay. | ||||
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