CLUB VISITS WAYNE FIRE HALL

Our club meeting on April 27 was held in the Wayne Fire Department (WFD) building and was hosted by fire chief, Phil Monahan. He shared information about the work that goes in to making an all volunteer force a top notch unit like we enjoy in Wayne. There are approximately 30 members with four females on the team. Each new member (currently there are about 10) must take 136 hours of training before being actively involved in fighting fires. They are issued $1800.00 in equipment they wear that weighs about 60 pounds. The department averages 40-80 fire calls per year and 10-20 rescue calls. Each member must be at a minimum of 25% of the calls to retain membership. There are training and work meetings each Tuesday, although not all members must attend each meeting. Some other notes: WFD provides a Jr. Fire Patrol course to area 4th graders each year in Aug. - Oct. Each fire truck must be driven 20 mi. per month. The WFD fleet is divided up in WFD and Wayne Rural Fire department as funding is supplied through taxes from the city and rural areas($130,000 per year city, $62,000 rural) and approx. $20,000 donations. Each fire fighters' gear must be replaced every 10 years, all hose must be discarded after 15 years use.