Organization, Training and Funding
Summer is upon us once again and I must say Lakeside Fire District # 4 has never been more prepared than it is now.
The improvements over the last year have made a profound impact in the Fire Districts ability to handle emergencies of all types. These improvements can be divided into three categories: Organization, Training and Funding.
Our organizational structure has been improved to meet the demanding needs of a progressive organization. We have promoted four individuals to meet our current needs.
Rod Schilling is now our Operations Division Chief. His vast experience working with Kern County Fire Department for over three decades will bring a strong foundation to our emergency operations.
Clark Anderson is our new Prevention Division Chief. Clark is a local business owner and is knowledgeable in fire codes. We feel this will improve community safety through public education and code enforcement.
Jeremy Roberts has been promoted to Training Division Chief. His experience and tenor with the District will allow him to train our firefighters well into the future.
Charlie Perry has been promoted to Captain. Charlie has returned to the department after a leave of absence and we are excited to see him return to a command roll within the department.
I am proud to announce all personnel have been trained to meet current National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standards. We have achieved this as a department through the hard work and dedication by every member. This level of training is one of the hardest things for a volunteer fire department to achieve.
Every member is a volunteer and their time is precious. Their devotion to the community has helped pave the way to a stronger fire department. This accomplishment has put the fire district in a unique position to request funding for various other projects that would otherwise only have been a dream.
We have recently received over sixty thousand dollars in grants. These funds have improved and replaced various items throughout the fire department. Some of these items include; hose, nozzles, emergency lighting, extinguishers and a new jaws of life. These items will help improve the safety of the people in our community.
We are currently working on improving the health, welfare and safety of our firefighters. We are trying to achieve this through Federal, State and local grants. To date we have requested over 7.5 million dollars in grants to help bring us closer to meeting national health, welfare and safety standards.
There are no guarantees we will receive these funds, however if we don’t try we never be able to have adequate funding to stay current with national firefighter safety standards. I will announce, in future news letters, any grant funding we receive.
As always we are seeking new volunteers. If you are interested in being part of an organization who is dedicated to preserving life, protecting property and the environment please come join us.
We need help in the office as well as on the emergency. Training is every Tuesday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. I hope to see you there!
Deputy Chief
Doug Breidenthal
