Groom Creek Fire District – Prescott, Arizona

On Saturday,August 21st, the Groom Creek Fire District will be conducting a water shuttle drill from 1000 – 1200. This will be an excellent training opportunity for all of our members  full time , reserve, and volunteer.  On duty or off.

We also want this to be a fun event and will have horseshoes and grilling hot dogs and burgers after the drill at the park for all of our dedicated members from 1200 until whenever. Feel free to bring a side dish and/or an ice chest full of your favorite beverages to share, but it is not expected. Families are encourged to attend and support GCFD and our efforts in being prepared for our upcoming ISO evaluation. This is an excellent time to show our community members our professionalism, teamwork and just how ready we are to protect them and all that they hold dear.

If you have any questions feel free to contact Assistant Fire Chief Ernesto Manzanedo at 

 Station 41

928-778-6519 or

ernesto@groomcreek.org

The Groom Creek Fire District has lifted all fire restrictions on private land within the district to coincide with the similar actions taken by the Prescott National Forest effective 8:00 a.m. Wednesday July 21, 2010. Any open burning is subject to obtaining a burn permit available at the fire station at no cost. Although many areas have received significant precipitation, we have not seen the same moisture amounts as yet, so please continue to be careful with any and all fires.

The Groom Creek Fire District is preparing for an evaluation by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). This organization rates the fire suppression capabilities of agencies and gives them a rating based on several factors. The most important consideration is our ability to maintain a water shuttle operation and is 40% of our grade. Other factors taken into account are our training, dispatching and the aid provided by our neighboring agencies.

We are currently rated as 8b and expect to receive a higher rating (7 or better) which will decrease homeowners insurance premiums for the majority of our residents (State Farm Insurance does not recognize the ISO rating). We have been preparing for this evaluation for a while and believe that the systems we have in place will allow us to achieve the better ranking.

If you have any questions about the process please stop by the fire station. We will let you know when the evaluation is completed and the outcome. We do not have a set date for the field survey, but have been told to expect it within the next two months.

The position of Firefighter (floating shifts) is now open for applications. They will be due by 7/16/2010. This position will cover the leave requests from other full-time personnel. Job Posting – Firefighter_floater

The Groom Creek Fuels Crew is scheduled through October and all new requests will be delayed at least until that time.  We remind homeowners that our grant is good until October of 2012.  We apologize for the inconvenience and will be happy to address any firewise concerns that you may have.  If you are interested in getting fuels work done please contact  jeff(at)groomcreek.org

The Groom Creek Firefighter’s Association will again have bingo nights on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month beginning 6/5/10 through October. Games begin at 6pm at the fire station. 10 games each night and the cost is $1.00 per bingo card. All pots will be split between the game winner and the GCFFA. Daubers, snacks and drinks will be sold.

Reminder of the 3rd Annual Groom Creek Firefighter’s Association Chili Cook-off to be held at the Groom Creek Park across from the fire station. Click here for the details

With the Governor’s recent signing of a bill authorizing the sale of some fireworks (beginning later this year) the Groom Creek Fire District will strictly enforce the provisions in the Wildland / Urban Interface Code that was adopted in 2007. Section A104.6 states, “Fireworks shall not be used or possessed in the wildland-urban interface areas.” Fines of up to $5000 and other legal penalties may be imposed.

Our annual dumpster program is scheduled to start on 4/26.  The dumpster will be in front of the fire station through June.   If you do any work on your property to make it more fire safe, please fill out a sweat equity form to help us with our grant reporting.

• Needles and leaves only
• NO
  • Branches
  • Logs
  • Trash
  • Bagged material

REMINDER: Pancake Breakfast & Firewise Day are this Saturday.

As we begin preparing the upcoming fiscal year’s budget (2010-2011), we are looking at a reduction in tax revenue of 15%. We will be able to maintain the current level of service with this reduction which equals over $80,000 by cutting out all non-essential functions (like producing newsletters, free CPR classes, free snow removal, etc.) We will be doing everything we can to control costs in every aspect of our operations while ensuring that a minimum of 2 fully trained firefighters are available to respond to emergencies at any time. (more…)