LUSELAND - This past year for the Luseland Volunteer Fire Department has been surprisingly quiet, and well received. The majority of calls so far this year have consisted of EMT assists, false alarms, and a few tractor fires this fall. One incident this year required a STARS assist, and the patient did recover.
Training nights during the COVID lockdown were halted and resumed earlier this summer. Training nights consisted of normal water operation testing, skill set training and equipment testing/maintenance.
The Luseland Fire Department has evolved and now has an oversight/Fire Board, which was well received.
Spring SVFFA Fire School was postponed but has restarted this fall in Melville where three members will be attending for Ropes and Ladders, Fire Inspections and Basic Training.
LFD also welcomed Randy and Brian Gottfried to the rank of Lieutenant, their skills have been a tremendous asset to the Department.
This March, LFD also saw one of their members head off to Lakeland College in Vermillion to take her 1001 Level 1/2 accreditation. Way to go Keagan Bazylinski!
This is an excerpt she would like to share regarding this amazing endeavour.
"The EST Firefighting Program at Lakeland College in Vermilion is an amazing program. The camaraderie and teamwork leads you to build such special bonds with people you’ve never met before, you had no idea who they were on day 1. The past seven months I’ve created a bond with some amazing people that I can now call another family in my life. It's a lot of hard work and determination running on eight, sometimes 9–10-hour days of school; but at the end of the day, I wouldn't trade the pain and hard work for any other career. You learn quickly in this program if it's truly what you want or not, and I’ve learned that firefighting is what I want. This program changed my life and my mindset on a lot of things, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me."
This fall has seen a couple farm equipment related fires and, with fire prevention week at hand it's great to be able to report that so many of our farmers have been carrying multiple extinguishers in their equipment. This makes the department's jobs easier by controlling potentially harmful fires. The main focus this year with prevention has been ensuring the town's water system is functioning as intended, as well as having the school bring their classes to the hall for a tour and Q&A. Many great questions from such young people!
As always, LFD extends a thank you to the community and surrounding areas for their continued support. Stay safe out there.
