Come and meet the men and women of the Salado Volunteer Fire Department during their VFD’s annual Fish Fry 5-7 p.m. Sept. 24 at Salado High School cafeteria.
Tickets are $12 for adults over the age of 12 and $6 for children 12 and under.
Salado families will have a chance to view all of the fire trucks that the SVFD has acquired over the years, including the newest addition, a 2016 International that replaced a 20 year-old truck.
The new truck was purchase through a $200,000 grant to the SVFD from the Teaxs A&M Forest Service through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
The SVFD took delivery of the new truck in July.
“The new brush truck is larger and has more options that make it safer for the firefighters,” said Salado VFD Chief Shane Berrier.
The new truck has a 1,000-gallon water tank, 20-gallon foam tank, a bumper turret nozzle, and an assortment of hoses that increase the department’s capacity.
“It also gives us the capability to begin fighting a wildland fire when there is only one volunteer available because the turret and the motor for the pump are controlled from the inside of the truck,” explained Berrier.
“The challenge that we face in our rural area is lack of fire hydrants. This new truck will be a great benefit because of the amount of water it will haul,” Berrier said.
Chief Berrier said that while the truck’s primary use will be for wildland fire-fighting, it can also be used for structure or vehicle fires as well.
Salado VFD, one of the first volunteer fire departments in Bell County, has two fully-functioning fire stations. One was built in the mid-1980s and is on the northbound access road next to the Salado Church of Christ. The VFD built Station 2, which is much larger than Station 1 and has room to grow, on property on FM 2484, giving firefighters quicker access to both northbound and southbound I-35.
The SVFD has several vehicles, including these:
Rescue #2: 1992 International, Equipped with ALS equipment, Amkus extrication equipment including cutters, spreaders, and two rams. Swifoot water and Hazmat Equipment. Generator run Scene Lights.
Engine 1: 1994 Freightliner, E-ONE Pumper, Equipped with 1200 GPM Pump, 750 Gallon tank, Amkus Multi-tool Extrication Tool, 4 SCBA, 2-200 foot preconnects and 1-100 foot bumper preconnect, Deck Gun, Positive Pressure Vent Fan. Generator run Scene Lights
Tanker 1: 1999 Freightliner 2350 Gallon Capacity Tanker, 1200 GPM pump, 3 SCBA, 3000 Gallon Portable Tank and Portable Floating Pump.
Boosters #5 and #6: Affectionately known by the firefighters at “The Twins” are two 1999 Ford F-550’s 4×4’s with 500 gallon tanks two-preconnected red lines and one 150 foot reeled red line.
Command #2
Rescue #1/Brush Truck: 250 gallon tank 4X4 Carries ALS & BLS equipment along with a Amkus power unit and Combi tool.
Booster 8
Booster 7 Brush Truck: 250 gallon tank 4X4
Tanker #2: 4,000 gallon tank
Brush #2
The SVFD also has a dedicated staff of volunteers, including Chief Shane Berrier, Asst. Chief Kenny Wigley, Fire Captains Ted Morris and A.J. Lopez and Lieutenants Al Califano, Jeff Booker and Steven Puckett.
Firefighters are these: Shawn Bolding, Brad Broussard, Juan Castillo, Mark Churchwell, Anthony Combs, William Dankert, Dacen Depoy, Mark Depoy, Alan Dillon, Kris Dyess, Christoffe Gieck, Alan Goodnight, Brad Goodnight, Karleigh Goodnight, Jeremy Hamilton, Bert Henry, Brandon Hollas, Nathan Houston, Rich Neagle, Reed O’Rear, Elizabeth Poole, Sid Post, Jerad Rogers, Sid Spindor, Nicole Stairs, Greg Tischler, Mark Tubbs, Ty Tubbs, Ty Tumey, Bobby Whitson and junior firefighters Sophie Bourget, Kylar Combs, Chase Harwell, Noah Henry and Bo Whitson. Special events coordinators are Jenna Berrier, Tammy Goodnight, Crystal Henry and Patti Wigley.
The Salado Volunteer Fire Department was established in the mid 1960’s and was one of the first volunteer fire departments organized in Bell County.
Since its inception, it has twice been named as the First Responders of the Year for the State of Texas.
The department began operations with one 1950 pumper truck located by Salado Creek in a two-door garage type building. At that time, the 911 Emergency System did not exist. Salado fire and emergency calls were telephoned to the local hotel, Stagecoach Inn. Firemen were telephoned at their homes or work to respond to calls for help. Some years later a siren was installed close to the fire station. When a call for help was made to the fire station, the entering call would activate the siren. The sound of the siren could be heard all over the village. When the volunteers heard the siren, they would come to the station and respond to the emergency.
Today Bell County has established a state of the art communication center that dispatches all fire, police, sheriff, and ambulance services.
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