Dear Members of the Community,
It’s that time of year when requests for help pour in, from national level contribution requests for environmental and social justice issues to local food pantries and assistance for the homeless.
One organization that shouldn’t slip by, however, is the one none of us can afford to do without—the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company.
The third word in their organization’s name says it all—volunteer—and it’s there we might pause for a moment to realize what it takes to be on-call 24 hours a day, fund-raise throughout the year to maintain equipment, trucks and facility, and to meet the requirements of a fully functioning fire department for a community the size of Chestertown.
President of CVFC Jeffrey Thompson wrote in a recent fundraising letter, “Our membership has been busy keeping up with mandatory and continuing education training classes to make sure we can serve the community to the best of our ability. We’ve responded to 758 emergency calls in 2013 and almost as many in 4014,” he wrote.
Additionally, CVFC took delivery of a $1.2M 2014 Sutphen Tower Ladder truck equipped with the latest in fire fighting technology.
“Along with state grants, donations are our primary funding resource,” says CVFC Treasurer Henrietta Maloney. Maloney, an employee of The Peoples Bank, has been treasurer of CVFC for 20 years and has seen donations slip as people responded to the recession. Still, she says, the fire department has managed to keep the service in top shape.
“I don’t think that most people know that their home owner’s insurance rates are related to the quality of their community fire department. We’re required to have certain types of equipment, ongoing training and ladder trucks to keep insurance in check,” she says.
As a new year begins, and temperatures start to plummet, heating systems become fully engaged. Faulty electrical wires, a gas leak or chimney fire can alter our lives in minutes.
To find out more about Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company, go here.
We don’t need to wait until the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department saves our residence or our lives to pledge support. Now would be a good time. Before you smell smoke.
Chestertown Volunteer Fire Department
Chestertown
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.