Any y'all from West Virginia?

This was posted as a bulletin on Myspace by Rhodell VFD West Virginia. I've put it here to help spread the word.

Rhodell VFD needs your help.

“One cannot underestimate the impact of Hatfield-McCoy trail system on our economy in southern West Virginia…. From 2000-2002…. 55 reported accidents”. - WVSMA President Ron D. Stollings, M.D.

What a statement from a doctor from CAMC in 2004, can you imagine? Can you imagine the accidents that will be in the new Burning Rock ATV trail in Raleigh County? A part of which will be serviced for rescue by the Rhodell Volunteer Fire Department.

The director of Burning Rock has estimated the beginning trail system to contain well over 80 miles of trails. From family to hard scaled trails for riders. A camping area, stores, fueling station, and many other conveniences for the enjoyment of the ATV riders. But consideration for their medical welfare is being neglected. One medical ATV for one fire department, will that be enough?

What about the areas in our department’s rescue area? Are we to walk in, use our large 1 ton vehicle rescue truck, or just not respond?

The Rhodell Volunteer Fire Department needs your help to purchase a medical rescue ATV for this purpose. It may not be you that we help, but it could be your brother, sister, father, mother, son, or daughter.

“It's interesting that in southern West Virginia, where more ATV deaths occur than in any other part of the state, they also have the Hatfield McCoy trail which has had only 2 deaths on the past 5 years at the trail” - Norbert Federspiel

The Rhodell Volunteer Fire Department takes its responsibility seriously. With the knowledge of the trail, firefighters of the department are in enrolling in ATV, search and rescue classes, and first responder courses to prepare for opening day of the trail in July of 2008. Our members would like your support in preparing for this economic growth in the area by helping purchase a medical ATV.

“The ATV traveled 100 feet over the embankment, striking several trees. Sunday’s accident is only the fourth fatality in the seven year history of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System.” - Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority

The benefits of the medical ATV will not only be realized at Burning Rock, but in all other areas we cover and have aid agreements with other fire departments.

“Fatal ATV accidents have increased in West Virginia, with a total of 134 deaths since 2004 - including a record 54 in 2006.Nearly two-thirds of the fatalities recorded between 2005 and 2007 occurred on paved roads, according to a study commissioned by the Manchin administration” -WV Gazette

The benefits will be realized in time, rapid response to the inevitable is vital to the welfare and health of those who fall victim to accidents on ATVs. Please support our efforts by donating a generous portion to the purchase. The members of the Rhodell Volunteer Fire Department thank you for your consideration and support.

Please send donations to:
Rhodell Volunteer Fire Department
ATV Fund
P.O.Box 201Rhodell, WV 25915

Or call 304-683-3420 for more information

Wind Advisory Cancelled for today, storm system still on the way!

Urgent Weather Message

National Weather Service Austin/San Antonio

A wind advisory has been issued for all of south central Texas and the hill country from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. today. An intense storm system approaching from the west has resulted in strong, gusty southeast winds across much of Texas. Southeasterly winds will increase to 20 to 30 mph today with gusts between 35 and 40 mph possible.

UPDATE:

The wind advisory issued earlier for all of south central Texas and the hill country has been cancelled.

Although brisk south east winds of 15 to 25 mph have prevailed throughout much of the day, sustained winds have not reached wind advisory criteria levels. An intense storm system approaching from the west tonight will result in winds continuing in the 15 to 25 mph range tonight.

Be warned!

Red flag warning remains in effect from 11 am this morning to 9 PM CDT this evening.

A dry line will move across south central Texas today. This will bring unseasonably warm and very dry conditions to the area. Relative humidities will fall to between 5 and 15 percent in the afternoon. West and southwest winds will develop and increase to15 to 25 mph and gusty. Highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s can be expected. These temperatures will add to the critical conditions.

Winds will decrease after sunset and relative humidities will slowly recover. A red flag warning means weather conditions will promote firesthat are difficult to control across the warned area. A red flagwarning is completely separate from a local burn ban which isissued by local officials.

Hey, our first official Blogger comment!

just another guy said...

i saw the kens 5 show. it looked like the trucks are in better shape anda better station. i know those guys ( county ) put alot of time and moneys into geting those trucks fixed from where you guys bluntly toar them up. give it up already you guys are done. how can you keep voting on new members with no trucks and no station. if in three years the county guys cant hack it you will have your dept. back.
March 11, 2008 8:13 PM

BVFD said...
Oh, you're a riot "just another guy." The county is putting a lot of time and money in the trucks. BVFD would have done the same if the county and the city had seen fit to give us the money they'd budgeted for us.

Bluntly tore them up? Yeah, that happens on fires, you should know that if you're a fire fighter at KCFR. According to your fire reports with TFS, you've already "bluntly torn up" your "new" trucks. That's just part of fire fighting.

We keep voting in new members because BVFD is incorporated and as long as we keep training, we're still eligible for grant money for yet more training and more equipment. And as some of our guys are 3rd generation BVFD, we are not ready to give up. Fighting fires, as you know, gets in your blood. You almost have to do it. We're not ready to quit training, and we're certainly not ready to quit BVFD. We still have a department, what we don't have is trucks.
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Correction: Actually I am mistaken. KCFR's fire reports don't reflect any truck damage aside from one blown tire. It is from an eye witnesses account at one of their fires that I know one of KCFR's "new" trucks had a malfunction which I don't believe was caused by damage, it just malfunctioned. Regardless of my mistake, brush trucks take a tremendous beating in the field and unless someone is coughing up the bucks for repairs on those trucks, they remain beat up. We've been trying for a very long time to get repairs done on our trucks but the City and County haven't been interested in supporting their VFD for some time.

I would also like to point out that we still have a station. No one has contacted us to tell us otherwise. If they are planning to take our station from us too, I hope they are more considerate about consulting us on the matter than they were in giving away our trucks without so much as a memo for notification.

Regarding KENS 5's take on our story

The real issue for BVFD is that we believe we still own those trucks. The reporter said that the city owns them in one statement, but in another statement he says the trucks were appropriated for BVFD with grant money. To us, the second statement negates any validity to the first statement.

Here's the crux, folks, those trucks were purchased with grant money for BVFD. The grants were very specific in granting that money to BVFD, not the City of Brackettville. In fact neither of the granting agencies involved gives grants to governmental entities. The city insisted, way back when, that they wanted to handle the insurance because it would be cheaper (it wasn't cheaper, but no one at that time did the research) so the trucks were put in the city's name. But when something is paid for with grant money, a process has to be adhered to in order for ownership or use of that thing to be changed. The City never followed that process. According to those grants, the trucks still belong to BVFD no matter who holds title. BVFD should not have trusted the City to honor the agreement. If the City wants to own those trucks free and clear, they have to follow proper procedure to re-appropriate grant purchased equipment.

The trucks may be in the City's name, but they were never granted to the City of Brackettville.

The video.

BVFD on KENS 5 San Antonio TONIGHT!

KENS 5 was in Brackettville today to interview our department and some of the powers that be on the situation of the city and the county jointly deciding (without addressing any of BVFD's legal concerns) that BVFD had no rights to its trucks and that our engines should be handed over to KCFR. Which they were.

We are told that the story will air at either 5 or 6 p.m. Please tune in!

Two new members voted in!

At our business meeting on Wednesday night we voted in two new BVFD members.

Welcome Travis and David!