As the Town of The Plains begins the process of updating their comprehensive plan, we wanted to reflect on 20 years ago and how much has changed. Since the last planning commission many major upgrades have been made to ensure continued improvement to our capabilities. Staffing: We have expanded from having 2 career staff personnel 2-3 days a week from 6am to 6pm, to having 3 personnel 24/7/365. Our volunteers have access to more educational opportunities than ever before and are regularly taking classes for continuing medical education, vehicle extrication, technical rescue scenarios, and fire operations. Building and Grounds: We have replaced all bay doors for a modern update, renovated our day room, raised the height of our rear bay to accommodate larger apparatus, replaced the asphalt pad in the front of the station with stronger concrete, and most recently added 2 bunk rooms, a bathroom, and another day room area in our upstairs living quarters to accommodate more staffing. Apparatus: Since 2005 every single piece of apparatus has been replaced. Our fleet includes a Rescue Engine, Tanker, Reserve Engine, brush truck, 2 ambulances, a gator, chief’s vehicle, and 2 support vehicles. We thank our community for their continued support over the years and we’re excited to see what is next for our village. (fb)

This weekend our volunteers traveled to Ohio to attend Crash Course Village, a two-day hands on advanced extrication training course. (fb)