Halloween Extravaganza

Central Alexander Fire Department & Firehouse Subs (Hickory location) are teaming up again to bring you the 2nd Annual Halloween Extravaganza. The event will be held on October 31st from 5 - 9 pm at the fire department. Firefighters will be on hand, to hand out candy and fire prevention material as well as give the kids tours of the fire apparatus if they so desire. Firehouse Subs will also be handing out candy and promotional material as well. We hope to see you all there for the 2nd Annual Halloween Extravaganza.

Department Receives State Volunteer Fire Fund Matching Grant

         Central Alexander Fire Department is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a 50/50 matching grant from the state. $7,569.59 for a total of $15,139.18. This grant will give us the opportunity to purchase new equipment to enable our firefighters to do their job more effectively. Thank you to those that help prepare the grant for the state and to the State of North Carolina, we appreciate you awarding us this grant.

Department Firefighters Honored

At the December 2015 Awards Banquet several firefighters were honored with service pins.

Capt. Eric "Bubba" Pennell (30 years of service)

Capt. James Moore (30 years of service)

Johnny Gant (30 years of service)

Sharon George (5 years of service)

Firefighter Chris Brown was awarded the 2015 Firefighter Of The Year Award.

Junior Firefighter Jacob Barnes was awarded the 2015 Junior Firefighter Of The Year Award.

Source "The Taylorsville Times"

Department achieves improved inspection rating

      North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Wayne Goodwin announced June 4, 2015, that the Central Alexander Fire Department and Taylorsville Fire District have completed routine inspections and received a 6/9E rating (rural areas of the district) and a 5 rating (in town), effective Tuesday, September 1, 2015. Rated on a scale of 1-10, the lower numbers are a better rating.
     The inspections, conducted by the officials with the Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM), are required on a regular basis as part of the North Carolina Response Rating System (NCRRS). Among other things, the routine inspections look for proper staffing levels, sufficient equipment, proper maintenance of equipment, communication capabilities, and availability of a water source.
     The NCRRS rating system ranges from one (highest) to 10 (not recognized as a certified fire department by the state), with most rural departments falling into the 9S category. While higher ratings do not necessarily indicate poor service, a higher rating does suggest that a department is overall better equipped to respond to fires in its district. Lower numerical ratings can also significantly lower homeowners insurance rates in that fire district.
    While the Central Alexander Fire Dept. (rural) rating will remain the same, a Class 6, the in-Town (municipal area) rating will improve to Class 5 for businesses and remain Class 6 for homeowners (Class 6 is the best number available for homes), said Fire Chief Matt Jordan.
    "Maintaining the 6/9 and improving to a 5 are great accomplishments for the Taylorsville Fire Department," said Alexander County Fire Marshal Russell Greene.
    "Residents and business will continue to receive the same break in home owners and business insurance that they were receiving before," said Jordan. "Also, the Town of Taylorsville now has the lowest [best] rating in the county."
    "A lot of work went into this," Jordan commented. "We were a Class 6 before, and to maintain that and lower it for the Town speaks of the hard work that the officers and members did to reach this. We also added some equipment and spent hours training with pump operations and water shuttles to maintain the fire flows that were needed to accomplish this number."
    "I just want to thank all of our officers and members who made this possible. We have a dedicated group of men and women who put a lot of time and work into this. They deserve a pat on the back for a job well done. I think the rating system is a chance for the fire department to give back the community it serves with a break in homeowners and business insurance," Chief Jordan related.
    "I'd like to congratulate Chief Jordan for his department's performance and for the hard work of all the department members," said Commissioner Goodwin. "The citizens in the Central Alexander and Taylorsville Fire Districts should rest easy knowing they have a fine group of firefighters protecting them and their property in case of emergency."

Source of article "The Taylorsville Times" June 10, 2015 edition (Page 4 A)

Department receives new ISO ratings

Effective September 1, 2015 Central Alexander Fire Department ISO rating will see some changes. Based on the offical letter from the state, the ISO rating within the city limits will be lowered from a 6 to a 5. The ISO rating outside the city limit will remain at the current rating of 6. What this means for residence & business owners is they will be able to continue the insurance breaks they have been receiving based on this rating. This also means that the Town of Taylorsville has the lowest ISO rating in the entire county.

Fire Department recieves ATV thru Law Loaner Program

 

ATV Law Loaner Program

 

 

        This past week, Central Alexander Fire Department received a 2013 Kawasaki Mule ATV. This is a 3-way partnership with Kawasaki Corporation, Brushy Mountain Motorsports (Wilkesboro, NC), & the fire department. The Kawasaki Mule has the following: 4wd, differential lock, 2 or 4 seats, dump bed, short or extended bed, 3 cylinder diesel engine, class 3 receiver hitch, etc. The purpose of the ATV is for public events in town such as; but not limited to the following: Apple Festival, 5k runs, Christmas Parade, etc. The ATV will also be utilized for assisting with hydrant maintenance in town where it would be difficult to get an apparatus parked for maintenance purposes, moving equipment around during hose testing, and if the need arise to assist Alexander Rescue in ATV rescue. Currently, the plans are for most of our members to get training in ATV General Safety course scheduled later this month, then we hope to have a few members take the ATV Rescue course, so was can better assist the rescue squad should the need ever arise.

 

 

 



Grant Awarded

 

 

Matching Grant Awarded

 

 



         Recently, Central Alexander Fire Department was awarded a matching grant from the Office of State Fire Marshall in Raleigh. The matching grant will aid the fire department in the purchasing of equipment to be placed on certain apparatus and for 5 new sets of turnout gear for some our members. The equipment and the new turnout gear have already been ordered and have arrived at the department. The grant that the fire department received from the state was $ 13,273.90.