LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – When emergency calls come in, rural fire departments across Lubbock County don\u2019t worry about city limits or department names as they work together to protect area citizens.<\/p>\n
Fire departments in small towns are typically made up of volunteers who rely on other volunteer departments to help fight fires through a mutual aid system.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s part of living in the country, that\u2019s part of living in Texas and part of living in the USA. We take care of each other,\u201d said Russ Perkins, chief for the Idalou Volunteer Fire Department.<\/p>\n
Coordinated response system<\/p>\n
When someone calls 911 for a fire, dispatchers know which departments are assigned to which territory, Perkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, if it was our territory, it would notify the dispatcher to send to Idalou, and underneath that there\u2019s a second department and third department also listed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Perkins says the fire departments are familiar with one another and have open communication whenever forces come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Deal and Roosevelt, we pretty well all know what our equipment is and what our capabilities are,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cWhen we start on those fires that are automatic aid, whoever the incident commander is, so if it\u2019s an Idalou fire and I\u2019m here then I\u2019m the chief that day, and then I can start calling those other departments and say send me your tanker,\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n
Volunteers always needed<\/p>\n
Help is always needed at volunteer fire departments, and volunteers don\u2019t need years of experience to make an impact, Perkins said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be the one driving this truck and learning how to pump it, you don\u2019t have to be the one putting on the SCBA and taking that hose and running through the front door,\u201d Perkins said. \u201cThere\u2019s always, always, always something to do on a volunteer fire department.\u201d<\/p>\n
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