Message from the Chief

The St. Albans Fire Department made several important improvements in 2000. With the help of City Council and the Mayor, a new ladder truck was purchased in early December.  This piece of apparatus will help with the professional delivery of services and improve firefighter safety and morale.  The Fire Department was rated by the Insurance Service Office in June and secured a better rating from a Class 4 to a Class 3. Only four other fire departments in the State of West Virginia have the same rating.  Of the 436 fire departments in the State of West Virginia, there are only three (3) departments that have a better rating than St. Albans Fire Department.  More interesting is the fact that only 2.6 percent of all fire districts in the nation are considered a Class 3. The department worked very hard for the last three years to achieve this great evaluation. Due to the improved rating, the citizens of St. Albans should see a reduction in their home and business insurance premiums.

The fire department responded to 1,391 emergencies in 2000; that’s 144 more than in 1999, an 11.5% increase. There continues to be a trend by citizens in calling the Fire Department when they don’t know who else to call. Our firefighters have a broad base of knowledge on many topics and the public depends on us for solutions to emergencies other than firefighting. The department has answered calls for help with lighting an elderly lady’s furnace, persons locked out of their house, cats in trees and helping the elderly to their car from a wheelchair to name a few.  Firefighters are always eager to help in anyway they can.

I appreciate the great strides the department has made with regard to equipment purchases. For the protection of the citizens and the firefighters, both Council and the upper management of the Fire Department should continue the commitment to replace items that are unsafe, unreliable and inadequate.  In 2001-2002 budget, I have requested the continuation of replacing the older generation of self-contained breathing apparatus, radios and protective clothing. I estimate that by the 2003-2004 budget every firefighter will have the needed equipment or have the older equipment replaced.  This will provide for increased safety and performance of their duties.

The current administration has been very favorable to the fire department in the past 3 1/2  years.  As the result of professional involvement by the Fire Committe, Finance Committee and the Mayor, they can share in the pride of the St. Albans Fire Department. The department is held in high regard by other fire service agencies and our citizens.  The great citizens of this city have continued to support us with both kind praise through letters and phone calls and financially with the continued passage of the fire excess levy since the 1960’s.