La. district gets 6 new firefighters after staffing grants

By Karl Kell
The Times-Picayune

ABITA SPRINGS, La. — Six new firefighters for the Abita Springs-Waldheim Fire District 8 recently completed their 12-week basic training program and have now been assigned to full-time duties.

The new recruit class doubled the district's number of full-time firefighters to 12, along with six volunteers, a full-time secretary and the chief, said Chief Gary Mendow.

"The new firefighters, however, will only bring us up to the minimum (OSHA) staffing level required in responding to all types of emergencies of four firefighters and a chief."

The rookies include five men and one woman who will now work in a probationary training capacity. Each has been assigned to work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. They will be involved in all facets of the job and work under the direction of instructor Eric Givens and Training Officers Troy Laney and Brandon Stein.

The six are scheduled to complete all required training by Jan. 1.

The new firefighters include St. Tammany natives Daniel Fuselier, Erik Harton, Brian Veron, Earl Hotard and Donald Ward. Wendi Farris is originally from Texas, where she served as a volunteer firefighter.

The new recruits went through an extensive hiring and training program at the Abita Springs main station, which included classroom, physical fitness and in-the-field training, Mendow said.

"It involved not only textbooks but also physical agility and hands-on training as to firefighting, medical first response, highway safety and two phases of hazmat (hazardous material)."

The department now meets the mandatory minimum standards, enabling them to have a faster and safer response time and increased efficiencies at the scene of an incident. The hiring increase resulted from a $606,024 grant awarded last December through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants are designed to help fire departments maintain or increase the number of trained firefighters within a community.

The departments receiving a SAFER grant for new firefighters' salary and benefits must agree to retain the new positions in future years through their own locally generated funds.

Under the grant, District 8 will pay 10 percent of the new hires' salary and benefits in the first year, with the remainder covered through the SAFER grant. The local district's portion will gradually increase and the federal contribution appropriately decrease over the next four years, requiring District 8 in the fifth year to pay for all of the new positions.

Mendow said that the department also received another grant earlier this year for 21 sets of full turnout gear. The new equipment includes fire retardant outerwear, helmets and boots valued in excess of $47,000.

The Abita-Waldheim Department covers 33 square miles and includes the main station in Abita Springs and two unmanned facilities. The department averages between 45 and 50 calls each month, ranging from home or business fires to medical emergencies and automobile accidents.

"Down the road we may consider manning one or two of the other stations," Mendow said. "I have been very pleased with our new rookies and their hard work and efforts during the training. We now invite the community to stop by the main station at their convenience to meet their new firefighters and receive a tour."

Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company