CHIEF'S REPORTS
December 14, 2024 Chief's Report
From November 14th though December 10th we had one EMS call, one welfare check, one resident assistance and no fire calls. We had a little moisture this past month but not really enough to measure. Twice we hoped to burn the brush pile but the winds came with the moisture and made in impossible.
Training on November 24, had me calling for a bag check. As the year ends it is important for me to know that each of our firefighters have everything, they need to effectively fight fire. Things go missing or lost and sizes change up or down. If I am to order PPE before the end of the year, I need to know what each of my firefighters need. Also, I am guilty of not keeping a close track of what each firefighter is issued. This allowed me to record an inventory of each firefighter’s gear. Ran the trucks and pumps. UTV 1 has a thermostat issue.
The DMR sent Brush 72 to town for the illuminated Christmas parade. Note to department, must always have candy to throw!
December 4 had our department offering assistance to a resident. She could not see to drive home after dark and requested the fire departments help getting home. I sent a fireman to assist but issued a stern warning, if this person needed to leave to the DMR they were to plan on making sure they were home before dark.
That same night, Dispatch called firefighter, Bert Lagarde at home to go do a welfare check or sorts. He was called upon to find a residents emergency contact to let them know that the resident was in the hospital in Midland and was not expected to make it past that night. Odd that dispatched call our fireman directed and did not call either me, FC or tone us out.
Firemen Ed Eaton and I have been busy installing the Red Cross issued smoke detectors. So far, we have installed, 35 smoke detectors in 14 homes.
Training December 8 was to issue my Christmas gifts to our firemen. Plus, we put up the Christmas lights on the outside of the station. Our annual Fire Chiefs’ Christmas party will be held on Saturday the 14th, 6:00 in the fire station. We will meet to clean and set up Friday the 13th at 10 am.
Tuesday December 10th, I attended both a pension board meeting and commissioner’s court. Judge Evens asked me to stay behind after the commissioners’ court ended, he wanted me to know that when the new sheriff is sworn in, he would start the process of moving our dispatch.
The Personal Protection Equipment I purchased should be arriving Monday.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to everyone,
Respectfully submitted,
Edna Queen, Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
From November 14th though December 10th we had one EMS call, one welfare check, one resident assistance and no fire calls. We had a little moisture this past month but not really enough to measure. Twice we hoped to burn the brush pile but the winds came with the moisture and made in impossible.
Training on November 24, had me calling for a bag check. As the year ends it is important for me to know that each of our firefighters have everything, they need to effectively fight fire. Things go missing or lost and sizes change up or down. If I am to order PPE before the end of the year, I need to know what each of my firefighters need. Also, I am guilty of not keeping a close track of what each firefighter is issued. This allowed me to record an inventory of each firefighter’s gear. Ran the trucks and pumps. UTV 1 has a thermostat issue.
The DMR sent Brush 72 to town for the illuminated Christmas parade. Note to department, must always have candy to throw!
December 4 had our department offering assistance to a resident. She could not see to drive home after dark and requested the fire departments help getting home. I sent a fireman to assist but issued a stern warning, if this person needed to leave to the DMR they were to plan on making sure they were home before dark.
That same night, Dispatch called firefighter, Bert Lagarde at home to go do a welfare check or sorts. He was called upon to find a residents emergency contact to let them know that the resident was in the hospital in Midland and was not expected to make it past that night. Odd that dispatched call our fireman directed and did not call either me, FC or tone us out.
Firemen Ed Eaton and I have been busy installing the Red Cross issued smoke detectors. So far, we have installed, 35 smoke detectors in 14 homes.
Training December 8 was to issue my Christmas gifts to our firemen. Plus, we put up the Christmas lights on the outside of the station. Our annual Fire Chiefs’ Christmas party will be held on Saturday the 14th, 6:00 in the fire station. We will meet to clean and set up Friday the 13th at 10 am.
Tuesday December 10th, I attended both a pension board meeting and commissioner’s court. Judge Evens asked me to stay behind after the commissioners’ court ended, he wanted me to know that when the new sheriff is sworn in, he would start the process of moving our dispatch.
The Personal Protection Equipment I purchased should be arriving Monday.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to everyone,
Respectfully submitted,
Edna Queen, Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
November 9, 2024 Chief's Report
From October 10th though November 9th we had two EMS calls and no fire calls. Once again, it has been a kind of uneventful month, not that I am complaining but still. I do hope we get some rain soon so that we can burn the brush pile, it is getting quite large again.
On Friday October 10th we joined Fort Davis VFD and Fort Davis EMS for a presentation at the elementary school. It was National Fire Prevention / first responders’ week and the fire departments / EMS gave the children a wonderful hands-on experience with the medical / fire equipment. They got to use the hoses, back pack sprayers, get into the fire trucks and tour the ambulance. These children are our future we need to get them excited about a career as a first responder. We sent Ed Eaton and Dale Pilcher from our department. Next year it should be Wendi Bates and myself; to show the girls they can be firefighters too!
Training on October 13th saw the department hosting a radio class for the community. We encouraged the community to purchase radios from Amazon, then had our communications officer, Marvin Voiers, program them for them. Retired Fire Marshall and Border Patrol Radio operations officer, Stewart Billingsley, led the group in how to use our radios. We had a great turn out and will need to do this again in the future.
On Friday morning, October 25th, I attended the West Texas Fire Chiefs meeting held at McDonald Observatory. It was held in advance of the Mile High Fire Academy hosted by Fort Davis Fire Department starting that evening. There were quite a few chiefs in attendance. Friday evening was the start of the Fire Academy. We had 6 of our firefighters attend. The classes were Friday evening, all day Saturday and till afternoon on Sunday. What an amazing opportunity for our firefighters to get first class instruction from amazing instructors from across Texas without having to drive half a day or more. For myself, I learned a lot from the two classes I took, especially the Incident Command class.
On Monday October 28th, Wendi Bates and I attended a FEMA class on disaster / hazmat response in Alpine. It was designed to get all of the departments together and talk about what would happen if there was a major disaster, say a train hitting a bus, causing the need for multiple departments working together. It was a very informative class especially because I lived in Alpine for 40 years so I understood the difficulties involved with closed railroad crossings.
A big thank you to Marvin Voiers, who has been working tirelessly at getting our “buffalo tank” road worthy again. It a water tank designed to haul 800 gallons of water towed behind the 5 ton. It has been sitting there neglected for so many years I did not think it was ever used. Marvin has given it a top to bottom restoration and he is almost done. The last thing to be done will be new paint. Having the ability to bring more water to the site of a fire is always a good thing.
We had an EMS assist late Wednesday night, November 6th. At 10:45 pm we were called to help the Fort Davis EMS lift a patient that had fallen. Let me tell you, for my part I was sound asleep and it was hard waking up, but we all made it to the station. A huge thanks to Bert Lagarde, Wendi Bates, and Ray Queen that help get that person into the ambulance. I like to say that things that happen in the DMR while you are asleep.
On Saturday morning, November 9th, we were called out for an EMS assist at 4:24 am. We got home from this call at 5:40 am. I just had time enough to catch a fast breakfast before heading out to a training class.
I am sorry I am not there in person at today’s DMPOA Board meeting, but I am attending a rope rescue class along with Bert Lagarde, Wendi Bates, Ray Queen, and Art Fitzgerld along with Fort Davis EMS and VFD in the Davis Mts State Park. It started at 9 am at the FD fire station and moved on to the Davis Mt State Park. It is a wonderful opportunity to work and train together with the other departments in our county.
Thank you everyone for all you do.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
October 12, 2024 Chief's Report
From September 12th, though October 10th we had no EMS calls and no fire calls.
It’s been a while since we have gone out on a fire and we might be getting a little rusty. Hopefully we get some rain soon so that we can at least burn the brush pile.
Training on September 22nd was a review of all the events we had scheduled in the next two months. Also, at this meeting we approved two members to our department. Judi and Stephen Padilla are new transplants from San Antonio. He is the new paster at the Davis mountains community Church. We were able to find enough gear to have Stephen ready to fight wild land fire. Judi has joined our support team.
September 28th, we held our bi annual Fire Wise meeting in conjunction with mitigation this year. I wish we had better community attendance. It does not make any sense to me that people can be so complacent about the inability of a large fire coming through the DMR. When you can attend one meeting, be fed and gain a wealth of information on how to prepare for a fire. I cannot praise our DMRVFD volunteers enough. They step up year after year to do the work that needs to get done. The food was amazing and plentiful as always. Robert Lavigne won the weed eater.
October 2 had us feeding the Fort Davis fireman during their monthly meeting. It was something I started after the first year of attending their meetings and joining them for their meals. I thought it would help foster a good relationship with in our departments. We fed what seemed to be a record attendance of FD firemen and some of the medics on call as well. Dinner was King Ranch chicken, salad and cobble with ice cream. They seemed to really enjoy the meal; there was nothing left!
We will hold a celebration of life pot luck dinner for former fire chief Ken Gossett on October 12th starting at 6 pm. It will be held in the fire station. If you knew Ken and want to join us in remembering him, please come down to the station for 6 pm. Bring a side dish or dessert to share.
Fire Captain, Bert Lagarde, was called up to serve our country as a FEMA disaster team member. He was sent to Charlotte NC. Keep him in your prayers for a safe return.
Training on the 13th will be on how to use our radios as we have new members. This will be open to support and community members as well.
Thursday October 10th Dale Pilcher started and finished the remodeling the storage shelves for the fireman’s bags and extra equipment.
We are looking forward to the Fall Mile High Fire Academy to be hosted by the Fort Davis fire department. I have enrolled most of the department. Fire school start October 25 and run through the 27th.
Thank you everyone for all you do.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
September 14, 2024 Chief's Report
From August 15th, 2024 through September 14th, we had 3 EMS calls, no fire calls and one call for a lost resident.
With the retirement of paramedic, Bert Lagarde, from his position as the Head of Emergency Services in Marfa, we now have him available to respond to EMS calls in the DMR. His assistance during our 3 EMS calls made a huge difference.
We had a call for a lost resident that is blind and disabled. It was a cold, rainy day and she was found not far from home. She was cold, wet, scared but otherwise okay. I am thankful for such a great team that found her quickly.
Training on the 25 found us reviewing the winches on brush 71, 72, 73 and the 5 ton. We found, during a rescue, that not everyone knew how to operate the new remote-controlled winches. It was a good thing we did because we had not had to use the ones on the new trucks, and we discovered that B73 was sent with the wrong remote. Training on the 8 had us working a time line of events from now till the end of the year, as well as continuing the maintenance of the 5 ton. Thank you, Kevin, for heading up that task.
We purchased 10 new 12 and 14-ply tires to replace the ones that came with B 71 and 73. We had a donation for this purchase and have sold 4 of the 10 old tires. That will help cover the cost of mounting and balancing. Total price for this was $3,062.00
We have been in the process of converting our department from a 501- C4 to a 501 C-3 for the last 3 months, with the help of our CPA, Laura Lannom. Finally, August 27th, the documents were done and submitted to the IRS. Now we want them to approve our application. This will allow us to be able to apply for grants to fund several projects I have lined up.
We will be hosting our annual Firewise and Mitigation of the area surrounding the fire station and community center, jointly this year. It will be held September 28th. We are giving away a RYOBI 40V 15 in Expand It String Trimmer with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger ($159 value). In order to qualify for a raffle ticket, you must participate in mitigation. Starting at 9 am with a meet and greet and assigning where to start your weed eating or limbing. We have some weed eaters but the batteries do not last long, so if you have your own, please bring it. We will have gas, oil and some extra string. Lunch will be either a bowl of chili and corn bread, or you can make your own Frito pie with all the fixings, as well as tea, water and sodas with dessert.
We will hold a celebration of life, potluck dinner for former fire chief, Ken Gossett on October 12th, starting at 6 pm. It will be held in the fire station.
Looking forward to the Fall Mile-High Fire Academy to be hosted by the Fort Davis Fire Department. It will be held October 25 -27th.
Thank you to those who came out to pick up trash.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
August 10, 2024 Chief's Report
From July 11th through August 10th, we had no EMS calls, one stand by for fire, one call for death of a resident and one welfare check.
The remains of the brush pile burned down pretty quickly. The rains helped.
Thank God the rains have started! It was looking pretty bad out there. It is amazing how fast it went from bare dirt and brown to abundant grass and verdant green.
Training on July 14th found us out in the rouged high country doing UTV training. It is important to keep our driving skills sharp on our steep, rocky 4 x4 only road.
Rhonda Honeycutt and myself attend the West Tx Philanthropic conference in Alpine. We were able to pitch our need for outside funding to many Permian Basin area foundations. We had several foundations agree to have us apply for funding.
On July 17th we had a call from the Sheriff’s office for a welfare check for a community member. After a few calls she was found in Odessa.
July 18 was a rough day for our department as we lost two of our former Fire Chiefs on the same day. Jerry Rhea in the morning and Ken Gossett in the evening.
Jerry Rhea was a founding member of our department. He passed away in Big Spring. He served the longest of any of our FC, from 1980- 2013. It is because of him that we have our current fire station, the original one was a converted rock water tank. He was a legend in the area firefighting community and will be missed. Services for him were held in Odessa Wednesday 7.
Ken Gossett passed away peacefully at home around 8 that evening. He served our community as both a Fire Chief and EMS medic. A member of both Fort Davis VFD and DMR VFD, he was also a member of the Jeff Davis Co Mountain Medics. He helped modernize our department. He was an avid radio operator and was instrumental in getting many of our department members and community members their HAM radio license. A past marathon runner, he was an avid walker and will be missed by those of us who stopped to visit him as he walked the roads around the DMR. Thank you to our firemen that led the procession out of the DMR in what will be known as, “The Ken Gossett”, B71. He was instrumental in the design and purchasing of our first modern brush truck. A celebration of his life will be held in October.
This month also has been a month of paper work. The process of converting our department from a 501 C – 4 to a C – 3 is well in hand. All we are waiting on is for our CPA to finish the application for us and it will be sent to the IRS. It is important as we are actively applying for funding grants from our area philanthropic foundations. We have to be a C – 3 to apply.
Thank you to Kevin Honeycutt for leading the team on the maintenance of our 5 ton. I know it needed some TLC. Thank you to Kevin and Dale Pilcher who led up the research for the best price and quality tires. We ordered tires for B 71 and B73 and they should be here next week. We will have Bencomo’s mount and balance them.
Ed has asked for me to look into purchasing two new air packs for structure fire. His regulator is broken and needs replacing. Those pieces of equipment came with the Jerry Rhea when purchased in 2011. Though they had little to no use, they are 13 years old. Our tanks are out of date but in like new condition. Hopefully we can get them recertified. I did ask FC Olivas if he had any spare parts for our SCBA packs and he said we could borrow what ever we needed until we could get the regulator repaired or replaced.
There was a lightning strike fire on Friday 8-2. It was on the top of Tully Mountain. This area has seen lighting strike fires before. We were on stand by for the fire. Tully mountain is a very hard place to access. It took the FD firemen over an hour straight up the mountain to reach the fire. They had it contained by around 8pm when we were told to stand down.
Ed Eaton drove Eric Carrizales from the Texas Forest Services, out to his sample site Wednesday 8 -7. Thank you Ed, for providing the assistance. Unfortunately, our UTV overheated so Dale, Wendi and I went to rescue them. The UTV was diagnosed with a sticky thermostat. Art and Kevin are working on the repairs.
As always, be safe and be vigilant.
See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
July 13, 2024 Chief's Report
From June 12th, 2024 through July 3th, we had one EMS call, one fire call and one call to help a resident that drove off the road.
On Tuesday June 12 at 8:30 am we were toned out for a truck engine on fire on the main ranch road. It was one mile from the cattle guard headed toward the mailboxes. Thank you to Kevin and Art who arrived on scene first. They were able to put out the fire with fire extinguishers.
On Sunday June 16th, I was called at home about a welfare check. I call 911 and asked for EMS to respond. I sent one team to the residence and one team to meet the ambulance at the country store and guided them back.
June 25th had us helping a local resident that had driven off the road onto a deep ditch. We pulled them out and drove the woman and her daughter home. Thankfully no EMS was needed.
We had a community member donate two 8- foot ceiling fans for our station. It sure made our annual meeting a lot more comfortable.
June 29th was our departments annual meeting and elections. Our board of directors are:
Rhonda Honeycutt, president
Kevin Honeycutt, VP
Judy Eaton, Treasurer
Edna Queen, Secretary
Edna Queen – fire chief
Kevin Honeycutt – assistant chief
Bert Lagarde – structure captain
Dale Pilcher- wildland captain
Marvin Voiers – communications officer.
At our annual meeting we received a generous donation of $3000.00 from the Davis Mountains Baptist Church. It will be used to replace our brush truck radial tires with 12 – 14 ply off road tires.
Depending on where you live in the DMR, we have received around 6 inches or more of rain in the last few weeks. It is amazing how green it can get in such a short time.
On Wednesday July 10th, we burned the brush pile. Ignition was at 6.45 am. It went text book. Thank you to everyone who made this go off with out a hitch. Thank you to Sue and Marvin for all of their excellent food.
Also on Wednesday morning at 10 am, Rhonda Honeycutt and I met with Larry Francell in the Fort Davis Library about an upcoming conference, West Texas Philanthropy Days, to be held in Alpine on the Sul Ross Campus. Rhonda and I will attend and we needed help on how best to approach the foundations that will be there. We discussed how not to have conflict with the Jeff Davis EMS, Library, and County Judges office, when asking for funding. This conference will be held July 17,18 and 19th in Alpine.
Late that afternoon I drove Eric Carrizales, from the Texas Forest Services, to his collection site. He was worried his truck would not make it up the road if the rain had washed it out. Good thing we took the UTV because that road was completely washed out. Eric comes to the DMR once a month to collected leaf samples from our ponderosa pine, pinion pine, alligator juniper, gray oak, and silver leaf oak for the Texas A & M department of predictive services. The samples are tested for moisture content. His sample site is at the end of the road on Collen canyon. I think he will be call us from now on to have us drive him up in the utv! Other wise he has a long hike from where his truck has to stop.
The brush pile is still smoking a little. Darrel will take the maintainer and consolidate the ash to the big ash pile. We will open the area again as soon as that has been done. Please do not add brush to the pile until that is done.
As always, be safe and be vigilant.
See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
June 13, 2024 Chief's Report
From May 09th, 2024 through June 8th, we had one EMS call, two stand bys for fire, one fire call and one call to remove tree blocking road.
Training on May 12th dealt with radio and situation size up. I made up various scenarios from head on collision between motorcycle and the Fed Ex truck, to a small grease fire in a residential kitchen. My firemen were to view this as a real event. They had to find the location, radio in a scene size up, what resources they needed, and any additional help they may need. It is a good way to keep them sharp should something happen in the DMR.
May 25th was our annual Memorial Day fund raiser. We cleaned and set up on the 24. Then sold brisket sandwiches with all the fixings on Saturday the 25th. We had around 65 people attend and made $3000.00 between sales and donations. Thank you to everyone that supported this event. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun.
Training on May 26th, had us cleaning up and doing inventory of what we will need to n on hand for the annual meeting.
Sunday May 26th, there was a major fire in Alpine. It was the first time in a long time that all Tri County fire departments were called in to help. Marfa, Marathon, Fort Davis, Terlingua and even the Forrest Service task force stationed in Alpine were on hand. The fire completely destroyed a historical building in down town Alpine. As much as we would have liked to help our fellow firemen in Alpine, the DMR was given the assignment of being stand by for fire for Jeff Davis Co. In other words, should fire have broken out anywhere in Jeff Davis Co, the DMRVFD was the first line of defense. Fort Davis had pretty much sent all they had to help Alpine VFD. As a result of this event, should there be a situation like this arise again, we will send a team and brush truck to Fort Davis station to be in town should fire back out there. While keeping enough firemen and assets to cover everywhere else.
May 31, we sent a team to assist FDVFD with a house fire on Blue Mt Trial. Although it was mostly out by the time our team arrived, it was good training for them.
Tuesday June 4th Edward Eaton and Edna Queen attended a Hazmat training class in Alpine. The class was aimed at being prepared should we have a major train derailment with hazardous material spilled in the area. Very good information should we be called to help.
Wednesday June 5th, I attended the business meeting of the FDVFD in town. I was able to pick up our long-awaited Id badges for our newest firemen and support team. When I stopped at the station to leave the badges, Ralph Patterson stopped me to say that a very large oak tree had fallen across Yellowknife trail right by the gingerbread well house. At 8:30pm I had our firemen toned out. It was decided to pull the tree out of the way with the 5 ton and tow chains versus trying to cut it up with chain saws. It was late and getting dark and dragging the tree was the safest option.
Friday morning June 7, 9:30 am we had a standby for fire for a possible assist for Valentine. Then a call came in at 9:45 for an EMS assist on Cedar Trail. This was one of the instances where Cedar Trail is in the DMR and Cedar Drive is in Limpia Crossing. After some confusion it was determined that it was in the DMR and I called all available firemen to report to the station. The ambulance was unable to make the drive up to Cedar Trail so we used B72 to transport the medics up to the location after meeting up with ambulance. Then we brought the patient and spouse down to the ambulance. I sent a fireman in their personal UTV that seats 4 to bring the medics down to the ambulance.
We are set up with a tent and information for the Smoke on the Mt cook off this weekend. Hopefully we have a good turnout. We only made $70 all of that came from Ed in the morning. Marvin made a donation to the department of $100.00. Let’s hope we get at least the ten thousand we were given last year.
On Tuesday June 11 at 8:30 am we were toned out for a truck engine on fire on the main ranch road. It was one mile from the cattle guard headed toward the mailboxes. Thank you to Kevin and Art who arrived on scene first. They were able to put out the fire with fire extinguishers. Art sprayed the area around the truck just in case. The owners had a crane type machine on their trailer so they were able to tow the truck out of the way. Good way to get your blood pumping in the morning.
Looking forward to our annual meeting and elections to be held June 29th in our fire station. Our department will clean and set up the station for our annual meeting and elections followed by the POA annual meeting and elections, then for the BBQ. I have the cost estimate from Jonathan Clark who would like half as down payment. We are looking at 50 pounds of brisket, 25 pounds of chicken and 25 pounds of sausage. Mr. Clark will cook and serve the meat. Our department will provide the drinks, plates etc.. as well as cleaning, setting up and cleaning up afterward. We ask that the community provide the side dishes and desserts.
I have a community member who wants to donate large ceiling fans. I hope that we receive them in time to install them. We may need some help.
As always, be safe and be vigilant.
See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
April 9, 2024 Chief's Report
From March 14th, 2024 through April 13th we had no EMS calls and one stand-by for a fire on 166.
From last month for the Board to know, on March 10th we drove the evacuation route though the Geary ranch. The road was in rough shape but we made it just fine in the UTVs. There are a few places that might need flagging but if Mr. Geary blades the road as he said he would, then it should be easy to follow. It takes 10 minutes from the station to the first gate then 45 minutes to reach highway 118 N near the solar park. You will need a high clearance vehicle in order to make that trek. Right now, it’s more of a trail in some parts than a road.
Training on March 17th was to go over the trucks making sure they were ready to go in the event of a fire. I also drilled the firemen on the use of the pumps.
On March 20th, I had WTG fill our 500-gallon unleaded tank just making sure we had enough gas on hand to make it through fire season.
We received a $4000.00 check for the FMH foundation the week of the 24th. This grant for the tuition and some of the housing, to send Wendi Bates and Edward Eaton to Fire school for their Fire fighting one and two course. The school is in Terlingua, TX and runs May through October.
On March 27th the DMR firemen joined the Fort Davis VFD for a joint training opportunity. We were invited out to what will be the High Frontier hotel / resort. It was an opportunity to make suggestions as to where the firemen would need to have water connections for fire. The manager had done a great job already as far as making a good defensible space, yet he was open to suggestions made by Fire Cief Olivas and others.
Training on March 25th was supposed to be running the McIvor ranch evacuation route but it was postponed until the March 30th so I took the opportunity to give our firemen a history lesson. With the maps we have in the station I was able to go over every fire that came into the boundaries of the DMR from 2000 until now. Starting with the Rock House fire, then the Livermore, Tejano, McDannel, and the Loop Complex. We discussed how they were fought, fire behavior, how the evacuations were done and how having the Southern Command stationed in the DRM affected our operations. There are only two other firemen on our roster besides myself that was here for all of these fires, Bert Lagarde and Dale Kitchens. It is important to learn from our past.
On March 30th Julie and Scott McIvor led our firemen out the evacuation route through their ranch. It took 20 minutes to reach the gate at the end of Squaw Valley and then another hour to drive the road that comes out at the U up U down headquarters on Highway 118 North. This road is in better shape than the Geary ranch but you will still need a high clearance vehicle.
I attended a Fire Chiefs meeting in Alpine on April 3rd. Fire Chief Martin of Terlingua said Fire school will be starting on the 3rd of May and that she would be sending me the registration information this week.
On April 11 the fire department worked together with the road crew to install a liner on the rock tank / dip tank by the road on Yellowknife. Head of the road crew, Darrel Fellers, determined that a liner would be the best option for long term repair of the tank. The fire department split the cost of the liner with the POA. Thank you to firemen Ed Eaton, Kevin, Dale Pilcher, Ray Queen, Wendi Bates and Rhonda Honeycutt for all your help. Also thank you to Fireman /road crew employee Art Fitzgerald and road crew member Robert Lavigne for getting this done. Thank you to Bob Kincaid, Kevin and Rhonda’s brother- in -law, for all your help. You are on vacation and we put you to work! It was a long day but the weather was perfect and we had plenty of hands-on board. Thank you to Rhonda and Wendi for helping me feed the team. The tank is full now and it looks great. There were even a few canyon tree frogs that got washed in, they made it out safely. One more step in being as prepared as possible for this fire season.
I got Ed Eaton and Wendi Bates enrolled in fire school yesterday. They will have their first meeting May 3rd. We will be hosting a joint training with FDVFD tomorrow on drafting.
On April 19 – 20 the Fort Davis Fire Department and DMRVFD will be hosting the district 13 meeting and election for the State Firefighter Fire Marshal Association or SFFMA. There will be firemen from as far as El Paso to Sonora and from Terlingua to Seminole. There is a dance on Saturday open to everyone at the pavilion starting at 7.
On April 27th we will be hosting a Fire Wise / Ready set Go event with Fire Chief Jason Duran and Assistant Chief James Wolf of the NE Midland VFD and Jayme Trainer of the Texas A & M Forest Service as our guest speakers. Starting at 11:30am everyone is invited. It is important that as many residents attend as we will be discussing evacuation routes. We will be serving hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixings. Free of charge.
Save the date for our Memorial Day fundraiser on May 25th. This year’s theme will be An Evening at the Ponderosa. So, dust off your best western attire and come dance under the stars to your favorite county and western music. We will be selling brisket sandwiches with two sides and a desert.
As always, be safe and be vigilant.
See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen, Fire Chief – DMPOAVFD, INC.
February 10, 2024 Chief's Report
From January 11, through February 08, 2024, we had one EMS call, one welfare check and one standby for fire. We also had one DMPOA road crew assist and two new members added to our department.
We started the year with high wind warning after high wind warning. There was a fire Thursday the 11th on the loop road between the Eppenauer race track and the turn off to the Observatory visitors center. I radioed in to let FD know we would be on standby if needed. Thankfully they had enough people. We were fortunate it happened during our monthly board meeting, so most of us were already in the station.
Training on January 14 was finishing the setup of the station should it be needed as a warming center. Thankfully we never lost power and it was not as cold as predicted. Also discussed was whether to change our training date and time from the 2nd and 4th Sunday to the 2nd and 4th Saturday. It was decided that for the time being, we would keep our training date and time the same. We may revisit this later on during the year.
On January the 22nd I received a phone call from a property owner. She was concerned that she had not been able to get in touch with one of our residents for weeks and would we do a welfare check. I sent Ed, Rhonda and Kevin over to checked on them and they were fine. They had the same phone problems a lot of people have had up here, her phone would not ring.
I attended a Fire Chiefs conference in Midland with fireman Wendi Bates. We left on Tuesday the 23rd of February, so that we would be there for the 10 am start time on Wednesday the 24th. That night, around 8:30, I received a message that the POA needed fire departments assistance. There were two trucks with horse trailers and horses, stuck on the main ranch road and the road was completely blocked. Thank you to firemen and support team members, Kevin, Rhonda, Ed, Marvin, Ray and Art that stepped up and got the trucks out. I am so lucky to have a team that works well together without having me to manage an event like this from my hotel room. They did a wonderful job on a cold, rainy night. During this training conference I found out that there are several options for Fire Fighter 1 & 2 that did not require us to send our firemen to College Station. One being in Terlingua starting in April running through June. I have started the process of getting two of our firemen enrolled in this school. Working with the NE Midland fire department, I was able to secure a donation of non-expired bunker gear for our firemen. All I have to buy is boots and gloves. Ed Eaton and Wendi Bates have volunteered to take this class. This should be the last piece in a long process of getting our VFIS insurance rating back to a 9.
On January 27th I reached out to Bert Geary about the eastern evacuation route through his ranch. I stressed my concern that I am the only one left in our department that had ever driven that route and that was 6 years age. He responded and stated he hoped to schedule a trip through that route soon. He would let me know when he could meet up with us to drive that route. I have asked for help getting the contact information for Scott McIvor about the evacuation route at the end of Squaw Valley or the gate at the start of high lonesome. If we had to evacuate that part of the resort, I need a route through the McIvor ranch that would come out on the Largent ranch then 166.
During our training on the 28th, we went over the recent calls for assistance that came through our personal phones. I stressed to our team that when those calls come in, to please call 911 and have our department toned out. It makes our assistance easier to document and we get credit for our responses with the county. Also, during that training, we welcomed two new firemen, Art Fitzgerald and Ray Queen.
Rhonda Honeycutt and I attended training provided by TDEM, Texas Department of Emergency Management. Held in Marfa over two days, January 31 and February 1, this class was to provide training for a staging area manager in the event of a major disaster. We both agreed that although it would be unlikely that either of us would manage a major staging area, we now have a better understanding of what it takes to do this. In addition, we are now better prepared to help TDEM when they set up a staging area in our area. Since I have been part of the department, they have deployed a staging area 3 times, Livermore, McDannel, and the Loop complex fire. Also, during the Rock House, Livermore and Tejano fires, but I was not part of the department then. Something that will always stay with me, 1 port-a-potty for every 20 people if emptied daily and 1 hand washing / sanitizing station for every 4 port-a-potties.
On Thursday 2-1 we got a message during class that our department was toned out for a possible suicide attempt or one that had already happened they were not sure. Ed and Kevin responded; Marvin manned the station. Ed and Kevin waited for EMS to show up at the country store to escort them to the scene, while sheriff Kitts and his deputy went up to the address on High meadow. Thankfully it turned out to be a non-issue. Once again, I am blessed to have a team that can function without micro management from me.
On Sunday Feb 3rd, with help from Bert Lagarde, I honored a request made to our department to give Jerry Rhea one last ride in a fire truck. During the reception, I presented former FC Rhea with a firemen tee shirt and thanked him for his years of service. Then I drove him in the UTV parked by the entrance, over to the station and got him loaded into B72. Bert then drove around the maintenance barn out to Limpia and back to the community center. It was a nice event honoring a pioneering DMR family. Also learned history of our department fire chiefs starting 1975, Charles Fellers, Jim Lannom then Jerry Rhea, Darrell Fellers, Loren Spencer, Brian DeLesdernier, Ken Gossett, Mike Fryer, Ken Gossett, Mike Fryer, Ken Gossett and then me.
The monthly business meeting of the FDVFD there was a discussion on how we should coordinate a training time when both DMR and Ft Davis VFD train together.
Marvin and Judy attended the Emergency Accounting school in Ft Davis, February 6-8th.
Ed and myself will attend the “Community Emergency Response team” or CERT being sponsored by FEMA and the Rio Grande Council of Governments. This training is to be held February 23rd – 25th in Alpine. Next after that is HAZMAT awareness for first responders to be held in Fort Davis on March 1st-2nd in Fort Davis.
We picked up trash on our section of the highway this morning.
It has been a busy month. As always, be safe and be vigilant.
See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief – DMPOAVFD, INC.
January 13, 2024 Chief's Report
From December 14th, 2023 through January 13, 2024, we had no EMS calls and one stand by for fire.
On December 15, we met up to clean and decorate as best we could for the annual Fire Chief’s Christmas party. The forecast was for freezing temperatures that night so we could not leave the trucks out. The next morning, we met to move the trucks out and finish setting up the tables and chairs.
We had a good turn out and lots of wonderful food. The food held up well, although we ran out of turkey, we had a little ham left over. Thank you to all the amazing cooks in the DMR for your generosity.
Training was not held on December 17th as we had to clean and put away everything from the night before including reorganizing the storage boxes. Training for December 24th was cancelled.
So far, the new year has crept in cold and windy. Luckily, there have been no wind related fires so far. Knock on wood. We were having trouble with the heater in bay 4 and Kevin suggested buying a replacement online this time. Marvin ordered the heater and it should be here anytime now. Its being installed today or tomorrow. I will need to take B72 in for inspection and registration this month. The oil change is due for B71 and B72. Caleb suggested once a year oil change even with such low milage use. The air filters were changed on all three brush trucks.
I submitted the documents for our insurance grant and I received a confirmation of payment. We will only get $1520.00 out of the $8669.90 we paid. It’s better than getting nothing back.
I am attending the ESD meeting next week and have already submitted our budget proposal.
I am attending a fire chiefs conference in Midland on January 24th. The central topic will be training for firemen in the coming year. Possible new fire schools in the area will be available.
Thank you to the crew that helped bring down the tree on the power / phone line. The fire department, road crew and Jerry Guthrie and son all worked at felling that tree and cleaning up the area after. We were lucky that the lines did not arc.
There was a fire Thursday up on the loop road between the Eppennaur track and the turn off to the Observatory visitors center. The call came in during our monthly meeting and I radioed in to let the FDVFD know we would be on stand- by if needed. Thankfully they had enough people. I did not want to send more than one crew just in case something happened here. My first priority is to protect the DMR then help our neighbors. Trees falling could become an issue this next week due to the high winds and cold weather.
With that said, we will work tomorrow in making as much room as possible in the fire station just in case of a power outage. We have a generator and can power the station for a few days to a week in needed. Propane heat will keep people warm. We have hot plates, roasters and a microwave to heat food and a propane grill if needed to cook. We have cots, sleeping bags, pillows and extra blankets. If we lose power and people need a place to stay warm, they can come to the station. We will do the best we can to make people comfortable.
As always, be safe and be vigilant. See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen, Fire Chief – DMPOAVFD, INC.
December 9, 2023 Chief's Report
From November 8th through December 9, we had 1 EMS calls, no calls for fire and helped get the trash truck unstuck.
Training held on November 12nd was going over our chain of command and Standard Operating procedures. There had been a discussion on updating our SOP,COC and work and safety rules.
On 11-8-23 we installed new batteries on B74, ie the 5 ton. Many years ago it was modified to run on fewer batteries, I think it had 4, and now the two that are there only last about 2-3 years before they need to be replaced.
On November 13th we helped the road crew get the trash removal truck un-stuck from the curve around a mile from the cattle guard. Thank you to Kevin and Ray for taking the 5 ton out to get the trash truck moving.
We were having trouble with the heater in bay 5. The pilot would blow out when ever the burner would shut down. We decided it was cheaper to buy a new one then to pay WTG to send a repair man with mileage and labor cost. Marvin, Ray, Art, Ed and Kevin all worked at installing the new heater.
Dale Pilcher finally got B72’s pump running like it should. After almost a year of trying so many different things, it came down to the delivery of the gas from the gas tank to the pump. It just did not have enough lift to successful to do this and the pump was not getting enough gas to run. So, we mounted a 5-gallon external tank and ran a line to the pump and bingo the pump now works like a charm!
Next Saturday, December 16th, at 6pm, the annual Fire Chiefs Christmas party will be held. I do believe this event has been held for 30 if not 40 years now. As always, the fire department will provide the hams and turkeys and the community is asked to provide their favorite side dish, desserts or bread to share. We will have coffee, hot chocolate, tea, sodas and mulled cider to drink. Come enjoy the sprit of the holidays and mix and mingle with your fellow community members to start the holiday season. There is no charge for the meal.
As always, be safe and be vigilant. See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.
November 11, 2023 Chief's Report
From October 16th through November 8th, 2023, we had no EMS calls and no calls for fire. Training held on October 22nd was to winterize our water storage tanks. They were all in pretty good shape considering.
On October 28th the department members gathered together to present our former Fire Chief Kenneth Gossett a plaque in appreciation for his years of service to our department and community. It was a lovely tribute as we drove our fire trucks and UTVS over to his home lights on and an occasional siren wail. Because of his health issues we stood as a group down below in is drive way as I presented a beautiful flame shaped plaque to Cathy to give to Ken. Ken was able to come out and talk for a brief time. It was a moving ceremony.
We held a Fall Festival on November 4th. We had around 50 -60 people attend. It was a fun evening with lots of great food and community spirit. With the donations that came in before and those that came in after we raised around $1000.00.
Next up on our calendar is the annual Fire Chiefs Christmas Party to be held on December 16th.
On October 24th I received our annual workmen’s compensation renewal worksheet to fill out. On it, the documents asked for the number of calls responded on for Fire, EMS, Training hours and Maintenance. This was a record year for the DMRVFD. We responded to 21 calls for fire. We assisted the Fort Davis VFD with 11 fires and were on standby for 12. We responded to 23 EMS calls within the DMR. The EMS calls were either as lift assist, first on scene, welfare checks or to guide the ambulance to a specified location. Our firefighters logged 528 hours of training and over 360 hours on maintenance on our vehicles. Our department spent an average of 2080 volunteer hours. When you look at these numbers you realize how much we do in service to the community.
Work on B 72 continues as Dale Pilcher tries his best to get our pump working. We had to purchase two new batteries for B74 because someone left the radio on and it drained the power out of the batteries to the point where we could not charge them up again.
As always, be safe and be vigilant. See smoke or fire call 911.
Edna Queen,
Fire Chief DMPOAVFD, INC.