Alexandria, Indiana — July 2003
More than a century and a half ago, the first settlers came to Alexandria. The discovery of natural gas in 1887 grew the population of this Madison County town from 491 to 7,221 in 1900. As the gas slowly burned itself out by the early 1900's, some of the population left. Today, it stands at 6,000. During World War II, Alexandria was selected as the typical American town and highlighted in a book distributed in 1943 called Small Town, U.S.A.

Not Your Typical Department
The Alexandria Fire Department is anything but typical. With only 13 sworn and 6 part-time personnel, they are all cross-trained in a variety of special rescue techniques. These include: extrication, Hazmat, search and rescue, and confined space entry. Child protective service and domestic violence training are provided as well.

With two major highways running through town (S.R. 9 and 28), the department sees its fair share of emergency runs. Sometimes these runs can be delayed from the more than 25 trains that come rumbling through town on any given day.

Nearby volunteer fire departments from Frankton, Richland Township, Pipe Creek, and Summitville help supplement the runs.

Children a Top Priority
Alexandria Fire Chief Mike Hensley had a vision to provide both prevention and intervention services to ensure the safety of children in Madison County. His vision became reality when the Community Connection Program was introduced in 2002.

The program is funded through a focus grant from the United Way of Madison County, the Indiana Children's Trust Fund and private contributions. The overall goal is to reduce the number of children who are harmed, abused, and neglected.

The prevention component includes the presentation of the Talking About Touching program in Alexandria, Anderson and Elwood Elementary schools. The program helps keep children safe from victimization and provides tools for controlling impulses. So far, 1,850 children are reached each year with this message. Alexandria, Anderson and Elwood fire stations are also designated as safe havens for children experiencing a crisis ranging from being locked out of the house to being the victim of abuse. Each participating establishment posts a window decal identifying the site as a Safe Haven. These intervention sites serve as temporary safe places where the victim can receive assistance. Personnel will make calls for the victim with the goal of getting them to relevant services as quickly as possible. To date, 14 children have accessed this service. A 24-hour crisis response support is provided by Alternatives Incorporated out of Anderson.

Chief Believes in Wellness
Providing a wellness program to his personnel was an easy decision for Chief Hensley. After all, being a small department makes the loss of any personnel due to a preventable injury or death significant. The chief provides annual physicals and medical testing and is looking to implement a fitness program in the near future. His personnel have accepted the program with open arms. "They see the benefits of maintaining good health in how they do their jobs," he says. "Just like preventive maintenance is important for your vehicles, it is necessary to help personnel perform at their best as long as possible."

Click here for Alexandria Fire Department newsletter article.

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© 2006 Public Safety Medical Services