Crawfordsville, Indiana - March 2006
Crawfordsville is located in Montgomery County just off I-74 in west central Indiana. It is famous for the scenic Sugar Creek which flows through town and for being the home of General Lew Wallace, the author of the world's most honored motion picture, Ben-Hur. Crawfordsville is also home to Wabash College, rated #1 as a liberal arts college by U.S. News and World Report in 1996.

The Crawfordsville Fire Department has been led by Fire Chief Dennis Weir since 1988. The chief is a second generation firefighter with a passion for taking care of his community and his personnel.

Tragedy Leads to Safer Community
In the late 70's, a tragic accident gave Chief Weir, then a young firefighter, a strong lesson on the necessity of fire prevention. Three 5-year-old boys were playing around an underground storage tank (UST) that had been dug up. One of the boys lit a match and an explosion followed. One of the boys was killed, the two others were severely injured. After this incident, the town began seeking out and removing all UST's in the community. In the 80's, it became federal law.

Arson Task Force
An aggressive arson program was initiated in the 80's in response to the recession-driven increases in arson cases. A task force was assembled with the county prosecutor and sheriff to investigate arsons county-wide. This includes the 9 community volunteer fire departments which have suspicious fires. Arson losses are now lower in Montgomery County than in surrounding counties.

AED Program Implemented
The chief instituted an active defibrillation program last year. Automated External Defibrillators (AED) were provided to schools, factories, and other public assemblies. Twenty-seven AED's are now available in the community.

Departmental Goals
Chief Weir is currently working on improving his department's response times to emergency runs to be in compliance with NFPA 1710 and 1720. He is also evaluating the feasibility of renovating the original fire station built in 1934. Training and education issues are two of his biggest needs and building a fire station with a training center is one of his goals. "People learn in a pleasant environment", he says.

Preventive Maintenance Just as Important for Personnel
In 2002, a wellness program was introduced to begin evaluating the physical condition of his personnel. The program was initially met with considerable resistance, but after it was all said and done, everyone from the personnel, to the Mayor, to the City Council, were thankful, appreciative, and supportive.

Chief Weir began the program, which complies with NFPA 1582, because it "seemed to be the reasonable thing to do for his personnel." He believed that a maintenance program for his personnel was just as important as one for his apparatus. This way, he would be able to head off health problems in advance and provide valuable information to his personnel.

The chief encourages his personnel to exercise during their shift. After all of his personnel went through the medical examinations, the chief has noticed that the exercise equipment he has made available in the fire houses for many years is now being used more regularly.

"As a fire chief, you have a vested interest in your personnel. You've got to make a decision. Do you want to benefit your personnel or not?"

For more information on Crawfordsville, visit online by clicking here.

© 2006 Public Safety Medical Services