Indianapolis, Indiana — November/December 2004

Lawrence Township is located in the northeast corner of Marion County and includes the city of Lawrence, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Geist, and Castleton. Established in 1821, the commissioners named the township for Captain James Lawrence, a hero of the war of 1812 and famous for his battle cry: "Don't give up the ship."

The township now boasts a population of over 100,000 with 114 sworn firefighters prepared for service.

Service to the Community
Like many departments, the Lawrence Township Fire Department is actively involved in reaching out to its community. Outreaches include:

• Weekly car seat safety checks
• An annual safety fair in partnership with the Marion Co. Sheriff's Department, the Fishers Fire Department, and Lifeline Helicopter
• Assisting businesses with implementing AED programs
• Safety House presentations to elementary schools in the Township
• Firefighters As Role Models (FARM) program that provides one-on-one attention to students in grades 1-5

The fire department is also actively involved in the People's Burn Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy organization serving burn survivors and their families. In 2003, the department received the Heart of Gold award from the children of the Brave Hearts' Camp in recognition of their service to the camp.

On an even bigger scale, the department has a couple of members who participate in the "M.C. Axe and the Firecrew & Kasey" program. This innovative program, developed by the Fishers Fire Department and sponsored by Koorsen, utilizes music to reach, teach, and entertain young people about fire prevention and safety. Millions of children have been impacted.

Firefighter Training
Prior to beginning his service with Lawrence Township 6 years ago, Fire Chief Warren White served on the City of Lawrence, Warren Township, and Indianapolis Fire Departments. His leadership and experience has ensured that the department stays on the cutting edge of training. He has 16 members that serve on Indiana Task Force One, provides training for 19 paramedics monthly, and has a variety of trained special teams including tactical, extrication, rope, and top-water rescue. The department is also training for swift-water rescue and is operations level for Hazmat.

Health and Fitness
Division Chief of EMS, Brian Wisehart, oversees all aspects of EMS certification, training and medical evaluations for the department and its firefighters. The health of the personnel is also supported by the ladies auxiliary that provides food and water at the fire scene. The medical evaluations, which are provided right at the fire stations, include complete annual physical exams for all personnel, blood testing, and treadmills for those over age 50. Blood is drawn several weeks prior to the physical exams so results can be shared at the time of the physical. Chief Wisehart enjoys the ease of the evaluation process, especially since he no longer draws the blood himself. "All I have to do is set up the dates and PSMS comes out and does all of the work," he states.

The department values the one-on-one attention and information that is provided to each firefighter and says it has heard nothing but compliments from its firefighters.

Chief White and Wisehart both value the importance of having a medical evaluation program. "This is the best thing we have done for our department," emphasizes Chief White.

Click here for the Lawrence Township FD newsletter article.

For more information on the Lawrence Township
Fire Department, visit online by clicking here.

© 2006 Public Safety Medical Services