The Gator Exchange Club held its January 16^th meeting at Gainesville Fire Rescue and was treated to an excellent presentation on emergency services.  The meeting was led by Captain Michael Heeder, a 23-year fire service veteran who is one of the training officers for the Department and has extensive public speaking and emergency management experience.

Captain Heeder welcomed everyone in attendance following a welcome and introduction by Assistant Fire Chief Michael Randolph.  Captain Heeder played a video of the Fire Rescue Department including incident scenes of vehicle crashes where firefighters used tools including the Jaws of Life to rescue trapped occupants and a scene in northeast Gainesville where an unconscious man was pulled from his burning house by Gainesville firefighters.

Following lunch and the video, Captain Heeder (a self-proclaimed fire history buff) began with a history of Gainesville Fire Rescue, which has been saving lives and property in Gainesville since 1882.  Captain Heeder’s presentation included the first organized volunteer corps following two devastating fires in 1884 & 1886 and the first horse used to pull the Department’s original steam engine.  “John” was named after Chief John MacArthur, the first Gainesville Fire Chief.  Two other horses soon joined the Department at the turn of the 20^th Century, and were also named for the Chief:  “Mac” and “Arthur”.  Discussion followed about GFR’s first motorized fire engine, purchased in 1914.

In 1925 Gainesville Fire Rescue became a fully paid Department and in the mid-1980’s GFR began running medical calls with paramedics to provide Advanced Life Support medical care. Captain Heeder took time to answer a number of questions from those attending on topics ranging from Emergency Medical Services and paramedics responding to homes to the proper ways to install and check smoke detectors in the home.

The Gainesville Fire Rescue Department, led by Fire Chief William Northcutt, has 160 firefighters and 15 emergency vehicles that respond to more than 19,500 emergency calls a year. Those emergency calls include home and business fires, brush fires, auto accidents, emergency medical services, hazardous materials incidents, aircraft rescues and natural disasters.

The operations division is led by Deputy Chief Gene Prince. Seven fire stations house the personnel and equipment, which are responsible for emergency management in a 135-square-mile area with a population of 145,000 (which includes the city and adjacent areas of Alachua County). GFR educates its firefighters through constant training in Gainesville and around the country.  The Department also produces an in-house television show, FireCenter, which airs every Friday at 1:30 p.m. on our local government Channel 12.  This show helps train personnel while in station and allows for rapid response to emergencies without leaving their assigned territory for selected training venues.

Planning more effective ways of dealing with emergency situations is also a vital part of GFR's mission. The hazardous materials team, managed by Special Operations Chief Donnie Sessions, works with facilities that deal with dangerous fuels and chemicals to ensure a quick and correct response should a hazardous materials incident occurs. Firefighters learn to work with new equipment that makes unique emergencies such as confined-space-rescues and water rescues safer and quicker.

But GFR's dedication to protecting the community doesn't stop at emergency operations. The department's Risk Reduction Bureau pursues an aggressive fire prevention program that involves education, planning and enforcement under the direction of Deputy Chief Timothy Hayes.

GFR enforces the fire codes that protect homes and businesses. A regular fire inspection program accomplishes this task. The department's fire inspectors work to ensure that buildings in our community are fire safe. The department educates community citizens through fire and life safety classes directed toward children, families and businesses. GFR designs educational programs such as Project Get Alarmed, which has firefighters going out to homes and installing smoke detectors at no change.   Firefighters and Fire Safety Clowns help to deliver these and other vital programs to the community.

Following the presentation, everyone attending was invited over to tour Fire Station 3 on NE Waldo Road.  Guests were given a tour of the station and a rundown on response and procedures.  Gainesville Fire Rescue is fully funded by the city to provide you the best possible service. GFR does not assess a fee for services provided. So if you have a concern, suggestion or problem call your Fire Rescue Department at (352) 334-5078; and if it's an emergency, dial 911.