From
the Desk of Jim Brooks, Fire Chief
Welcome to the web
site of Eastern America’s Highest Volunteer Fire Department. Please
look through our site paying particular attention to the fire prevention
and medical safety sections. Take the advice offered. We want you, your
family, and home to be as safe as possible. We are most successful when
we don’t have to do our job.
Our firefighter members, all of whom are volunteers, go through the same
extensive training as paid professional firefighters serving larger communities.
Our medical personnel go through even more extensive training, several
having attained the paramedic level, the highest level for medical first
responders. These dedicated individuals are the first to respond to 911
emergency calls in and around the Town of Beech Mountain 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
We maintain 21 defibrillators located throughout the town and train the
club and town employees, and our members in their operation. We respond
to approximately 100 medical calls each year and answer approximately
75 fire-related calls.
Over the past few years, your fire department has completed the construction
of a second fire station serving the northernmost portions of the town
and has purchased three new emergency vehicles. These upgrades to our
capabilities, along with the extensive training and records management
efforts of our members, have enabled the department to qualify for an
upgrade in the town’s fire insurance rating. We now have a “six”
rating, the best possible given the condition of the town’s water
supply system. This new rating will result in a 20-25% savings in your
homeowner’s insurance costs for property in Beech Mountain. We have
calculated that, in the aggregate, residential property owners in Beech
Mountain will save more than $400,000 each year as a result of this accomplishment.
We serve our community proudly and rely on contributions from our community
to help us buy current equipment and safety gear for our fire and medical
personnel. Fundraising each year accounts for approximately 40% of our
annual operating budget and is therefore very important to us. Without
these monies, we would be unable to acquire and maintain our buildings
and equipment.
If you are interested in helping us to better serve the community, click
here to make a tax-deductible contribution.
Thanks for visiting the Beech Mountain Volunteer Fire Department website.
Jim Brooks, Chief
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