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Fire Departments Merge

News - Osawatomie

Written by Travis Perry

Tuesday, 10 November 2009 08:00

While the Osawatomie and Fontana fire departments are certainly no strangers to each other, they’re going to have the chance to get to know each other a little better from here on out.

Last week, Osawatomie Fire Chief DuWayne Tewes announced the consolidation of the administration for the two volunteer forces, and increased cooperation in covering rural emergencies. The merger is a move to bolster the abilities of Fontana firefighters, who have less experience handling emergency situations than their Osawatomie counterparts. Specifically, Tewes said Nov. 4, Fontana firefighters only responded to four emergency calls in the last quarter, while Osawatomie handled 12 to 15.

“This is just a way of increasing their experience level,” Tewes said. “There’s a good group of people down there; they’re very committed to the job of firefighting. This is just a way of helping them get even better at it.”

Tewes said while the two departments will be under a single administration, they will continue to maintain separate stations. Through the merger, Fontana firefighters will receive greater instruction and training. Also, Osawatomie will call on Fontana firefighters to assist with emergencies in rural Osawatomie.
Tewes said the decision was made recently, and the move was requested by the board of Miami County Rural Fire District No. 1.
“Fontana is unique in that it’s the only station in the district that the fire board is directly responsible for,” Tewes said. “All the other stations contract with rural fire.”

Fontana firefighters were informed of the change Nov. 3, and while there were a few concerns, Tewes said the reception was positive.
For now, the two departments are working on ironing out all the kinks, such as readjusting and reprogramming pagers and coordinating dispatch efforts.

“It’s things like that, just working out the little details,” Tewes said. “This is new for all of us.”

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