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Monday, May 2, 1983/The BattaI ion/Page 3
-iafety problems with County Fire Dept.
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Volunteers in need of proper equipment
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ip
(MW
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by Scott Griffin
Battalion Staff
There is a major problem in
is county that threatens the
esand homes of many people,
hat problem is with the archaic
razos County Volunteer Fire
epartment. Members of the
ecinct 4 squad say working for
has become a dangerous job.
Vance Riley, assistant pre
act chief and member of the
uad for the past two years, says
at neither proper equipment
jrtrainingare available for the
ilunteer firefighters — 15 of
hom are students at Texas
M. Most of those from the
»lare inembers of the cam-
emergency care team.
The students became in-
alved in November 1980 when
iley found out that the county
re department needed help,
iley talked to Precinct Chief
Ivin Phelps about students who
ere interested in working for
le department.
Phelps said he was more than
appy to have them. There were
ily 10 students in the original
:oup - the other 5 were added
Iter.
| The students, most of whom
ftd not have any firefighting
Jaining, seemed set for an excit-
Igand dangerous job. But they
icountered some major prob-
ms, some of which still exist.
The first of the problems was
tlack of equipment — mainly
jtective clothing and gear.
Firefighter David Philips ex
plains:
“Most of the suits and boots
are brought in by the volunteers
themselves. They (the county)
only provided a few suits — and
those don’t meet federal safety
specifications.”
Philips added that the hel
mets used by the group also do
not meet federal standards. The
helmets are made of thin plastic
and resemble a hard-hat, only
with a wider brim. Most of the
helmets have no face shields.
The shield is important because
one of the greatest dangers to
firefighters is objects that hit
them in the face.
The most crucial pieces of
equipment lacking, though, are
air packs, small tanks of com
pressed air with face masks used
for breathing when in extremely
smokey areas.
Riley says the precinct has no
air packs and therefore is re
stricted from fighting fires in
such areas — even when trying
to rescue someone.
Because of the lack of equip
ment, some firefighters are
forced to work in dangerous
areas with minimal protection.
Another problem encoun
tered by the new firemen was
the communication system,
which hasn’t changed since they
have worked in the precinct.
When a fire breaks out, the
fireman on duty calls the others
by phone. The men say this sys-
here
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by Lezlee Hinson
Battalion Reporter
jward-winning novelist
jindo Hinojosa will lecture
je today on “Mexican-
ierican Literature: Past and
sent.”
The lecture, which will be
fl at 7 p.m. in Room 204C
fling C. Evans Library, will
lude a reading from Hino-
j’s latest novel, “Rites and
esses.”
inojosa is considered the
emost Mexican-American
/elist. His book “Gener-
ines y Semblanzas” received
an America’s most presti-
us literary award for the best
inish-American novel — the
Jmio Casa de las Americas —
1976. He also won the nation-
award for Chicano literature
the Quinto Sol Prize — for
“Estampas del Valle” in 1972.
A master of satire, humor,
and understatement, Hinojosa
has nurtured his characters
through generations in the his
tory of his fictional Rio Grande
Valley town — Khail City, in Bel-
ken County.
Fluently bilingual, Hinojosa
is currently an English professor
at the University of Texas at Au
stin.
Several of Hinojosa’s books,
including “The Valley,” “Rites
and Witnesses,” and “Mi Queri-
do Rafa,” will be available for
autographing at a reception in
Room 145 of the Memorial Stu
dent Center following the lec
ture.
Admission to the lecture and
to the reception is free.
The lecture is sponsored by
the English department.
IM4
yOMSUf JUjye
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Monday May 2
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aid
tern is extremely ineffective be
cause the quickest response time
to an alarm is about 25 or 30
minutes.
The biggest weakness of the
department, however, is the
trucks. The truck used by Pre-
“The county doesn’t
have enough of a tax
base to help us. They
only give us $1,500 a
year to maintain the
truck,” assistant Pre
cinct 4 chief Vance Riley
cinct 4, one of the best in the
county, is run-down and out-of-
date. The truck has many faults,
the firemen say, mostly linked to
age:
•The hoses are too short.
Precinct 4 has only 200 feet of
hose. The average fire truck is
equipped with 2,500 feet, says
Philips. He adds that most of the
hoses are bought second-hand
and break easily.
•The pressure gauges on the
water tank don’t work.
•One of the bleeder valves on
the tank is broken. This means
that the tank can pump water at
only half of its capacity.
•The truck has no revolving
lights to warn cars or people of
its approach. The only lights on
the truck are four dim flashers
on the back and two on the
front.
•The brakes often fail.
•The truck has no oil press
ure or water temperature
gauges, windshield wipers or
horn. These failures have occur
red since its last inspection in
August and the truck is now un
able to pass inspection.
•The drive shaft has fallen
out of the truck on some occa
sions, not only stopping the
truck but also the water pump
since it operates from the en
gine.
•The truck’s maximum
speed is 55 miles per hour. This
slows the response of the crew.
Why can’t the problems be
corrected immediately?
“The county doesn’t have
enough of a tax base to help us,”
Riley says, adding that the coun-
ty “gives us only f 1,500 a year to
maintain the truck.”
The only other funds that the
unit receives are small benefits
and donations, Riley says.
One lifesaver to the precinct
has been some small, non
pumping trucks donated by the
Texas Forest Service.
While most of the calls hand
led by the precinct deal with
small grass fires or mobile home
fires out of the College Station
and Bryan city limits, the possi
bility does exist for a larger
home or building to go up in
flames.
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