Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department Responds to Patch's Call

If you are looking for a way to volunteer your time in Hickory Flat or Holly Springs, consider becoming a volunteer firefighter. Both areas have volunteer groups that allow citizens to train to help the paid force respond to calls.

Holly Springs-Hickory Flat Patch spoke with the chiefs of both volunteer departments. Today, we focus on the volunteers. Larry Berry is the volunteer fire chief of the Hickory Flat contingent.

Patch: How many volunteers are there currently at the Hickory Flat station?

Larry Berry: We have 35 volunteers on roll at this time, which is about the norm. The members are predominantly in their 20s, but we have members in all age groups, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and me (70). All are men except for two women. Most of the younger ones are wanting to make a career in firefighting and see volunteering as a path to it.

Patch: How does someone join the volunteer squad?

Berry: To become a volunteer, we have them fill out an application. We run a criminal and driving history background check to see if they meet county and state standards. We have had applicants that were convicted drug dealers wanting to do their community service by being a volunteer. (They are not accepted.) If their background checks are OK, we have them come to our training meetings for a few weeks. Our board of trustees will then meet with them and discuss why they want to become a volunteer firefighter. If accepted, they are then issued a pager, firefighter gear and put on probation. They start a mentoring program to become familiar with our bylaws, policies and procedures, apparatus, etc. They are expected to complete a basic firefighting course and an emergency medical course within the next year or so. We try to put on these courses in the county for them, but they can also attend the Georgia Fire Academy in Forsyth, GA, for the classes if they desire. The GFA classes are full time and can be completed in a couple of weeks, whereas the county classes are at night and weekends and can take a few months.

Patch: What time commitment do volunteers have to make? Can they respond to calls in the community?

Berry: We train every Monday night except for holidays, and we generally require all members to attend at least 50 percent of the training each quarter, but we'll make allowances for family emergencies, work schedules. Once accepted, members can respond on calls consistent with their level of training. We don't let them respond on medical calls until they have had the emergency medical classes. They can start responding on fire and wreck calls after they have had a few classes but are limited in what we would allow them to do on the scene. We would put them with a more experienced firefighter so they could get some hands-on training at the scene.

Patch: How well do the volunteers work with the county’s paid firefighters and paramedic staffs?

Berry: The career firefighters are generally supportive of the volunteers. Whether the volunteers are there or not, the governments are limited in their budgets and could not hire more firefighters to replace us. A lot of the career firefighters came from the volunteer ranks and are supportive of the volunteers. We assist them not only on the fireground, but afterward when the cleanup has to be done. 

There is also a feeling that some of the volunteers are not as well trained as the career firefighters. Overall, I would say this is true. The volunteers as a whole just don't have as much time for training as the career firefighters do. We have our jobs that have to come first. But they feel that they are protecting their families and neighbors.

Like any profession, firefighting has a lot of good, motivated, trained people in it, whether they are paid or volunteers. There are also people in it for what they can get out of it, both paid and volunteer.

Patch: What programs does the fire department have for youth who are interested in volunteering?

Berry: There is a youth program through the county, the Fire Explorers. It is affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, although both boys and girls can join. They attend training and participate in a lot of activities. You can go to the county website, www.cherokeecountyfire.org, and click on the Specialty Teams for more information on them. We used to have a Junior Program, but now encourage the Explorer Program instead.

Patch: How is the volunteer department funded?

Berry: The county provides the basic funding for us. We have a fundraising letter we send out once a year to generate extra funds for us. This lets us purchase additional equipment and apparatus to serve the community. We assisted the county last year in purchasing a replacement engine for one of our stations.

Anyone who is interested in finding out more about become a volunteer or donating to the Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department can get information at its website, www.hfvfd.org.