Hastings Fire Department
Fire Marshall – Roger Caris
The service area for the Hastings Fire Department includes the City of Hastings, Baltimore, Hastings, Rutland, ½ of Carlton, and ¼ of Irving Townships. The Department is dedicated to saving lives and protecting property for citizens that reside in our fire service area.
Fire service in the State of Michigan is regulated by many State and Federal laws, industry standards, and general rules that Fire Departments must follow in day-to-day operations. These various laws and other guidelines govern the type of training and equipment provided, design of equipment used, and medical training requirements for our fire department staff. OSHA, MIOSHA, and the National Fire Protection Association are among the agencies that set and enforce these laws and standards.
The Hastings Fire Department also follows guidelines for blood borne pathogens, TB, and MIOSHA 3502 – Confined Space Part 90. We use hand tools, ladders, air compressors, etc. and follow safety requirements for all of the equipment we utilize.
The Department provides fire prevention and suppression programs to service clubs and visits all schools in our area during Fire Prevention Week to present programs to students.
The Department does inspections on a complaint basis and issues burning permits to our service area residents. We will provide and install smoke detectors and test for CO2 upon request.
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The full-time personnel do daily, quarterly, and yearly maintenance on all vehicles and equipment to insure that everything is working properly when needed.
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Building maintenance and summer grounds maintenance are performed by the full-time employees.
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According to MIOSHA rules, all fire hose must be tested to meet industry safety standards annually. This process takes up to 14 hours using both full-time employees and part-time employees.
In addition to hose testing, all pumps, SCBA, and ladders on the trucks are required to be tested. This testing is done by outside agencies with assistance from both full-time and part-time employees.
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The Barry County Fire Association and Barry County United Way would like to remind residents that the free smoke detector program is still going on throughout our community. “This program can provide the first alert to getting out of a home when fire is eminent”, says Hickory Corners Fire Chief Mark Iles. A grant from the Pennock Foundation and Hastings Kiwanis made these detectors available for free to qualifying households.
The applications will be available at MainStreet Savings Bank, Township Offices, Commission on Aging, Coleman Insurance Agency, The Chamber of Commerce, The Barry County United Way office, and your local fire departments or use the form located on this page. You may also access an application on-line at www.bcunitedway.org or www.hastings.mi.us. Once the application is filled out and returned to Barry County United Way or your local fire department, firefighters will call to set a time to inspect your home for smoke detector placement. While there, they will install additional smoke detectors as needed and check the batteries on current detectors. The firefighters will leave a brochure with the home owner explaining how to set up a fire escape plan. “The smoke detector will provide the first alarm, but knowing how to get out and where to go are just as important,” says Freeport Fire Chief Jim Yarger.
“We have been surprised by the number of homes with one or less detector. In the last year 327 homes have been inspected, 799 devices installed, and 26% of the homes had no working detector. These are much larger numbers than anticipated when the grants were applied for,” states Lani Forbes of the Barry County United Way.
“It’s great that we received these grants to provide this program, if we can save one life it will be wonderful!” says Dave Middleton, Thornapple Fire Chief. According to the NFPA, the vast majority of fatal fires (60%) occur in homes without smoke alarms. A majority of those deaths that occur in homes with smoke alarms are a result of dead or missing batteries. The Barry County Fire Association would like to also remind you of a few other fire related issues.
With heating bills soaring this winter there is a concern about using alternative heat sources that are not safe. The Fire Association reminds you to make sure that any alternative heat sources that you may use are rated for use indoors and are properly vented. When you change your clocks this Saturday, don’t forget to change the batteries and test your smoke detectors.
Smoke Detector Application
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Hastings Fire Department Pancake Breakfast
May 9th, 2020
7:00 am to 11:00 am
At the Fire Station located at 110 E. Mill St., Hastings
Menu: Pancakes, Sausage, Coffee, OJ, Milk
Proceeds will be used to purchase Rescue Equipment
Cost: Donations
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Tornado Season Is Approaching
The Hastings Fire Department will be testing the Tornado Siren, Starting Saturday April 4th, 2020 at 1:00 PM and the first Saturday of every month after that through September 5th, 2020. If we are under a Tornado Watch or Warning the Siren will not be tested. If we would go to a Condition Red the Siren will also not be tested. A tornado watch is issued by the National Weather Service when tornados are possible in your area. A tornado warning will be issued when a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar.
Some signs of a tornado are:
- An approaching cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible.
- Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still.
- Tornadoes generally occur near the trailing edge of a thunderstorm. It is not uncommon to see clear, sunlit skies behind a tornado.
DURING A TORNADO
If at home:
- Go at once to a windowless, interior room; storm cellar; basement; or lowest level of the building.
- If there is no basement, go to an inner hallway or a smaller inner room without windows, such as a bathroom or closet.
- Get away from the windows.
- Go to the center of the room. Stay away from corners because they tend to attract debris.
- Get under a piece of sturdy furniture such as a workbench or heavy table or desk and hold on to it.
- Use arms to protect head and neck.
- If in a mobile home, get out and find shelter elsewhere.
If at work or school:
- Go to the basement or to an inside hallway at the lowest level.
- Avoid places with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums,
- Cafeterias, large hallways, or shopping malls.
- Get under a piece of sturdy furniture such as a workbench or
- heavy table or desk and hold on to it.
- Use arms to protect head and neck.
If outdoors:
- If possible, get inside a building.
- If shelter is not available or there is no time to get
- indoors, lie in a ditch or low-lying area or crouch near a
- strong building. Be aware of the potential for flooding.
- Use arms to protect head and neck.
If in a car:
- Never try to out drive a tornado in a car or truck.
- Tornadoes can change direction quickly and can lift up a car or truck and toss it through the air.
- Get out of the car immediately and take shelter in a nearby building.
- If there is no time to get indoors, get out of the car and lie in a ditch or low-lying area away from the vehicle.
- Be aware of the potential for flooding.
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There is to be no burning on any street within the City. No burning of paper products, building demolition materials, automobile bodies, tires, plastic or other highly flammable, toxic or explosive materials or furniture of any kind is allowed with the City of Hastings. Any burning that creates a nuisance or hazard to health will not be allowed. If the Hastings Fire Department responds to such incidents mentioned above and the person or persons do not have a permit or they are burning illegal products they will be billed for the response. Please be aware that there is a minimum charge of $350.00 for the department to respond to these types of incidents.
To inquire about a burn permit, call 269-205-3208.
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All members of the department go through training three times each month. This training includes, SCBA, search and rescue, ladder training, ice and cold water rescue, medical first responder training, fire officer classes, wildfire training and extrication training.
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Chief
Roger Caris – 45 yearsAssistant Chief
Rick Krouse – 35 yearsCaptain
Rob Neil – 27 yearsLieutenant
John Dunklee – 22 yearsLieutenant
Brian Tyner – 16 yearsDriver
Chris Komondy – 13 yearsFirefighters
Larry Warren – 18 years
Donald Converse, Jr. – 13 years
Bill Dooley – 10 years
Joe Huebner – 8 years
Patrick Jansens – 6 years
Trent Courtney – 5 years
Erica Krouse – 3 years
Nathan Converse – 2 years
Jacquelin Komondy – 2 years
Andy Robins – 2 years
