Annual report good new for Magnolia VFD

Annual report good new for Magnolia VFD
By Lindsey Vaculin | Posted: Friday, April 10, 2015 11:15 am
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/magnolia/news/annual-report-good-new-for-magnolia-vfd/article_b0073ab0-7dc5-5cb8-8ff9-f3866acda7ed.html?mode=story
Magnolia Volunteer Fire Chief Gary Vincent addressed the crowd during a cermony March 8 to bring in a new
fire truck to Station 183 on FM 2978.
The Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department has a phenomenal year, according to Fire Chief Gary Vincent.
The department’s recent report showed that the department went to an estimated $11,299,935 worth of property
on fire in 2014. They were able to save 90 percent of what was responded to on fire, which was $10,181,245
worth of property.
“The annual report each year on the number of fires we go to each year, the types of fires and the response
times,” Vincent said. “The department has done a phenomenal job this year. The firefighters have done a
phenomenal job. I would like to thank the community for their continued financial support and providing the
resources necessary to deliver a service of this exceptional quality.”
Vincent said the annual report is a true reflection of the dedication of the MVFD firefighters to their
community, saying the firefighters have done something that is pretty remarkable.
He said the annual budget for MVFD was $4,680,027 for 2014.
“We were able to save more than twice the entire budget of the fire department, which is a remarkable value to
the community,” Vincent said.
“There were 269 incidents total for fire,” Assistant Chief Keith Soliz said. “The total rescue and EMS calls were
3,710. Of those 3,128 were medical calls. That doesn’t include motor vehicle accidents or any other type of
rescues.”
For the total responses in 2014, the department responded to 5,449 incidents. This was an increase of 17
incidents from 2013.
“If you calculate this out about 68 percent of our runs are EMS runs, so when we say we save two and a half
times the budget that doesn’t provide for the value of the service we provide to the community for what we do
in EMS,” Vincent said. “We don’t have a way to value the dollar figure for a human life. But, we can
demonstrate within the 32 percent that we can value property, that doesn’t count the 68 percent of runs were we
may have saved someone’s life on an EMS call.”
The average response time for the MVFD in 2014 was eight minutes and 13 seconds. Vincent said the Dallas
Fire Department’s response time is about six and a half minutes.
“So considering the funding level, the way the territory is designed, and the fact that we haven’t got the other
three fire stations open that we are building this is really an incredible achievement by the firefighters,” he said.
During the month of March the MVFD put two new fire engines in service. These projects started over two
years ago. One went to Fire Station 182 on FM 2978 and one went to Station 183 on Nichols Sawmill and
Butera.
1
“Both engines are replacing 2000 model fire engines with new technology, larger fire pumps and larger water
capacity,” Vincent said. “We were able to purchase them without any increase in taxes and we are appreciative
of the support to upgrade the protection in both of those stations.”
Vincent said progress continues on the two new stations that are being built and that the contractor has been
selected and the contracts are let.
“The biggest change for 2015 is that because of the sales tax the community approved we have been able to
increase the number of firefighters on duty day and night and on weekends which has contributed to reduction
in response time and helped prevent these fires from growing in size in increased property damage,” he said.
“That has resulted in several lives being saved because of rapid EMS response as well.”
Soliz tipped his hat to the members of the fire department for their hard work and providing that service to the
community.
“None of this would be possible without the continued support of the community and the resources that they
provide,” Vincent said. “I think the future looks bright and every indication is that 2015 will be a wonderful
success for the Magnolia Volunteer Fire Department in serving our neighbors.”
Magnolia Volunteer Fire Chief Gary Vincent addressed the crowd during a cermony March 8 to bring in a new fire truck to Station 183 on FM 2978.
2
Chief Gary Vincent and his fire fighter team salute and welcome the new E-128 Fire Engine on March 8.
3