April 10th was community appreciation day in Granger. In addition Granger's new outdoor amphitheater was unveiled in a ceremony that included guest speakers.
Granger Firefighters were involved with this event helping to do advertising and helping during the event with whatever jobs needed to be done. This event was a group effort put on by all of the city staff withh all departments pitching in to help.
The event was a great time had by all. There were free hotdogs, chips, drinks and cake along with free drawings for prizes. Music was provided by "The Pony Boys" and kept the party moving. All of the food and prizes were donated by local businesses which made the event a low cost celebration for all of the town.
The shining jewel of the party was the new amphitheater. Rightfully named "Grand am" the amphitheater is sure to bring many new events to the park this summer. It was constructed and was the brain child of Granger's Public Works Department. It turned out to be an amazing addition to the park with ample seating looking down onto an enlarged stage. In addition many electrical and water outlets were added throughout the park to facilitate vendors durin g future events.
The Fire Department appreciates the chance to be a part of this great community event. In addition we look forward to many more events this summer.
GRANGER PRESCHOOL VISITS
On March 17th the Granger Pre-School class visited the fire station to learn about fire safety and see first hand how firefighters battle fires. Firefighters Ernie Guerra, Laurie Guerra and Ken Robillard were on hand to show the students our fire station and the equipment that we use for firefighting. In addition the students set through fire safety presentations and learned several fire safety skills. Everyone had a great time students and firefighters alike. Thanks to the pre-school class for taking time to learn about fire safety!
Car Goes Over Embankment
For everyone who drives Emerald Road East of Granger, looking over the steep embankments always brings a thought of what would happen if you accidentally drove off of the edge. The evening of March 11th brought this reality to two men who were driving toward Granger and drifted off of the roadway then traveled down a steep ravine, coming to rest about 50 feet below the roadway.
Granger Firefighters responded to the 911 call from the occupants of the vehicle. After locating the accident scene it was determined that both occupants of the vehicle would have to be c-collared and backboarded and carried up the embankment to Emerald Road. One at a time the occupants were extricated from their vehicle secured onto a backboard, placed in a Stokes Basket and moved up the bank utilizing a rope advantage system.
Both occupants were transported to the hospital for further treatment.
Curtis Willey Retires
Curtis Willey, a 26 year veteran of the Granger Fire Department turned in his gear and officially retired on December 31. Curtis has been an icon of this department for the past 26 years serving in the capacities as Firefighter, Zone Chief, Assistant Chief, Secretary-Treasurer and held a Firefighter First Respnder medical certification. Throughout the years Curtis received many awards for top responder and most inspirational firefighter. He could always be counted on to be at a call, no matter how good or bad and no matter what the time of day. When many of us were having trouble getting out of bed for the second or third time in 1 night, Curtis was always already at the Station waiting for additional personnel to respond. If you put numbers to what Curtis accomplished during his 26 years they would look like this. Approximately 4,800 calls that he responded to. Approximately 1,200 training classes that average 2 hours each. And speaking of training classes, Curtis maintained perfect attendance at his training. Curtis might deny it but he always served as an inspiration to the rest of the firefighters at our station and even other stations around us. Near the end of his career, Curtis suffered several set backs in the form of leg amputations. This would have been career ending for most people. For Curtis it was just another challenge to overcome. And he did overcome. He contiued to be an active firefighter while being a double amputee. His only real set back was being slowed down at night when getting out of bed as he had to put his legs on before responding. Curtis was always upbeat about putting his legs on in the middle of the night, joking that being in a hurry he would get his legs on backward and could only walk in circles! Curtis never let his disabilities stop him. Having done some research, I found that there are several firefighters that are single amputees but I have never found mention of any firefighters that are double amputees. I believe that Curtis is one of a kind...even across the nation.
It was this amazing feat that attracted the attention of Yakima Herald Reporter, Ross Courtney. When Ross originally called me about Curtis, he was having a hard time believing that he could really perform as a firefighter. My suggestion to Ross was come and see for yourself. Ross attended a training session and was in disbelief at what he witnessed. This was normal stuff for us to see, Curtis running pumps, pulling hose and doing normal firefighter duties. For Ross it was an amazing feat to witness. Ross wrote a large article that appeared in the newspaper. It was a fitting article about Curtis and his amazing abilities to overcome. And the story does not stop here. Recently I was contaced by a therapist that had read about Curtis in the newspaper when it was published approximately 2 years ago. This article had stuck in the therapists mind and ironically she had an amputee patient that didn't think he could do much in his life. It was a simple phone call to Curtis and he was happy to help. Curtis met with the therapist and the patient and was able to show that a disability didn't have to be disabling. Curtis continues to be active in the community helping with many service organizations.
At our annual Christmas Party, Curtis was honored with a retirement service award and present. It was a difficult time for all to say goodbye to Curtis but we all know that he will continue to show up at the fire station from time to time. Curtis will never be a stranger at our station. As I said during Curtis's retirement party, he will take a part of this fire department with him when he leaves but it is a well deserved and earned piece that he can always be proud of.
Thank you for the wonderful write up about Curtis, his service and his retirement. I am so very proud to have him as my brother. You truely are an inspiration.
- Jon Willey
Thank you so much for the tribute to Curtis. There are very few people who know how much he goes through everyday of his life, including those of us closest to him! It is nice to see him being appreciated for something that he loves so much. I know he will be checking on all of you from time to time, because he just can't quit!
After a semi-truck hit an object in the roadway the passenger side fuel tank was ruptured. This shows the recovery efforts made by firefighters, recovering approximately 80 gallons of diesel. Shown is a recovery pool, chute made from pike poles and a plastic recovery drum that has been dug into the bar ditch.
CHANGE YOUR CLOCK...
CHANGE YOUR SMOKE DETECTOR BATTERY!
The life you save may be your own
DINOSAURS???
OK. Some explanation is in order. Judging by the emails there seems to be some question as to why there are dinosaurs on a fire department web site. No, the dinosaurs are not a reference to the age of our fire trucks or fire chief! They are part of the dinosaur theme that the City of Granger adopted several years back. If you tour our city you will see many dinosaurs that roam our streets and even our pond at Hisey Park (often called Dinosaur Park). Our City is well known throughout Washington State for its dinosaur theme and many people travel to Granger to see the dinosaurs, have their picture taken with them and even play on them. Yes we see many adults riding the dinosaurs also! These creatures are the creation of our Public Works Department and are built from scratch here in Granger. We also have a yearly event called Dino-in-a-day where the public can come out and get their hands dirty helping to make the cities newest Dino addition. So if you are ever in central Washington come take a trip down Dino-Drive and see what our creatures have to offer.
Also we have added a clickable link to Firefighter Close Calls that appears in the right column. This is a great web site to keep you up to date on current issues. Visit often!
Smoke Detectors save lives!!!!
CHECK YOUR SMOKE ALARM TODAY. MAKE SURE IT HAS A BATTERY THAT WORKS! IT MAY SAVE THE LIVES OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.