Community News

Love Station Volunteer Fire Department

P.O. Box 115/7345 Highway 51 S.

Hernando, MS. 38632

Phone: 662-429-9562  Fax: 662-429-0525

______________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                   

DATE: 10/29/2004

Contact: Chief Shawn Witt

Phone Number: (901) 870-5804

LOVE FIRE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES GRANT FROM DHS

Hernando, MS.-The Love Volunteer Fire Department has received a grant of $59,562.00 from the 2004 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

With FY04 funds, $745 million will be awarded to several thousand fire departments. The Love Volunteer Fire Department will use funds for the purchase of the following.

(14) Carbon Cylinders for SCBA’s

(11) Upgrade Kits for SCBA’S to make each NFPA 2002 Compliant W HUD & Ric

(11) Upgrade Kits for SCBA’S to make each meet CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear) Compliant

(5) Clear Command Radio Interface for SCBA’S.

(6) Kenwood Handheld Radios for communications.

(1) Laptop/Overhead Projector for Training & Classroom Education

(2) 6” x 10’ Hard Suction Hose for Drafting Purposes

(12) 1 ¾ ” x 50’ Double Jacket Fire Hose for Attack Lines

(15) 2 ½” x 50” Double Jacket Fire Hose for Supply Line

(3) 1 ½” Nozzle for Attack Lines

(10) Complete Turnout Kits from Head to Toe

“We recognize the importance of the Fire Act Grants to our nation’s fire departments and we will continue to work closely with the fire service community to meet their needs,” said C. Suzanne Mencer, Director of Department of Homeland Security Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP).

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program assists rural, urban and suburban fire departments throughout the United States.  These funds increase the effectiveness of firefighting operations, firefighter health and safety programs, new fire apparatus, emergency medical service programs, and fire prevention and safety programs in local departments.

“In this nation, far too many individuals lose their lives or are injured by fire.  Among these victims are firefighters, who provide emergency response services to their fellow residents,” said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison.  “The nation’s firefighters and American homes are safer today through this important grant program.”

For more information on the grant program or the USFA, contact the Grants Program Office at 1-866-274-0942 or email FIREGRANTS@dhs.gov.

Love wants to become fire district

Designation could bring lower insurance premiums

By Wayne Risher,
August 11, 2004

They raffled cows to raise the money to build a fire station 20 years ago. They once corralled a camel on the interstate after a truck carrying exotic animals overturned.

Now the Love community's volunteer firefighters are pursuing their most ambitious project, to establish a fire district south of Hernando.

Leaders of Love Volunteer Fire Department believe their community is ready to become the county's fifth fire district serving unincorporated areas.

The designation would lower homeowners insurance premiums by 24 to 30 percent, saving hundreds of dollars a year for homeowners.

The area includes Buena Vista Lakes, Wilco Estates, the new Slocum Trails subdivision and individual homes scattered from Hernando Point to Grays Creek.

Organizers say booming residential growth is fueling the need for their district and, eventually, others in areas served by volunteer departments.

"We're getting a lot of subdivisions now, and that's one reason we're going for a fire district," said Shawn Witt, 27, the Love department's chief.

County fire coordinator Bobby Storey said, "It's a must that we get some gradable fire districts in the county outside the cities, so the homeowners can get their insurance rates dropped."

Storey added, "Once I get this one, I already have Board (of Supervisors) approval to start work on ACI," the area served by Alphaba-Cockrum-Ingram's Mill volunteer fire department.

He hopes to have Love approved by early 2005.

The last fire district formed was Eudora, 12 to 14 years ago.

"It's a learning experience," Storey said. "This is the first fire district I've had formed."

The holdup has been fixing legal boundaries of a district. The county engineer's office is working on a map of the area after two delays in public hearings before the Board of Supervisors, which would approve the district.

"The supervisors are in agreement with the fire district," Storey said. "They have had nothing but praise for the Love Fire Department."

Potential opposition would be large landowners, because districts have authority to levy limited taxes to fund department needs.

Witt and Dicky Storey, Love's assistant chief and Bobby's brother, stressed that the department is already well equipped and doesn't need tax revenue.

The department runs on fund-raisers, grants and dues of $50 a year, which 46 percent of households pay.

The Love department was founded in 1982 and built its fire station on U.S. 51 at Love Road in 1984.

Volunteers raffled cows and "just about everything else," said Bobby Storey, who grew up in the area before moving to Eudora.

The department serves the area south of Hernando city limits and north of the Coldwater River, from Arkabutla Lake on the west to Malone Road on the east.

The proposed boundaries wouldn't extend as far east as Malone, because the district must be within five driving miles of the station.

Witt said the area to the east would continue to be in Love's response area, but he hopes it would be picked up by a future ACI fire district.

Although Love has well-trained volunteers and adequate equipment, the community can't qualify for lower rates without a fire district.

The nonprofit Mississippi State Rating Bureau, which establishes the ratings on which insurance premiums are based, considers Love a Class 10 area.

Love officials are angling for a Class 8 or 9 rating. A Class 9 rating would cut the annual cost of $55,000 in insurance nearly $300 on a frame structure and $200 on a brick structure, according to the bureau.

Assistant manager Joe Shumaker said the bureau rates eight districts in DeSoto, including four served by volunteer departments: Eudora, 8, Lewisburg, 8, Summershill, 7, and Walls, 9. City ratings are Hernando, 7, Horn Lake, 6, Olive Branch, 7, and Southaven, 5.

The Love department has about 30 volunteers and logs 350 to 500 calls a year, including house fires, medical emergencies, brush fires, vehicular accidents and "cats stuck in trees. You name it, we do it," Witt said.

The most unusual call may have been chasing the cargo of an animal-laden truck that wrecked on Interstate 55 near the Coldwater exit, said Pattie Hollie,secretary-treasurer and board member of Love's department.

Hollie said the volunteers are like a big family, a family that exists to give life-saving aid.

"I never realized until I got involved here that a city can't run without a fire department."

For more information go to http://www.lovefd.org.

Do you know CPR ? Want to save lives ? We can teach you how !

Volunteers Needed

Love Volunteer Fire Dept is looking for talented personnel, interested in serving our community in the Fire/Rescue and EMS area. No prior experience is necessary. Training is provided.  

We are also looking for personnel interested in serving in our Administrative positions. We want your help with various committees, our new FundRaising efforts, and our Auxiliary areas.  

Donating your old car to LFD

If interested please contact Captain Robert Ashe at 662-404-3910 or CaptainAshe@LoveFD.Org. 

Please make sure we have your correct name and address so we can mail you a letter stating that you have donated the vehicle to Love Volunteer Fire Department.. Of course, any donation to our department is TAX DEDUCTIBLE. 

Donating your old house for Fire dept training

If you intend to have your old house demolished or reconstructed, we would love to do some of the demolition work for you. We would like to arrange for some real life training scenarios. Training would include, Search and Rescue, Roof Operations, Overhauling Laddering, Ventilation etc. This is to ensure that our members are up to date on their skills. 

Please contact Captain Robert Ashe at CaptainAshe@LoveFD.Org                   if you are interested. Thank you for supporting your local volunteers. 

Listen to us Live!!!

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By Maria Burnham
July 27, 2004

Also, on Monday a petition came before the board from residents in the Love community, south of Hernando, asking that officials establish a volunteer fire district there. 

A volunteer fire station already serves the community. But by declaring it a fire district, Love could be eligible for a second mill of tax on homeowners in the community. The money would be used to improve fire and ambulance services in Love. 

It could also mean lower insurance rates for homeowners. Right now, the department is not rated for fire protection because it isn't a fire district. That means fire insurance rates in that area are at their highest. 

The proposed district would be contained roughly between Hernando's southern city limits, the Tate County line, east of Grays Creek and west to Arkabutla Lake. A public hearing is set for the Love district during the regular Board of Supervisors meeting on Aug. 16. 

If supervisors decide to approve the Love community's request, it would join only four other volunteer districts in the county -- Summershill, Eudora, Walls and Lewisburg. 

-- Maria Burnham