 Morning Star
A FireWise meeting was held at the Morning Star Fire Station #2 on April 10, 2008, to discuss the Firewise Communities/USA process and Arkansas Forestry Commission mitigation grant opportunities. Representing the Arkansas Forestry Commission were David Samuel, FireWise Coordinator, and Mark Reed, Fire Management Officer. Fire Chief James Stine; Assistant Fire Chief Kenneth Clark, Sr.; Administrative Assistant Glenda Brasherars; Captain Jason Carpenter and Captain Jimmy Sykes were in attendance; along with firefighters Rebekah Goines, Adam Hooten, Roy VanWechel, Robbie Bennie, Nathaniel Coffman, Adam Elmore, Cline Crabtree, Andy Pellet, Johnny Vassgan, Jeff Thompson, Scott Kimpton, James Birmingham, Jr., Kenneth Clark, Jr., Charles Crockrell, Scotty Clark, Wes Burton, Kevin Walls, Mike Terrell, Richard Beckwith; and cadets Bodi Creed and Brandon Walls.
For more photos, please click here.
Buckville
With the help of Ben Rowland, Bill Howard and Tommy Scott, David Samuel was invited to spend the evening of May 11, 2006, with the firefighters and homeowners of Buckville discussing Firewise and how they can protect their property by becoming a Firewise Community/USA.
Buckville, a small town with lots of history, is nestled along Avant Buckville Road, on the north side of Lake Ouachita, just south of Highway 298 in Garland County.
On April 7, a wildland fire threatened the community, coming to within a quarter-mile of the northeast corner of the small town.
"Thanks to a lot of outstanding firefighting by the Arkansas Forestry Commission, U.S. Forest Service and five volunteer fire departments, the fire was contained without air support," said David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator. "Listening to the Buckville firefighters, I heard lots of praise for firefighters with names like Ben, Kurt, Willard and Chad."
After the incident, the residents decided it was time to hear about Arkansas FireWise. Those attending the meeting were Tommy Scott, Buckville VFD Fire Chief; John Harrell, Jessieville VFD; Betty Brady, Buckville VFD Board President; Leo Bodwin, Buckville VFD Captain; Roy and Judy Pickering, Vell and Vonise Meredith, Dean and Beverly Meredith, Joy and Ab Pickering, Rickey and Linda Ballew, Lynette and Rickey Ballew, Tim and Sarah Green, Richard Ballew, Dena Lambert, Johnny Brady, Edison Jones, Joe Robertson, Bill Howard and David Samuel.
The hour-long program was broken into two parts — a 30-minute presentation on Firewise and how to become a recognized Firewise Community/USA, and a 30-minute presentation on conducting home risk assessments.
The Buckville Firewise board was formed at the conclusion of the presentation, and plans were being made to begin risk assessments. The board planned to pair each firefighter with one or two homeowners to conduct risk assessments for each home in the community.
To view additional photos and read a brief history about Buckville, click here.
Hot Springs Village and Lonsdale
The Firewise message was first brought to the Garland County communities of Hot Springs Village and Lonsdale in 2003.
Attending the first meeting were Willard Speers, Joy Sanders, D.J. Sanders, Billy Tackett, David Lashlee, Marcus White, Tami Tackett, Rodney Asbury, Emory Martin Jr., Emory Martin III, Elaine Larklee, Aaron Smith and Curtis Hardin.
The Arkansas FireWise Team came back to Lonsdale in 2006, during a meeting of the Ready Club at Ten Mile Baptist Church. A special thanks was given to Fran Jowers, a member of the church and the Crows Volunteer Fire Department, who invited Arkansas FireWise.
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