Grant County

FireWise Boards

A Firewise meeting was held May 10, 2007 at the Poyen Fire Station. The Firewise Communities/USA recognition process was discussed and firefighters were trained to conduct risk assessments.

Jim Smalley, Wildland Fire Protection Manager, attended and briefed the group on the history of Firewise and insurance company involvement in the program.

Attending the meeting were Dennis Channell, Fire Chief; Claude Hardin, Assistant Fire Chief; John Crouse, firefighter; Brandon Edwards, firefighter; Lester Webb, firefighter; Chris Janes, firefighter; Stella Fite, firefighter, Scott Phillips, firefighter; James Wagner, AFC Grant County Ranger, and David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator.

Tim Newton, Leola Assistant Fire Chief, attended and plans to schedule a presentation for his department in the future.

On Dec. 4, 2006, David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator, visited the community of Tull to present an introduction to the Firewise Communities/USA process. Attending were:

City of Tull — Frank Gilbert, Mayor; Jame Gillis, Town Recorder and Treasurer; J.W. Ramsey, Public Works; and Jeff Westbrook, Chair of the Tull Planning and Zoning Committee.

Tull Fire and Rescue — John Burton, Chairman; Troy McDade, Fire Chief; Jerred McDade, Training Officer; Carl Hall, Lt./Training Officer; James Simpson, Captain; and Kenneth Evans, Fire Marshal.

Homeowners — Mark Gillis, Tracy Manning, Wilson DuVall, Charles Evans, Mildred Murray and B. Burrow.

Representing the Arkansas Forestry Commission was Bill Howard, Saline County Ranger.

Firefighters were trained to conduct risk assessments on homes at-risk in the Tull Fire District on Jan. 16, 2007. The last part of the training included an actual assessment of the Jeff Westbrook home by looking at photos taken earlier in the day (photo at right).

The home scored 39 points which placed it in the "low" category hazard rating, and was selected as the January 2007 FireWise Home of the Month.

Attending the risk assessment training were:

Tull Fire & Rescue -- Troy McDade, fire chief; John Burton, firefighter; James Simpson, captain; Carl Hall, L.T.; Carol Qualls, FireWise board member; Jerry Bayles, firefighter; Ryan Jacks, firefighter; James, firefighter; J.S. McDade, Lamar Taylor and Jarred McDade, training officer.

Representing the Arkansas Forestry Commission were James Wagner, Grant County Ranger, Troy Wood, Ranger II and David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator.

Below: During his visit to Tull, David Samuel took a number of photos of the Tull Fire Department and the Tull Community for use in his presentation.

Left and below: This home was one of a number of homes in the area that would be in the "high" hazard category due to the flammable siding and lack of adequate defensible space.

Cane Creek

On March 15, 2007, David Samuel, Arkansas FireWise Coordinator visited the community of Cane Creek. The meeting was broken into two sessions - an introduction to Arkansas FireWise and the Firewise Communities/USA process, and risk assessment training.

Attending the meeting were Truel Turner, Cane Creek FD Chief; Troy Capps, Cane Creek FD Captain; Pat Turner, Cane Creek FD; Clark Dodd, Cane Creek FD; Curtis Rowland, Cane Creek FD; Michael McDonald, Cane Creek FD; C.T. Lindsey, Cane Creek FD; Patrick, Cane Creek FD; Stanley McLendon, Cane Creek FD; June Thompson, Cane Creek FD; Tim Gartner, Cane Creek FD; Donald Crutchfield, Cane Creek FD; Claude Hardin, Poyen FD; Betty Hardin, Poyen FD; Seth McCain, Belfast/Palestine FD; James Wagner, AFC Ranger III-Grant County; Troy Wood, AFC Ranger II-Grant County;, and Deanna Denman.

Below are landmarks from the area including a lookout tower (below), Bethel United Methodist Church and Big T's Muddrag Track.