Help Firth Fire Department Rebuild

We are a small rural volunteer fire department, 21 members strong located in Firth, Idaho. To the approximately 2000 people who live within our over 400 square mile coverage area we are simply friends, neighbors, and coworkers. The question posed by the late USMC 1st Lt. Travis Manion “If not me, then who?” fills our hearts with purpose as we serve our fellow citizens despite personal sacrifice. However, our life and property saving services are not only important to those who call the half dozen towns and communities that we cover home, there are about 25,000 motor vehicles passing each day through our 8 miles of I-15, a major national artery and another 3,300 on a similar length of Highway 91. That means that the volunteers who stand guard here may at any time be called upon to come to the rescue of any of the millions of people who pass under our watchful care each year. Contrary to what some may think, we don’t just respond to fires. The requests that we receive for help also range from life threatening medical emergencies, vehicle accidents, and rescue missions to carbon monoxide alarms, downed power lines, and gas leaks. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow fire-rescue/EMS services protecting ours and surrounding communities with mutual aid agreements stretching from Pocatello to West Yellowstone.

 

Our department was recently crippled by a devastating fire that broke out from a malfunctioning electrical device at our little station in Firth. Available volunteers rushed to the station to salvage equipment and fight the fire with a partially damaged tanker/pumper. Despite heroic efforts and rapid reinforcements arriving from neighboring fire departments, the losses were catastrophic in the wake and intensity of the fast-moving fire. Despite the setback, we continue to provide services to our community along with our brothers and sisters of the Shelley-Firth Fire District using our remaining resources bolstered by generous donations and borrowed equipment from individuals and fire departments across Idaho and beyond. We are ever grateful for this support. The job is a big one and the needs of our growing community were already outgrowing our resources even before the fire. We humbly ask, if you are able to contribute to our cause at this time, please help us recover and catch up.