HSV Fire Chief Jason Miller – 2022 Board Retreat

Chief Jason Miller shared some facts with the Hot Springs Village Board at the 2022 Board Retreat on Tuesday, May 10.

• Chief Miller said the fire department has 22 firefighters. Everyone except Miller works 24-hour shifts. The Village has fire protection 365 days a year [366 in a leap year, of course].

• The only revenue the fire department generates is the rental of the EMS facilities to LifeNet (ambulance service).

• Miller said their responsibilities are to protect lives and property.

• There are four fire stations located in the Village.
  • The main station is Cortez which is staffed with four personnel – two on a ladder truck and two on the rescue truck.
  • The Village also has three one-man stations which are Balboa, Coronado, and DeSoto. The DeSoto station is located on Calella, next to the police station.

• The responsibilities of the firemen manning the single-man stations are to get the trucks to the fire.

• In addition, the fire department responds along with LifeNet to major medical calls. Truck # 5, which is manned by two personnel is the rescue truck stationed at Cortez fire station that responds to all calls.

• The firemen perform basic repairs to their trucks including valve replacements.

• Hot Springs Village has over 1,6000 hydrants, which are tested on an annual basis. The pumps and ladders, and hoses are also tested annually.

• The department provides certified CPR classes for clubs, churches, and POA employees, as requested.

• Miller said they “have a smoke alarm program which keeps us quite busy changing batteries and smoke alarms in members’ homes.” They also program weather alert radios. We do not have sirens in the Village so the department encourages the use of weather radios.

• Hot Springs Village is a National Firewise Community, certified since 2008. Chief Miller said they inspect properties for branches hanging over rooms, how close the stacked wood is to your home, and other possible trouble spots in order to mitigate a forest fire.

• The total number of calls from January ’21 to January ’22 was 797. This number shows a reduction from previous years, due to COVID. During part of this time period, the firemen did not respond to any medical calls to lessen any possible COVID exposure.

• A lot of the first responder incidents are member services like the installation or changing the batteries of smoke alarms. This means that the Hot Springs Village Fire Department is much different than most fire departments. Much of what the HSVFD does is customer-service-oriented.