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THURSDAY. OCTOBER 5. 2023 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Update from Bethany Salem Fire Department
(L-R) Chief Marty Moore, Darrell Schuyler, Chad Hendren, Josh Tippens and Chief
Kristy Easterwood.
By Chad Hendren
Bethany Salem Fire De
partment would like to say
"Thank You" to the people
that responded to our recent
newsletter with generous do
nations.
Donations resulting from
our annual newsletter are a
major source of funding for
Bethany Salem Fire Depart
ment, and we couldn't pro
vide the level of service that
we do without the support of
the community. If you did not
receive a newsletter in the
mail, but would like to sup
port BSFD, please visit our
website at
bethanysalemfd.com.
If you would prefer to do
nate items instead of money,
there is a link to our Amazon
Wishlist on the top of our
website.
Members of BSFD were
honored to represent our
community in the city of
Jasper 4th of July parade. It
was our privilege to pay re
spect to the people that have
sacrificed, and those that
continue to sacrifice so much
for our freedom. Bethany
Salem Fire Department
members were also able to
serve our community by pro
viding rehab services to Pick
ens County Fire, Pickens
County Sheriffs Department,
and others at Pickens County
High School graduation.
BSFD members provided
food, water, and a shaded
cooling station for all of the
fire and law enforcement per
sonnel working to make the
graduation a special experi
ence for all of the families.
Low angle rescue in
volves descending steep ter
rain up to 35 degrees, such as
rescuing a patient that is at
the bottom of an embank
ment.
The terrain in Pickens
County involves many loca
tions where vehicle accidents
require low angle rescue to
safely remove patients from
the accident scene.
Members of BSFD per
formed practical, hands-on
training in low angle rescue
to be prepared for the next in
cident that will require this
special skill.
Additional recent training
involved relay pumping exer
cises. Relay pumping is re
quired when there is no water
source at the scene of a fire,
so additional water needs to
be sent to the engine at the
fire from another engine at a
water source. In Pickens
County, that additional
source could be a hydrant, or
a portable water tank brought
to the scene by fire person
nel. Water supply in isolated
portions of the county pres
ents a significant challenge
for fire operations, therefore,
training to provide water is
critical.
Two members of BSFD
recently earned their Na
tional Registry EMT-R med
ical certification. Josh
Tippens and Marty Moore
both completed the 9-week
class and passed the national
certification exam. This cer
tification will enable them to
bring a higher standard of
medical care to the commu
nity.
Three members of BSFD
completed the Georgia Reg
istered Volunteer Firefighter
certification. Pictured above
with Chief Marty Moore and
Chief Kristy Easterwood are
Darrell Schuyler, Chad Hen
dren, and Josh Tippens.
These volunteers completed
the 12 week course, which
included classroom and prac
tical exercises as well as haz
ardous materials awareness.
The course concluded
with a live fire exercise, a
state written test on firefight
ing and hazardous materials
awareness, and practical
skills demonstration. This
certification will now allow
these firefighters to work in
live fire operations.
Since the beginning of
2023, BSFD was dispatched
to over 275 emergency calls.
The nature of these calls
ranged from medical assis
tance, storm damage, vehicle
accidents, and fires. BSFD
provides mutual aid services
to all of Pickens County for
large incidents. In addition to
manpower, BSFD provides
rehab services at large inci
dents, such as fires. For rehab
services, BSFD members
provide food and drink to
firefighters, cooling or warm
ing stations, decontamination
services, and more.
Recent weather events
demonstrated the need for
household emergency pre
paredness. When the storms
hit Pickens County on July
20, Pickens County 911 re
ceived over 270 calls for help
within a four hour period.
Many calls had a long re
sponse time for help due to
access being blocked with
trees and power lines. This
storm should be a reminder
that everyone should have an
emergency preparedness plan
which should include things
such as evacuation routes,
shelter-in-place plan, emer
gency supply of food and
water, and special conditions
such as medical needs like
oxygen. Don’t overlook your
pets in the plan. More infor
mation can be found at
ready.gov.
The power outages caused
by the recent storm also high
lighted the need for working
Carbon Monoxide (CO) de
tectors. As defined by the
CDC, “CO is found in fumes
produced any time you bum
fuel in cars or trucks, small
engines, stoves, lanterns,
grills, fireplaces, gas ranges,
or furnaces. CO can build up
indoors and poison people
and animals who breathe it.”
Pickens County received
multiple emergency calls for
high levels of CO in a resi
dence, many caused by run
ning generators. CO is
colorless and odorless and
can kill humans and animals,
it is extremely important to
have working CO detectors
in the home. Carbon monox
ide detectors start under $20
at home improvement stores
and installation can be as
simple as plugging into a
wall outlet.
About Bethany Salem
Fire Department: Bethany
Salem Fire Department is an
all volunteer department with
over 25 members. The de
partment operates four en
gines, a rehab vehicle, and a
rescue squad.
As a volunteer depart
ment, Bethany Salem Fire
Department relies on dona
tions of equipment, real prop
erty, materials, and other
out-of-pocket contributions.
Members, and others,
have given countless hours of
their time and professional
skills in property mainte
nance, electrical, plumbing,
carpentry, mechanical and
other services.
For more information, in
cluding ways that you can
help BSFD better serve the
community, please visit our
website at
bethanysalemfd.com or
Facebook Bethany-Salem
Fire Department.
Long Table returns to Main Street
photo/Kobin Dunn
Long Table on Main attendees listen Saturday while a Pickens Family Partners
board member reads a first hand account of childhood abuse and neglectfrom a client
who was assisted by their programs. The yearly Long Table dinner provides an im
portant source of funding and support to combat child abuse here.
MENTAL HEALTH
Anxiety
Depression
ADHD
Behavior Issues
ACUTE CARE
Same Day Sick Visits
Asthma Care
Referrals
Sports Physicals
706.692.9768
WELLNESS
Newborn Checks
Milestones
Vaccinations
Yearly Check-ups
PEDIATRICS
WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP OUR
CHILDREN THRIVE
Uj& k-e\fire or T4e-
DR. JANE JURMA
ANNA KINLEY, NPC
PRESTIGEMEDICALGROUP.ORG