Monday night fire sparks Sand Hollow volunteer firefighter response

Volunteer firefighters in Sand Hollow respond to lightning-caused fire Monday night. Many rural fire departments are volunteer-based and firefighters have 8-5 jobs. While firefighting can be difficult, it is what is necessary for the community.

• Crews in Sand Hollow respond in stages.
• A first-alarm fire sends crews only from the Sand Hollow Fire Department.
• The larger the fire requires more alarms, the further away additional resources will be requested.

"We train weekly and that's really where our preparation comes from," says Sand Hollow Fire Chief Toby Robinson.

The Sand Hollow Fire Department consists of volunteers dedicated to routing training on wildland firefighting, structural firefighting, or even vehicle extractions. On Monday night crews were focused on battling a lightning-caused wildfire near Pearl Road.

I talked to Toby Robinson who works full-time with Caldwell Fire and volunteers with Sand Hollow. He tells me crews in Sand Hollow respond in stages. A first-alarm fire sends crews only from the Sand Hollow Fire Department.

"If I go out to a fire and I see that it's bigger than what we can handle so I would call our dispatch center and upgrade it to a second alarm. And that second alarm brings additional units to from my closest neighbors to assist," Robinson explains.

The larger the fire, the further away additional resources will be requested. A coordinated effort among multiple agencies and volunteer firefighters makes battling rural fires a true community effort.

"It comes with living in a small community, you just are basically, just being there for your community whether it's going to a grass fire or responding to a medical call. It's almost like a calling if that makes sense," Robinsons says of rural living.

As we talked about their calling I also asked about the effects that fighting fires has on the firefighters.

"It can be difficult at times, we all have families, we all have normal 8-5 jobs. We have some of our members who are farmers and ranchers, some who are truck drivers and mechanics. You just accept it and prepare to work hard and do what's best for the community."