KINGWOOD — The Kingwood Volunteer Fire Department (KVFD) is seeking new members, according to Chief Perry Barlow.
Barlow said KVFD is holding a recruitment meeting 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday in the basement of the Kingwood Community Building.
“The fire service is unique and always changing,” he said. “We are trying to improve our numbers so we have more people for calls.”
Barlow said finding young people to volunteer is difficult. “The young people we have are family members that have trickled down,” he said.
Barlow said KVFD averages about 250 fire and rescue calls per year. “Rescue can be anything that is not fire related. For example, a person falling out of a tree stand or an automobile accident.”
Assistant Fire Chief Ethan Rouzee said the 120 hours of required training is not the most time consuming aspect of being a firefighter.
“We do a lot of extra work the public doesn’t think about,” he said. “We do fundraising. We have breakfasts and the Buckwheat Festival. We meet every Monday night to train. There is maintenance on our buildings and on our equipment. This doesn’t include calls.”
Rouzee said members of the KVFD are dedicated.
“There is a lot of pride and sense of community. It comes from being a part of this organization. We have a real good group of people.”
Anyone interested joining KVFD as a firefighter or non-firefighting member who is unable to attend the Saturday meeting can email kingwoodvfd@kingwoodvfd.com, call Rouzee at 304-698-6672, or stop by the Kingwood Community Building between 6 and 9 p.m. any Monday.
All training and equipment is provided by the department.
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