Princeton Fire Department

100 Courthouse Road

Princeton, WV  24740-2431

Phone (304) 487-5017 or

(304) 487-5018 (Call ahead to send fax)

Fax (304) 487-5015

E-mail:   fire@princetonfire.com

website:   www.princetonfire.com

Shawn L. Vest

Fire Chief

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≈      Throughout the past year, the Princeton Fire Department has continued to strive toward the highest level of preparation in order to respond to any emergency that might affect the citizens and visitors to our fair city.

≈      Thankfully, we can again report no loss of life during the past fiscal year.  Also, $2,400,600 in property was saved this past year.

≈      A total of 1,220 alarms were answered last year in the areas of Fire Calls, Rescue & Emergency Medical Services, Hazardous Conditions, Service Calls, Good Intent Calls, False Alarm & False Calls, Severe Weather & Natural Disaster, and Special Type.  The type of incident most frequent is Rescue and Emergency Medical Service totaling 69% of calls.

≈      Princeton Fire Department received grants from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant $47,226, Community Foundation of the Virginias $1,300, and Community Participation Grant $11,000.  Equipment purchased last year included 3 Laptop Computers with GPS capabilities, 3 TOMAR Traffic Devices, 200 feet of 1.75 inch fire hose, $2,500 toward new county SCBA compressor, Miscellaneous Rope Rescue Gear, and a Cardiac Monitor. 

≈      The theme for Fire Prevention week was “It’s Fire Prevention Week:  Prevent Home Fires!” Fire Safety advocates spread the word to their communities that, with a little extra caution, preventing the leading causes of home fires – cooking, heating, electrical and smoking materials – is within their power.  The program used at Mercer and Straley Elementary was the fire safety house where kids are taught what to do if a smoke detector goes off in their own home such as developing escape routes.  Princeton Primary was involved in a Jeopardy style fire safety game, which helped to enhance fire safety for the younger age groups.  Sparky also visited each school.

≈      Over 1,300 children and adults participated in classes through our Community Health and Safety Program, and Fire Department personnel contributed 2,587 manhours.  Fire Safety talks were held at Mercer County Office of Emergency Services, Princeton Library, Rescue Squad, Dept of Health & Human Resources, US Postal Service, Rescare, local churches, and cub scouts. Fire Prevention Presentations were held at Mercer School, Straley Elementary, Princeton Primary, Princeton Middle School, Princeton Senior High, and PCH Daycare.  CPR Classes were given to Vo Tech Dental Assistants Class.  Fire Extinguisher & Evacuation Classes were provided to the LPN School, Vo Tech, and Workforce WV.

≈      Our Division of Fire Prevention conducted 100 inspections involving New Inspections, Re-Inspections, Occupancy Permits, and Consultations. The long process of entering pre-plans into our database continued. There were 333 hours of training in the area of fire inspections and the City now has 3 members certified as NFPA Fire Inspector I.  Chief Vest, Capt. Bailey, Lt. Wyatt and Lt. Gunnoe spent 24 class hours in Charleston obtaining the latest updates for fire inspections that go into effect July 2010. Fire investigators have been conducting training with 48 hours of continuing education and have conducted 3 fire investigations within the City and assisted the WV Fire Marshal's Office with 2 investigations in mutual aide areas. Lt. Gunnoe leads the investigation team with Capt. Bailey assisting.

≈      Training hours affect Insurance Services Office evaluations to improve the City’s rating for insurance premiums.  The lower the classification rating, the better the insurance premiums.  The Department currently has a Class 3 ISO rating. Last year, career and volunteer personnel completed 4,523 hours of training in the areas of: Arson Investigation, Certified Fire Inspector, Life Safety Code, Forcible Entry, Fire Instructor, EMT Instructor, Incident Safety Officer, CPR & EMT Training, Defensive Driving, & National Child Safety Seat Technician. Career personnel take care of maintenance of all Dept vehicles and stations which includes general maintenance and repairs to vehicles, stations, & equipment, installation of new equipment, & weekly checks. Only specialized repairs are done outside the Department saving the citizens of Princeton hundreds of dollars in labor costs each year.