No Such Thing as Days Off for the JFD

Around 4 pm on Monday afternoon, dispatch reported that a 911 caller near the Holy Family neighborhood had discovered smoke coming from the attic of their home. In under 5 minutes, a swarm of first responders began arriving in official and private vehicles. Boots were dropped, car engines were left running, and it was all hands on deck as local firefighters from all walks of life answered the emergency call. 

One of the home’s residents verified that the occupants and their dogs, Aurora and Athena, were safely exited from the structure. She told WITZ, “Our breaker tripped this morning, and I thought I could smell smoke a couple of hours after that.” 

Fire Chief Kenny Hochgesang said, “Right now, it’s all confined to the attic area. It is electrical in nature. We're in the process of locating exactly how far it traveled through the blown in insulation. So we’re starting to remove some of that, and hopefully we can do that with minimal damage.” 
 

Numerous firefighters had come directly from their day jobs. One responder arrived in an unusual mode of transportation – behind the wheel of his yellow school bus – a visible reminder of the strong sense of civic responsibility that thrives among these civil servants. Hochgesang explained, “The firefighters work at various locations in the community and whenever there's a call, they respond. I am sure that he was probably done for the day and on his way back to the school. And being one of our firefighters, probably a convenient location that he could stop here and help assist with the fire.” 

The JFD is a volunteer department, incorporated in 1896. They are responsible for protecting the lives and property of Jasper and surrounding areas, with a permanent resident population of approximately 16,000 people. They provide fire, rescue, EMS and hazardous material response for a jurisdiction totaling over 32 square miles. Thanks to the swift arrival of the JFD and the homeowner’s awareness, there were no immediately reported injuries in Monday’s incident and damage to the home was quickly contained.