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Message from the Chief Dear Friends of the Epworth Fire Department, I would like to thank you for your interest in the Epworth Community Volunteer Firemen and the Epworth Fire Department. We strive to be one of the best trained, highly certified and equipped volunteer fire and emergency medical service organization in the State of Iowa. Our team is built on dedication and commitment to helping our community. I am the third appointed Fire Chief of the all volunteer fire department since a major reorganization in 1947. My predecessors are to be commended for their vision, dedication and commitment to the department. Daniel A. McDermott served as the Fire Chief from 1947-1987 and then Tom Hancock served from 1987-2003. Danny was instrumental in establishing a vehicle replacement schedule and ensuring our department was well equipped with the most up to date equipment and apparatus. Dan also established minimum requirements for training and attendance and taught numerous classes throughout the State of Iowa. Dan served on a panel with other chiefs across the USA at the FDIC in Memphis in 1957. Our department has attended the FDIC ever since – which is quite an expense and commitment for a small volunteer fire department. Chief Hancock assumed command when Dan retired and continued to advance our department in fire suppression and pre-hospital emergency medical ambulance transport. Under Chief Hancock our ISO rating improved to the best for a volunteer service in the area, we became a Provisional Paramedic Ambulance Transport Service and many firefighters were certified to the advanced Firefighter 2 level. Tom continued many of the replacement policies and enhanced the training and attendance requirements of members. Training was and continues to be a high priority of our membership and officers. I have served as Fire Chief since 2003 and hope to continue to move the department forward and build on the excellent foundation established by Danny and Tom. Being an Epworth Fire Department volunteer is a tough job, however, it can be one of the most gratifying jobs by helping your family, friends, neighbors and community in their greatest time of need. We have forty of the greatest volunteers that I would not trade for anyone. We are one professional volunteer organization that provides fire suppression, emergency medical services ambulance transport, and rescue service to 78 square miles in central DubuqueCounty. I would like to commend our volunteers for their answering the call of duty and serving unselfishly for the Epworth Community. The Epworth area is a great place to live and we have the luxury of having great community support for our programs. In a small community and rural area the amount of tax dollars available are limited. Our volunteers are also required to have fund raising events to supplement our training and equipment purchases. Our community members and businesses have responded extremely well over the years of our existence. In July of 2007, our department went to the voters of Epworth requesting passage of a bond issue to build a new fire station. The turnout was extremely high and we received 88.5% approval to build a fire station with a total project cost of $1.6 million. We were humbled by the turnout and support for the new station project and the continued support of our community members. I would like to thank our committee who worked on our website and encourage you to check back often for updates. I would encourage you to provide comments and suggestions to us and please feel free to contact myself or any member of our department at 563-876-3321. Thank you and have a great day! Sincerely, Thomas I. Berger, REMT-Paramedic Fire Chief Epworth Fire Department
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