Not flaming out

Volunteer fire
department much more
than blaze battlers

The Seymour Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) is a vital asset in the community. Few would argue that the brave men and women who work to keep our homes and families safe from fire aren’t one of the most important organizations in Seymour.
What you may not know about the SVFD is that they do much more than just extinguish fires. Fewer than fifteen percent of the calls to which the SVFD responded in January were to extinguish blazes.
In fact, the single most common call for the SVFD is for assistance in an emergency medical situation.
“We are a ‘first responder,’” said Al Leitch, a longtime member of the department whose son also serves there. “Often times, we can be on the scene before an ambulance can arrive. This lets us give immediate aid to the victims, which can save lives.”
As many as 90% of the calls that the Sevier County Ambulance Authority responds to in Seymour involve a call-out to the SVFD. More than three quarters of the 84 calls the SVFD answered in January were for emergency medical assistance. In addition, the department sometimes aids Knox and Blount County authorities with their calls.
About one out of twenty calls in January were what the department refers to as “service calls.”
“Those are things like home inspections, requests to install smoke alarms, and the occasional check for carbon monoxide,” Leitch told The Herald. The department will install and test your smoke detector if you request it, and will even supply detectors to homes without them if there’s a financial need.
The smoke detectors are made possible by donations to the SVFD.
Occasionally, the department will hold a fundraiser to help support their efforts. If a firefighter should ask you to contribute, remember that they do much more than just extinguish fires.