Rural Firefighting: Minutes Make a Difference with Justin Bailey

If you’re a firefighter in a large metro department, you might find today’s topic a little unfamiliar. Because for firefighters in rural or even suburban areas, the challenges can be very different than yours. And if we’re talking about a volunteer department, that adds a level of difficulty. Today’s guest is the chief of a volunteer department that covers a rural community. He knows that any call may be hampered by longer response times, a lack of manpower, and even lack of water. Yet his department has the same goals as every other: to get on scene and get the fire out. How to accomplish that? The first 10 minutes on scene count. We’ll talk about that. Justin Bailey is the fire chief of the Oliver Springs Fire Department in Tennessee. He oversees 20 paid-on-call volunteers who cover a 5.5 square mile area. Justin’s also a master firefighter with the Knoxville, Tennssee Fire Department, where he has served since 2007. He hosts seminars on volunteer training program development, professional development and rural fireground management.