By Kim Jones

Dolores Fire Department

I am always impressed at how efficient and committed our department members are - always ready to help, continuously preparing and training for emergencies.

Each month, we have a truck check of vehicles and gear, including inspection and maintenance. We also hold a monthly business meeting, and two to three training meetings for tasks like tanker shuttle, engineering, water drafting and hose testing. We have had pipeline emergency training, and if you have noticed the two vehicles at our station in Dolores, we practiced and trained on auto extrication. We are a volunteer department in which our members carry pagers and respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Monsoon season has slowly made its way to our area with the afternoon buildup of thunderhead clouds showing possibility of rain. Unfortunately, the rain has seemed to miss our area, leaving us with dry lightning strikes and the potential for very significant brush fires. There is a fire ban in our county that is strictly enforced, and we need to keep in mind that things such as firecrackers can also cause fires, endangering lives, homes and belongings.

As of April 1, our department responded to 45 EMS calls and 27 fire calls (the majority of which have been lightning or out-of-control burns).

I'd like to remind all property owners to make sure your street address signs are visible day and night for emergency responders to see clearly. Our department can sell the green and white reflective address signs. If interested in purchasing one, please call the Dolores Fire department at 882-4096. If no one answers, please leave your name and phone number with message and we 'll return your call. If we can't find you, we can't help you.