1998 was far from a normal year for the Fire Department beginning with the Great Ice Storm followed by the Storm of the Century and ending with the Fire storms of December. The Fire Department Responded to 103 calls for assistance with a record 24 Calls coming during December alone, almost
1 call per day. The calls were typical to what we have had to deal with in past years but a 25 % increase in the volume of calls from the previous year began to take its toll on both our manpower and our equipment. During the year over 163,000 Man Hours were donated by the volunteers for emergency service Calls. The average Response time for these calls was 2 min. 15 Seconds.

During 1998 we responded to the following calls:

Structure Fires 13 Hazardous Materials 7 False Alarms 12
Chimney Fires 5 Smoke Investigations 7 Mutual Aid 11
Motor vehicle Accidents 4 Forestry Incidents 13 Refuse Fires 2
Assist Police 8 Assist Public Works 4 Motor vehicle Fires 5
Ems/Assist Ambulance 6 Power Lines 6

Little Progress was made during 1998 for finding suitable housing for the Fire Departments equipment. The Dead River Company graciously allowed us the use of their unused service station to House Engine 104 for the winter Months. Having this unit in town rather than in Somesville to fill in when another unit needed service is a very valuable resource with the increase in calls leading to the inevitable increase in repairs. We are in hopes that this year will lead us a little closer to finding a solution to the departments space needs.

On the other side of the coin the Southwest Harbor Fire Association showed great progress in the fund raising efforts. Over $20,000 has been raised to date and the Association has already donated an electronic hazardous gas meter to the Department and will shortly be ordering a Thermal imaging camera for the departments use. During 2 of the fires in December we had occasion to borrow cameras and we found that with this revolutionary tool, more time and much less effort was used in suppressing fire rather than in looking for it.

The Fire Association has also created an expanded version of the Junior Fire Department. Lt. Thom Willey and Lt. David Kelley now have more than a dozen young people who are eagerly working toward the completion of their Explorer and Junior Fire Fighter Certificates. I applaud all involved with this program as these are the young men and women who will one day be providing Fire service to this town.

As of this writing, we have been in a bit of a snow drought and unless more comes our way, the snow melt that helps keep the grass and woods moist until it greens up will not be with us during the high fire danger period of early spring. We caution all to be careful with all outside burning. A burning permit is required for all Outside Burning, and a separate permit is required for each area that will be burned. In addition, the state is now requiring that all refuse/burn barrels, outside stoves, and any other container that will be used outside to burn in, to be inspected and a burning permit issued. Pleas contact the Fire Station at 244-7911 for further information.
I would like to personally thank all the Officers and members of the Fire Department and the Fire Association for their time and dedication for another successful year. All the equipment and good intentions are worthless with out you people to put your lives on the line and your personal lives on hold to help your neighbors. There is no value that can be assigned to this dedication.

Respectfully Submitted
Chief Samuel T. Chisholm
Southwest Harbor Fire Department