|
History of the Holiday Island Fire Department
|
|
The Holiday Island Fire Department was formed in 1974 with 12 volunteer fire fighters (ages 62-72). They started with one fire station with two bays, and one 500-gallon Ford pumper. The Department signed its first mutual aid agreement with Eureka Springs in 1975 and has continued to grow with the community and surrounding areas.
Over the years, the Department has become responsible for the rural fire area around the community. In addition, the Department recently took over the coverage of a nearby town (population 200), which is included in our rural area. That community disbanded its fire department due to lack of personnel to provide protection.
The Holiday Island Fire Department currently has four fire stations, one ambulance, two tankers, four pumpers, one brush truck, one rescue truck, one small fire/rescue boat, and one ladder truck. We have 3 full-time paid firefighters and 24 volunteers, which provide BLS emergency medical service, structure and wildland fire fighting, operational-level haz-mat, search and rescue on both water and land, and entrapment extrication.
|
|
|