A Closer Look At Dartmouth Fire District 3 Station 1

Dartmouth Fire District 3 is the hub of the town's emergency needs. It covers almost half of the town, including the North Dartmouth business district as well as UMass Dartmouth.

Station 1 currently has six full-time firefighters and 44 on-call. All firefighters undergo six months of training at the station and must complete an additional six months of training at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.

Once on-board, firefighters conduct various training exercises between calls and attend weekly training at the station every Wednesday night.

The station is currently undergoing construction to provide more room for full-time firefighters and lower response times, but that doesn't slow things down for the Cross Road station. They are on pace for around 900 calls by the end of December. That's more than double the other two districts combined.

When you think of the types of calls firefighters respond to you probably think about fires and accident, but there is much more.

"We respond to anything not deemed a police matter," said District 3 Assistant Chief Theodore Borges.

Some of those calls include helping people that lock themselves out of their cars or homes, folks that have dropped their keys down a storm drain, and even assisting an elderly woman shut off her leaky faucet at 2:00 AM.

The firefighters of Station 1 also provide a wide variety of services to the community. One of the newest programs offered by the department is the Smoke Detector Program, led by Captain Corey Pimental, who is also the town's fire inspector.

"We've received $2,161 to install smoke detectors for elderly residents," said Pimental, who has been a firefighter for 22 years.

The funding is provided by the state's Senior SAFE grant. There is no charge for the installation and they can be done at any time. Pimental adds his firefighters are trained to check and ask about smoke detectors whenever they respond to a house.

Another program offered to residents is reflective address markers. Pimental says these highly visible signs greatly assist first responders while responding to emergencies. They cost $15 for residents and they are free for the elderly. They also include free installation.

One final little-known fact about District 3 Station 1 is that they have a nationally certified car seat installer that will install a car seat for anyone, resident or not, free of charge.

Chief Borges also serves as the station's training officer and says it's the most important part of the job when lives are at stake.

"You can replace objects and buildings, but you can't replace lives," said Borges.

As for their presence in the community, Borges says it's tough to be as visible as other first responders, but they're always there.

"You see police officers driving around every day, but we can't do that," Borges said citing the obvious high cost of fuel that would be consumed. "We open our doors and display our apparatuses as much as the weather allows, but it's not the same."

You may not always see firefighters driving around town or you might not even think of them until you need them, but when you call, they'll be ready.

If you know somebody that's made a significant impact in the community, don't forget to nominate them for the 2015 Hometown Hero Award.