Sierra Vol. Fire Department:
The Sierra Volunteer Fire Department was formed in April of 1975. The department’s first Fire Chief was Jimmy Collins. Serving under Chief Collins were six seasoned Firefighters and five junior firefighters. Their first station was a rented one-vehicle garage and it housed a 1942 International 4X4 fire truck, which had a top speed of 25 miles per hour. Later that year they were given a 1959-ton and a half GMC with a front mount pump.
In 1976 the department bought a piece of land on South Brown Road, and then donated the land to the County. Chaves County bought and placed a three bay fire station on the land, once it was placed, the fire department supplied all plumbing and the building interior. In August of 1996 the department built a new building located next to their original station on South Brown Rd. in order to provide much needed space for a training room and offices.
In 1981 Sierra acquired land on South Lea St. and built a two bay sub-station. They added onto this sub-station and received approval for it to be a second Main station in 2003.
In November 2003 the department requested and received authorization to construct their third Station located on Dogwood Road. This building was completed and approved for their third Main Station in 2009.
The department has a split ISO rating of 7/9 and received a State fire fund allotment of $220,125 to operate with this year. Their current Fire Chief is Don Ford. They had an average of 200 runs last year including Fire, EMS and Mutual Aid.
The department currently has 21 members and eight pieces of fire fighting apparatus consisting of:
Two Pumpers:
1972 American LaFrance, 1,250gpm pump with a 750-gallon tank.
1997 Freightliner, 1,250gpm pump with a 1,000-gallon tank.
1983 Chevrolet, 750gpm pump with a 750-gallon tank.
One Tanker:
2001 Freightliner, 1,250gpm pump with a 3,000-gallon tank.
Brush Trucks:
1995 Chevrolet 60gpm pump with a 350-gallon tank.
1995 Chevrolet 60gpm pump with a 350-gallon tank.
Rescue Units:
1995 Ford, 60gpm pump with a 300-gallon tank.
Other Vehicles:
1990 Dodge, Command Vehicle.