Fire department takes pride in protecting Glenrock’s structures, helping community members

Cinthia Stimson photo
GVFD Station 1 Captain Shon Lindsey and Acting Fire Chief Rob Brewer go over paperwork prior to the start of their business meeting at the fire hall Dec. 2.

By: 
Cinthia Stimson cinthia@glenrockind.com

The Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD) is hard at work this year fighting fires, responding to medical emergencies and saving lives in their community, to the tune of  responding to a whopping 301 calls for their service area this year as of Dec. 3.
That’s 1,058 volunteer personnel hours.
To put this into perspective, they responded to 147 calls in 2018, just about half of what they’ve been called on to do this year in Glenrock, Rolling Hills, and north and south Converse County.
Station 1 Captain Shon Lindsey said he’s been volunteering with the GVFD for 29 years.
The community is full of his friends, family and neighbors – and he feels a responsibility to all of them, he said.
“I feel like the community, the public, are our customers. I want people to know we are always here for them,” Lindsey said.
The volunteer firefighters work hard all year long, however, they like to play hard, too.
One of the ways they get a little bit of fun in is by hanging out with the likes of Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Grinch, and even some of the jolly ol’ elves from the North Pole.
On Saturday, firefighters will provide transportation aboard the fire engine for the colorful entourage of holiday characters to Glenrock High School at 8 a.m., for breakfast with Santa Claus. There’s a host of other fun events they’ll participate in alongside the town’s kids, including pictures with Santa, learning how to make Grinch dust and reindeer food, decorating cookies and a reading of The Night Before Christmas.
Saturday night they’ll show up downtown for the annual Christmas parade with lights flashing and horns blaring, as they celebrate the start of the official holiday season in Glenrock.
Later this month, the firefighters – in conjunction with ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments) members – will deliver presents to area children on the evening of Dec. 23.
“We’re small town America. Most of the people on the fire department have taken time out of their own lives, missed out on time with their families, to serve their community. They spend a lot of their personal time for the betterment of this community,” Acting Fire Chief Rob Brewer said.
Brewer’s been a member of the department for a dozen years. It’s important to him to recognize the sacrifices his fellow firefighters have made to serve their community, he said. As he was growing up, it was instilled in him to be involved with and help his community.
President Hummer Wickett is coming up on 50 years in service to the GVFD. He said he’s held most all of the officers’ positions over the years and is on his way out. If they’ll let him, that is.
“They won’t let me go,” Wickett said, chuckling.
The newly-elected president, Jeff Nelson, will take over in January.
“When I started there weren’t a lot of firefighters. We responded to mostly grass fires. There was a real lack of fire-fighting equipment at the time. I wanted to get involved and help, work on purchasing the equipment needed to keep the firefighters safe. You could say I just stuck around,” he said jokingly.
Sitting in the fire hall before their weekly business meeting begins is like sitting amongst a group of tightly-knit friends – even family.
It’s a feeling shared by the members, including Michael Kroll, who’s been a part of the department for a little over a year.
“I see this place as my second home. I get off work and I come down here,” Kroll said, his arms gesturing expansively to include the fire hall.
Daerrian Laird and Max Dahlke joined the department as cadets, while they were still in high school.
“The community we have here is more like my family. Being on the fire department is one of the biggest parts of my life, it’s my whole adulthood. I guess you could say I pretty much grew up and grew into my gear,” Laird said, his friends Kroll and Dahlke nodding their heads in agreement on either side of him.
Laird joined the department’s cadet program when he was just 16-years-old, alongside Dahlke, who was a year ahead of him, he said.
“We were all friends in high school. We fell into the department together,” Dahlke agreed. “It’s opened up more opportunities than you can imagine.”
As their business meeting progressed over the next hour, the members discussed opportunities for training, maintenance issues, what needs fixed, what’s been fixed, voting for several new positions starting at the new year and came back around to discussions on the upcoming Christmas events throughout December.
“The fire department is always here. It’s just what we do. We love participating in the holiday events. It’s our community, our family,” Lindsey said, a wide grin spread across his moustached mouth.

Members of the Glenrock Volunteer Fire Department:
Station 1 – Glenrock
Captain Shon Lindsey
President Hummer Wickett
*Incoming President Jeff Nelson
*Incoming Lieutenant John Bean
Lieutenant Todd Young
Lieutenant Brian Jensen
Firefighter Les Bennington
Firefighter Bryan Burrus
Firefighter Max Dahlke
Firefighter Fred Duran
Firefighter Mike Hershley
Firefighter Mike Kroll
Firefighter Karie Moulton
Firefighter Brad Mueller
Firefighter Steve Porter
Firefighter Les Potter
Firefighter Andy Schnorf
Firefighter Colter Wadsworth
Firefighter Adam Ward
Firefighter Clint Zimmerle

Station 2 –
Rolling Hills Substation
Captain Ken Montgomery
Acting Fire Chief Robert Brewer
Firefighter Shane Brow
Firefighter Ken Daly
Lieutenant Kevin Halvorsen
Firefighter Matt Harris
Firefighter Daerrian Laird
Firefighter Ron Stewart
Firefighter Kenny Wolfley
*Incoming officers will assume their new roles in January.

Category:

Glenrock Independent

Physical Address:506 W. Birch, Glenrock, WY 82637 Mailing Address: PO Box 109, Douglas, WY 82633 Phone: (307) 436-2211

The Glenrock Independent is located in the Bronco Building

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