All four rural emergency service districts showcased apparatus and fielded questions from residents at “Inside the Firehouse” to explain how tax dollars fund volunteer fire departments outside city limits

By Joe Southern
The Eagle, Bryan

BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — A first-of-its-kind event was held Wednesday evening at the Brazos Center for anyone who has wondered what the difference is between an ESD and VFD or had an interest in seeing firefighting trucks and equipment up close.

Organized by Precinct 2 Brazos County Commissioner-elect Kyle Greenwood, all four of the county’s emergency service districts (ESD) came together for an event called Inside the Firehouse: Brazos County ESD Open House. The event gave the four rural ESDs the opportunity to show off their equipment and services and to explain to the public what they do, how they do it, and why it costs so much.

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Many of the items on display had price tags affixed to them to show people how expensive firefighting is and what their tax dollars are paying for. There were several fire trucks and other apparatus on display in the parking lot along with activities for children to do.

Laykin Estep, 5, the daughter of Kendra Estep, had fun knocking down wooden blocks made to resemble fire with a firehose under the direction of Precinct 3 firefighter Kirby Talesky. Precinct 3 firefighter Hailey Polson drew a crowd with the department’s dog, Sadie Grace.

Greenwood said he came up with the idea while running for county commissioner and realizing he knew very little about the districts and their importance to rural homeowners.

“I’ve driven past the ESD 3 station on Elmo Weedon Road for 30 years and never given it much thought, which was a mistake,” Greenwood said. “Our volunteer fire departments perform a critical role in Brazos County’s emergency response plan. … As I got to know the ESD chiefs and their boards, I realized how little I actually knew about their structure and how they operate. And that is why we are all here.”

Greenwood moderated a presentation that included a question-and-answer session with the four ESD chiefs. After an introduction by current Precinct 2 Commissioner Chuck Konderla, Greenwood introduced Brady Drennan, a retired U.S. Navy captain and former ESD 3 board president, who explained how emergency services districts are established, governed and funded. His presentation outlined the responsibilities of the five-member ESD boards appointed by the Brazos County Commissioners Court and how the districts work with fire departments to provide emergency services outside city limits.

“Without ESDs, there’s really no guaranteed coverage for all those rural areas,” he said. “So ranches, homes, farms, personal property are really unprotected as far as the services go. So now they receive a dependable and really professional emergency response throughout the county.

“This becomes important because when you think about when you have a fire, is it going to be a contained loss or is it going to be a total loss? When you have a medical emergency, is it going to be just a medical emergency, or is it going to be a tragedy? So that’s what the ESDs bring to everyone in the county,” he said.

The panel discussion included chiefs David Cooper from ESD 1, Tradd Mills from ESD 2, Matthew Drennan from ESD 3, and Joe Don Warren from ESD 4.

The chiefs discussed the challenges of providing emergency services in rural areas, including response distances, water availability, staffing, volunteer recruitment, training, equipment costs and the impact of continued growth.

Among the things discussed by the chiefs were ongoing training, equipment replacement and upgrades, professional certifications, and other issues with running fire departments.

As an example of the need for continuous training, Matthew Drennan said departments have had to learn how to handle electric vehicle car fires.

“At first it was ‘let’s blanket them and cool them underneath,’ but then we figured out that we made a bomb,” he said. “And then a lot of people don’t think about everywhere that that water goes, that’s now a hazmat situation. So that’s hazmat materials coming off of that battery.

“It’s the same thing as if an oil tanker would fall over on the side of the road. We have to mitigate all of that as well. So we have to dam and dike, and then we have to get a company to come in and remove all that dirt. They bring in fresh dirt. So this is stuff that everybody thinks is ‘Oh, it’s a car fire.’ It’s not just a car fire anymore. It’s a hazardous material situation compounded with the car fire.”

Warren explained that a lot of toxins and carcinogens get into the bunker gear the firefighters use and sometimes they have to be replaced at a cost of thousands of dollars.

The chiefs and other participants said they were pleased with the event and hope it becomes an annual event for the public.

“It’s a good thing when we can meet the people that we serve and show them the equipment that we have and the people to serve them when they are having a bad day. That is what we are here for to help the community,” Warren said.

“It was a great event and a wonderful opportunity for citizens to meet the men and women who volunteer their service to Brazos County,” said Thomas Goehl , president of the ESD 3 board of directors. “We plan to make this an annual event so that our citizens can fully understand how their tax dollars are being used and meet the men and women who are serving their district.”

Afterward, Greenwood said that helping residents understand county government and the services it provides is an important part of his responsibility as an incoming commissioner.

“This is the kind of thing that I think is my responsibility — to help the residents of Brazos County know what is going on in the county,” he said. “You can expect to see a lot more events like this from me. I feel this is what commissioners should be doing.”

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