By Drew Granthum | Staff Writer

The Jemison Fire Department will host a firefighter certification course this fall.

The course will be taught by Jemison Fire Chief John Dennis and will be a total of 160 hours broken down into four blocks: history and introduction to fire service, basic firefighting skills, advanced firefighting skills, and hazardous materials awareness and operation.

“It kind of builds upon itself,” said Dennis. “The first part, you spend 50 percent of your time in the field and in the classroom. The second part you spend 75 percent in the field. The third 95 in the field, and then the last part is mostly in the classroom. They take a state test after each.”

Dennis said that in order to participate, a person must have first responder or emergency medical technician certification, and be 18 years old and a current member of a volunteer fire department.

He also said that 18 of 25 spots had been filled and encouraged more to apply.

“It’s not state mandated yet,” he said. “But it makes [firefighters] more aware.”

By Stephen Dawkins

“Policeman” and “fireman” might be two popular careers among children enticed by flashing lights and fire hoses, but not many people really have what it takes.

A program being implemented in Jemison will allow young adults to decide whether they want to go into public safety.

A meeting will be held Saturday at Jemison Fire Department to kick off the city’s Public Safety Exploring program, which is an initiative of Boy Scouts of America.

“A lot of people may think they want to be a fireman, but the day in, day out stuff of that job can give people an idea of, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’” Jemison Fire Chief John Dennis said.

The program is designed for those 14-18, or through 21 if the person is still a student. Participants partner with local public safety departments to get an idea of what the jobs actually entail.

Even if some Explorers decide they don’t want to be a firefighter or police officer, something is still accomplished.

“It gives us an opportunity to help mold some character and some values in those students,” said Dennis, who has been involved with the Exploring program for 25 years.

Participants would meet once a week and receive training on CPR, first responder tactics, biological hazards and basic law enforcement, such as directing traffic. They would also “shadow” Jemison police officers and firefighters as they go through their daily routines.

“We’ll use them for a lot of events around the city to help with parking and traffic,” Dennis said. “Hopefully, we can be a model for other fire departments around the county, for them to use to help boost their programs.”

The program also leads into scholarship opportunities through Boy Scouts Learning For Life.

Dennis said flyers have been posted at Jemison High School. Anyone interested should call Dennis at 688-4492.

By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council at its meeting Tuesday voted to allow the creation of a “public explorer” program.

The program, which would be organized by Fire Chief John Dennis, is intended to create a reserve-type force that would be made up of young men and women.

The council also approved an ordinance accepting the annexation of 20 acres of land off Smith Road. Both owners of the land, Paul Shannon and Kimberly Robinson, requested annexation into the city.

In addition to passing the annexation ordinance, the council amended several ordinances already on the books.

One such ordinance was amended so city officials could better deal with the problem of people not keeping vicious animals restrained. Another amendment will allow the city to change meter rates for new water customers.

Finally, an amendment was passed in regard to the police department’s drug tip fund. Revenue comes into the fund through court fees paid by drug offenders.

In other business, the council:
•Entered into a contract with Thorin and Associates for grant writing services.

•Recognized councilman Sam Reed for becoming a Certified Municipal Officer through a training course.

•Summarized reports from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, on the city’s water, and from the Alabama Municipal Insurance Corporation, on liability insurance paid by the city. Jemison received high marks in both reports, Mayor Eddie Reed said.

•Heard a presentation from Care Net Pregnancy Resource Center Executive Director Lynda Beebe. Beebe gave the council an overview of the non-profit organization and invited council members to a banquet Care Net will hold at Jemison’s Municipal Complex on Nov. 4.

By Stephen Dawkins

The Jemison City Council on Monday was updated on a couple of road improvement projects.

Mayor Eddie Reed told the council that a project to pave roads in the Oak Grove community, which was annexed into the city last year, is nearing completion.

“I will say that it’s 99.9 percent completed,” Reed said.

Work remains on County Road 141. Reed said the road is rough but that Chilton County Engineer Tony Wearren has assured Reed that county workers aren’t through with the road.

Also, speed limit signs need to be posted. The council decided at an earlier meeting to make the limit 20 miles per hour. Any county road without a posted speed limit has a default limit of 40 miles per hour.

“That’s way too fast,” Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer said.

The council also discussed a project to improve Sycamore Street.

Councilman George Brasher said the road needs to be repaved because of instability created by a water line that was installed on top of a sewer line, but the work should wait on workers to connect residents on the street to the newer water line.

“That will save us a lot of money,” Brasher said, because if the road were paved before the work on the water line, the road would have to be paved again after the work was completed.

“Had we done it the way we decided to do before Councilman Brasher came up with this plan, we would have had a lot more complaints,” Reed said.

In other business, the council:

•Hired I.H. McNeill III, P.C., to serve as the city’s public accountant firm

•Discussed a report from Fire Chief John Dennis that included the number of calls the department made in the past month, among other information. The council unanimously praised the department’s work. “I’m just glad we’re moving forward,” Councilman Richard Morris said.

By Stephen Dawkins

A course hosted by the Jemison Fire Department will offer local volunteer firefighters the opportunity to become certified.
The 160-hour training course, taught by JFD Chief John Dennis, who is also an adjunct instructor with the Alabama Fire College, will put volunteers a five-week bridge program away from state certification.
“It’s the same thing they would be getting if they went to recruit school,” Dennis said about the course in Jemison. “Anybody can grab a hose, turn the water on and spray water on a fire. After this course, they’ll actually have an understanding of how fire behaves—be able to anticipate what’s going to happen next based on building layouts and save as much of the structure as possible.”
A representative from the state fire college registers participants for each block, stops by throughout to check on the material being taught and administers the written test at the end of each block.
The course was taught last year for the first time, and Dennis said he would like to make it an annual or every-other-year event.
Thirty-two firefighters from 11 different departments registered last year, Dennis said, and 23 completed the course.
Eighteen firefighters from five departments—Jemison, Collins Chapel, East Chilton and Gap of the Mountain departments—have already registered for this year’s course. Dennis said enrollment will be limited to 25.
“It’s just hard to get all the skills done with that many people out there,” Dennis said.
The course will comprise four 40-hour blocks: History and Introduction to Fire Service (to be taught beginning Aug. 3), Basic Firefighting Skills (September), Advanced Firefighting Skills (October), and Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations (November).
For more information about the course or to register, call Dennis at (205) 287-1791.