Fire Safety Awareness Parade and Kidsfest Safety Fair to be held October 3rd

The Johnson County Fire Chiefs Association will sponsor the seventh annual Fire Safety Awareness Parade and Kidsfest Safety Fair on Saturday, October 3rd.

The parade will begin at 10 a.m. and will travel from East Main and Rogers Street to the Marvin Vinson Center. The Kidsfest Safety Fair will begin promptly following the parade.

The Fire Safety Awareness Parade will consist of fire trucks from Johnson County and vehicles from other Johnson County agencies, including the Office of Emergency Management, Johnson County Sheriff's Office, Clarksville Police Department, Johnson Regional Medical Center, U.S. Forest Service, Arkansas Forestry Service, and many more.

The Kidsfest Safety Fair will begin at 11 a.m. and Sparky the Fire Dog will arrive by Air-Evac helicopter at noon (weather permitting). At the event, children have the opportunity to participate in the popular Junior Firefighter Challenge and go through the RFD #1 Fire Safety House. The Fire Safety House is equipped with pretend smoke to machine to teach children the importance of getting out of their home safely when there is a fire.

There will be many booths representing different agencies in Johnson and surrounding counties. The booths will have safety related literature, etc, for children and their parents. Smokey Bear from the Forestry Service and Deputy Dan from the Sheriff's department will be in attendance to meet the children. Children can bring their own teddy bear to get a check up from the staff from Clarksville Medical Group.

This fun-filled day will include lots of activities & prizes, including a drawing for a boys and girls bicycles at the end of the day long event.

We hope to see you there!!!

For more information please call Fred Taylor or Billie Taylor at 754-6052 or 754-1662(cell) or 754-0694 (cell)

RFD #1 Firefighters Attend Appreciation Dinner

RFD #1 firefighters attended an Appreciation Dinner for emergency personnel on September 10th 2009 at the First United Methodist Church in Clarksville.

The evening began with Boy Scout Troop #76 Color Guard presenting the colors. The National Anthem was sung by Carol Morgan and the Reverend David Hanshaw from the Methodist Church led everyone in prayer.

Emergency personnel were treated to a BBQ chicken dinner, and desert was served by members from numerous organizations. Special Music was presented by "The Shady Ladies" and door prizes were given away.

RFD # 1 was presented a $500 grant to help with its fire safety efforts from Johnson County Community Foundation by Sue Wollenberg.

The speaker for the evening was Chief Justice Jim Hannah, who was introduced by Rep. George Overbey.

Firefighters from several fire departments in Johnson County were in attendance for this fun filled evening.

Thank you to all of the sixteen sponsors for this event as well as the Chamber of Commerce. We appreciated you taking the time to recognize the hard work of all of the firefighters in Johnson County!

More pictures of the event may be seen HERE.

RFD #1 firefighters fight structure fire

STRUCTURE FIRE--A residence and its contents were destroyed by fire Sunday, Sept. 13, said RFD 1 Fire Chief Craig Beerman. According to Beerman, the department was paged out at 10:10 p.m. and upon arrival found the structure fully engulfed. The fire at the residence located on Private Road 3527 was believed to have started in the kitchen, said Beerman. RFD 1 and the Lamar Fire Department returned from the scene at approximately 3 a.m.

Photo and information courtesy of the Johnson County Graphic

RFD #1 Represented at 9/11 Memorial Service

RFD #1 Firefighter Dayna Hilton attended the 9/11 memorial service at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg. Maryland on September 11th. On October 2001, Hilton represented RFD #1 at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 9/11 Memorial Service in Washington, DC. and was the only woman firefighter/piper in the honor guard during the ceremony to honor the fallen firefighters.

To view the video of the memorial service at the National Fire Academy, click HERE.

RFD #1 Firefighters Participate in Chainsaw Safety Class

Firefighters from Johnson County RFD #1, other fire departments and organizations participated in a chainsaw safety class at Cline Park in Clarksville on August 28th.

Thanks to our instructor, Dana, from New Hampshire, we spent eight hours learning about personal protective equipment when using a chainsaw, safety tips, and the proper way to down trees.

Firefighters A. Williams, Rabalais, Hilton and Assistant Chief Taylor participated in this day long event. It was a great day and we learned a great deal on how to stay safe.

To see more pictures from the chainsaw safety class, click HERE.

Be sure to follow RFD #1 on our Facebook page and learn all about our department and our commitment to helping keep people in our community safe.