Chief’s Report 2024
Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department Family and Honored Guests: Welcome to the annual joint meeting of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department for 2023. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our department as your Fire Chiefs for this past year. This year was a very active year for our department and our membership. Our department and membership continued to provide the same quality fire protection and service to the community that it has provided for so many years throughout its rich history. Through the hard work and dedication of our 506 members, 381 active and 125 exempt, the department completed many projects during 2023. Most of these projects were geared toward maintaining and/or improving the services we provide to the community, as well as providing for the overall safety of the firemen who provide those services. In 2023, we: Applied for and received a Firehouse Subs Grant to fully fund the purchase of a boat for better response to emergencies in Bayou Lafourche; Broke ground on a new Department Fire Station that will house South Thibodaux Fire Company; Finalizing the design plans for a new Central Operations Center; Developed specifications and went to bid on a new Air 1 unit; Purchased AEDs for all fire stations; Purchased sets of new personal protective gear for firefighters; Tested and certified all air packs and bottles; Performed annual inspections on all fire extinguishers in the department and performed hydro tests as required; Performed annual tests on the aerial units with all units receiving certification; Performed annual pump tests on all pumpers with all units receiving certification; Completed annual hose test and ground ladder inspections for the department; Provided smoke detectors to needy families through the Smoke Detector Program; Saw continued growth and success of the Nicholls State Student Fire Fighter Association; Saw continued growth of our Probationary Firefighter program for high school students ages 16 & 17 years old; Began our annual week of training with our weekend Rescue School, and we spent two full days focusing on school bus rescue; Conducted our annual week of training (Fire School) with On Scene Training Associates. During this week, members from departments around the country come in and teach our members the latest techniques and tactics. We averaged 50 firefighters a night for training. The 2023 budget of the City of Thibodaux included funds allocated for supplies and equipment for the fire department. Funds were used for the following: New Fire Equipment Rescue & Medical Equipment Fire Fighter & Rescue Training Professional Services During 2023, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department answered 463 total calls for service. Of these, 368 were Fire Calls and 95 were Rescue Calls. That is a total increase of 55 calls from 2022. It represents an increase of 33 Fire Calls and an increase of 22 Rescue Calls compared to the previous year Analysis of Fire Calls In 2023, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department responded to 368 fire calls. There was a total of 6034 member responses to these calls for an average of 13 responders per call. The average number of responders to the building fires were 22. The average response time for building fires was 2.75 minutes. The average response time for all calls was 4.20 minutes. A breakdown of the types of fire calls is as follows: 2023 Fire Calls Building Fires 4 Vehicle Fires 7 Electrical / Sparking Fires 22 Flammables 2 Gas Leaks 19 Cooking Container 2 Trash / Rubbish / Dumpster 3 Smoke Scare 40 Good Intent 10 Unauthorized Burning 25 Alarms 177 Standby 21 Carbon Monoxide 18 Other 18 Of the above calls, 400 calls were in the City limits, 42 were in Fire District 4, and 21 were to surrounding fire departments. Analysis of Rescue Calls The Rescue Squad responded to 95 rescue calls in 2023. These calls were for the following reasons: 2023 Rescue Calls Auto Accident 6 Medical Assist 86 Elevator Assist 2 Water Search 1 Summary of Meetings, Trainings & Fire Prevention Hours Members of the department logged the following hours in 2023: 2023 Hours Logged Incidents 2544.46 Trainings 4218.30 Meetings 3653.75 Fire Prevention 653 TOTAL HOURS 10,911.21 As you can see by the numbers above, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department had an extremely busy year in 2023. Our membership is the foundation of our Department and their commitment is unquestionable. That commitment makes our organization second to no other. We must recognize and thank the following for their contributions, support, dedication and loyalty to our department during the past year: The families of our members for their support, patience and understanding in allowing our members to devote the time necessary to serve our community; The general public and our community for the support given to the department; Mayor Kevin Clement and his staff, Police Chief Brian Zeringue and his staff, officers and the TPD dispatchers, Public Works Director Josh P. Bourgeois and his staff, Finance Director Jessica Hebert and her staff, Council Administrator Jenny Morvant and her staff, and all of the city employees along with the entire City Council for their support and assistance throughout the year; Sheriff Craig Webre and his staff and deputies; State Fire Marshall Dan Wallace for his leadership and the constant support he provided to Fire Departments throughout our state. We look forward to working with our new State Fire Marshall Mr. Bryan Adams; State Representative Bryan Fontenot for leadership and support of our department and community; Dr. Gee Zeringue, Grand Marshal 2023; Past Grand Marshals for their continued generous support; The membership, their families and friends who work so hard to make the Fair a success; Gaubert Oil for their continued support to our department. They are our Fair Band Stage Sponsor and the sponsor of our Fair Raffle Tickets; The Rouse family and Rouse’s Supermarkets who continue to support of our department; The Fire Board for their leadership and service; Fire Board President Jimmy Ledet, Fire Board Vice President Mike Delaune, Treasurer Ed Comeaux and Secretary Donald Barrilleaux
Chief’s Report 2023
Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department Family and Honored Guests: Welcome to the annual meeting of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department for 2022. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our department as your fire chiefs for this past year. This year was a very active year for our department and our membership. Our department and membership continued to provide the same quality fire protection and service to the community that it has provided for so many years throughout its rich history. Through the hard work and dedication of our 483 members, 355 active and 128 exempt, the department completed many projects during 2022. Most of these projects were geared toward maintaining or improving the services that we provide to the community, as well as providing for the overall safety of the firemen who provide those services. In 2022, we: Replaced our entire aging portable radio fleet with new Motorola portables. The purchase was partially funded through a grant by the Lorio Foundation Put in service new Rescue Stabilization Equipment including ParaTech Jacks & Air Bag System for the Rescue Truck Upgraded our Rope Rescue Equipment Purchased new sets of personal protective gear for our firefighters Purchased new sets of Personal Protective Gear for our Rescue Squad members Put new battery powered tools including rotary saws, reciprocating saws, impacts and drills in service Ordered the replacement unit for Engine 23. Class A Pumper with an 1,800 gallon water tank We have started the design process for the new South Thibodaux Fire Station Performed the first required hydro testing on our air bottles Tested and certified all air packs Performed annual inspections on all fire extinguishers in the department and performed hydro tests as required Performed annual tests on the aerial units with all units receiving certification Performed annual pump tests on all pumpers with all units receiving certification Completed annual hose test on all department hose Provided smoke detectors to needy families through the Smoke Detector Program Saw continued growth and success of the Nicholls State Student Fire Fighter Association Saw continued growth of our Probationary Firefighter program for high school students ages 16 & 17 years old Began our annual week of training with our weekend Rescue School, and we spent two full days focusing on rope rescue training for the 51 attending members Conducted our annual week of training (Fire School) using On Scene Training Associates. During this week, members from departments around the country come in and teach our members the latest techniques and tactics. We trained a total of 225 firefighters The 2022 budget of the City of Thibodaux included funds allocated for supplies and equipment for the fire department. Funds were used for the following: New Fire Equipment Rescue & Medical Equipment Fire Fighter & Rescue Training Professional Services During 2022, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department answered 408 total calls for service. Of these, 335 were Fire Calls and 73 were Rescue Calls, as compared to 594 total calls in 2021 which included the departments Hurricane Ida response. Analysis of Fire Calls In 2022, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department responded to 335 fire calls. There was a total of 6607 member responses to these calls for an average of 13 responders per call. The average number of responders to building fires was 30. The average response time for building fires was 3.71 minutes. The average response time for all calls was 4.18 minutes. A breakdown of the types of fire calls is as follows: 2022 Fire Calls Building Fires 15 Vehicle Fires 10 Electrical / Sparking Fires 23 Flammables 10 Gas Leaks 3 Cooking Container 9 Trash / Rubbish / Dumpster 2 Smoke Scare 25 Good Intent 7 Unauthorized Burning 16 Alarms 161 Standby 18 Carbon Monoxide 22 Other 14 Of the above calls, 345 calls were in the City limits, 45 were in Fire District 4, and 18 were to surrounding fire departments. Analysis of Rescue Calls The Rescue Squad responded to 73 rescue calls in 2022. These calls were for the following reasons: 2022 Rescue Calls Auto Accident 12 Medical Assist 58 Elevator Assist 3 Summary of Meetings, Trainings & Fire Prevention Hours Members of the department logged the following hours in 2022: 2022 Hours Logged Incidents 3,424 Trainings 5,287 Meetings 1,974 Fire Prevention 850 TOTAL HOURS 11,535 As you can see by the numbers above, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department had an extremely busy year in 2022. Our membership is the foundation of our Department and their commitment is unquestionable. That commitment makes our organization second to no other. We must recognize and thank the following for their contributions, support, dedication and loyalty to our department during the past year: The families of our members for their support, patience and understanding in allowing our members to devote the time necessary to serve our community The general public and community for the support given to our department Mayor Tommy Eschete and his staff, Police Chief Brian Zeringue and his staff, officers and the TPD dispatchers, Public Works Director James Lucas and his staff, Finance Director Jessica Hebert and her staff, Council Administrator Jenny Morvant and her staff, and all of the city employees along with the entire City Council for their support and assistance throughout the year Sheriff Craig Webre and his staff and deputies State Fire Marshall Dan Wallace for his leadership and the constant support he provides Fire Departments throughout the state State Representative Bryan Fontenot for leadership and support of our department and community Mr. Danny Cavell, Grand Marshal 2020 / 2021/ 2022 Past Grand Marshals for their continued generous support To Gaubert Oil for their continued support to our department. They are our Fair Band Stage Sponsor and the sponsor of our Fair Raffle Tickets. To the Rouse family and Rouse’s Supermarkets for their continued support of our department The Fire Board for their leadership and service Fire Board President Ron Bourgeois, Fire Board Vice President Jimmy Ledet, Treasurer Ed Comeaux and Secretary Donald Barrilleaux