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.
- New Fire Equipment
- Rescue & Medical Equipment
- Fire Fighter & Rescue Training
- Professional Services
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:
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 |
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 for their outstanding service to the department in performing their duties as department officers;
- Captains and Lieutenants for their cooperation and devotion to their duties and for providing the leadership needed to prepare their company members to be quality firefighters;
- Squads Directors and Squad members for the outstanding services that they provide over and above their normal company obligations; these services play a vital role in the department’s mission of protecting lives and property;
- Training Director and the Training Team lead by Sam Clausen for the outstanding work done making our members better and safer firefighters;
- Albert Fields, Gerald David and David Leblanc for the time and effort it takes to maintain department records in the computer. Record keeping is a required department function that has become more and more difficult and time consuming with the amount of data that must be retained;
- The officers and members of surrounding fire departments for the assistance they provided us when called upon. Being able to call upon a neighboring departments for assistance is vital to the overall mission of protecting lives and property
To each and every member of this department, thank you for your dedication and hard work. It is through your continued sense of pride and steadfast commitment that we are able to provide the quality services that the citizens of Thibodaux expect and deserve from us.
Thank you for allowing us to serve as your chiefs for 2023.
Respectfully yours,
Anthony Boudreaux
Fire Chief
Todd Albert
Asst. Fire Chief
Glynn Comeaux
Asst. Fire Chief
Brian Tauzin
Asst. Fire Chief