Posting from our friends @ Washington County Fire Wire

Every week, We will be posting about one agency within Washington County area that serves the community.

Dunn's Corners Fire Department
Stations:
Station 1- Langworthy Rd, Westerly
Station 2- Post Rd, Charlestown

Personnel:
30 active members
Officer Structure:
1 Chief
3 Assistant Chiefs
2 Captains
4 Lieutenants
1 Safety Officer
Staffing: Mostly volunteer
Full-time Chief
Full-time Fire Marshal
Part-time Fire Marshal
Weekend duty officer shifts (summer months)
Live-in program

Apparatus:
Tanker 1 (3000 gallons)
Engine 4
Engine 5
Tower 5 (100 ft tower)
Engine 6
Brush/Squad 7
Marine 1 (17 ft Zodiac, 90 hp)
ATV 1
ATV 2
Trench Rescue Trailer

Fire suppression in the Dunn's Corners area first began during World War 2, when the Federal government placed 6 firefighting trailers in the Westerly area. The Dunn's Corners trailer was placed in 1942. That same year, the Westerly Town council purchased a 1936 Ford 500 GPM pumper for the department at a cost of $200. DCFD is one of 2 Fire Departments servicing Charlestown, and one of four departments servicing Westerly. Their coverage area is approximately 25 sq. miles; which also includes 11,000 residents, 5 miles of coastline, and the Bradford section of Westerly (which was formerly covered by the Bradford Fire Department before 2014). Only half of their district contains fire hydrants (Charlestown has no municipal water system). Typical runs include fire/box alarms, possible/confirmed fires, motor vehicle accidents, water emergencies, industrial incidents, hazmat/other potentially hazardous situations and medical assists. Engine 6, Engine 4 and Brush 7 are licensed as non-transporting BLS response vehicles. The department typically responds to all medical emergencies within their fire district; however during times of local heightened Covid cases, they limit their responses to life threatening emergencies to limit the amount of first responders at a scene. Their department typically responds to 400-450 emergencies, although their busiest year in history being in 2019 (1038 calls). DCFD also works as part of the Westerly Regional Tench Rescue team, and has several Rescue Swimmers that work in conjunction with the Charlestown Ambulance-Rescue Service on water rescues. Operations are conducted on the VHF South Fire frequency and runs are dispatched by the Westerly Regional Dispatch Center.

Anyone interested in serving the community in a multitude of ways, or gaining valuable firefighting/EMS experience are encouraged to join DCFD- there is a role for everyone.

Dunn's Corners Fire Department