By Debbie Kardaseski

2007 marked the 25th anniversary of WLNH’sChildren’s Auction and to celebrate that milestone,$235,302.13 was raised, breaking 2006’s record!Helping break that record were five Lakes RegionMutual Fire Aid departments: Alton, Belmont, Gilford, Laconia andMeredith. These departments have been participating for a numberof years by holding boot drives at Thanksgiving. Each departmentpicks a local shopping mall or department store and stands outsidethe entrances with boots, asking for donations.

This year, the departments presented checks totaling $10,725!Alton collected $2,125; Meredith, $1,000; Laconia, $2,000; Gilford,$2,500; and Belmont, $3,100.

The Auction lasted five days and was seen on the local channelon Metrocast with updates being broadcast regularly on WLNHradio. Five thousand volunteers were involved, with some answeringphones while callers bid on over 2,500 donated items. All moneyraised went to local charities — not one cent is kept as administra-tive expenses are covered by area businesses. It is a huge effortand local fire departments are proud to be a part of it.

This year, Franklin Fire Department and Tilton-Northfield FireDepartment volunteered at the event with an eye toward joining theother five departments with their own boot drives next year. �

THE

RuralHitch

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 7

A publication ofLakes Region

Mutual Fire AidAssociation

Serving:Alexandria

AltonAndoverAshland

BarnsteadBelmont

BridgewaterBristol

Campton/ThorntonCenter Harbor

DanburyDorchester

East AndoverEllsworthFranklinGilford

GilmantonGrotonHebron

HillHolderness

LaconiaMeredith

Meredith EMSMoultonborough

New DurhamNew Hampton

PlymouthRumney

SanborntonSandwich

Tilton/NorthfieldWarren

Waterville ValleyWarren-Wentworth

EMSWentworthStrafford

62 Communications DriveLaconia, New Hampshire 03246

603.528.9111www.lrmfa.org

Local Fire DepartmentsSupport WLNHChildren’s Auction

Shown here are representatives from Alton, Belmont,Gilford (shown at right), Laconia and Meredith Fire

Departments delivering their donations to the WLNHChildren’s Auction.

SEND YOUR DEPARTMENT NEWS TO debbiek@lrmfa.orgPlease send information and photos of new employees, promotions, retirements, and general personnel news.

If you have an idea for an article or would like to send an articleabout something of general interest, please feel free to do so.

Articles will be published as space allows. Photos are also welcome.

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 3 The Rural Hitch

Boardof

Directors

AltonChief Alan Johnson

AshlandChief Tom Stewart

BelmontChief James Davis

BristolChief Norm Skantze

Center HarborChief JohnSchlemmer

BarnsteadChief George Krause

FranklinChief ScottClarenbach

GilfordChief Jim Hayes

GilmantonChief Tim Robbins

GrotonChief RogerThompson

HillDep. Chief Paul Guild

HoldernessChief Eleanor Mardin

LaconiaChief Ken Erickson

MeredithChief Chuck Palm

MoultonboroughChief Dave Bengtson

New DurhamChief Rod Nelson

New HamptonChief Dave Clement

PlymouthChief Brian Thibeault

SanborntonChief John DeSilva

SandwichChief Louis Brunelle

Tilton/NorthfieldChief Steve Carrier

Waterville ValleyChief Chris Hodges

StraffordChief Loren Pierce

AlexandriaChief Mike Corliss

AndoverChief John Landry

East AndoverChief Rene Lefebvre

BridgewaterChief Andy Denton

Campton/Thornton/EllsworthChief Dave Tobine

DanburyChief Tom Austin

HebronChief John Fischer

RumneyChief Ken Ward

DorchesterArthur Burdette

WarrenChief Dave Riel

WentworthChief Roy Ames

The

Rural Hitchis published quarterly by

Lakes RegionMutual Fire Aid Association

ChiefDouglas M. Aiken

Deputy ChiefKenneth G. (K.G.) Lockwood

EditorDebbie Kardaseski

Email all submissions to:debbiek@lrmfa.org

From the Chief...By Chief Douglas M. Aiken

As we begin a new year I would like to update you on our ongoing proj-ects. First, we will be installing the operation center console upgrades dur-ing January. When completed we will be able to establish the unit IDsystem to identify all transmitters in our system. Participation by memberdepartments will be voluntary and will require the programming of eachradio with the proper MDC signaling information. The project will also allowus to expand our alert tone capacity so we can eliminate a few existingtones that cause false activations. This will also require reprogrammingsome department alert receivers and we will work with those departmentsaffected to accomplish the programming. We will also have the capacity toprovide continuity of operations (COOP) for the Capital Area Mutual AidFire Compact in the event of a catastrophic loss of their communicationscenter. Capital Area has applied for a grant to allow them to upgrade theirconsole equipment to provide COOP for Lakes Region.

Second, we have completed the upgrade of ten of our thirteen transmit-ter sites. The ten sites now have new Motorola Quantar heavy-duty 125-watt base stations that are equipped for digital transmission. Theremaining three sites will be upgraded during the first quarter of 2008.

Third, we hope to move the Mt. Tecumseh transmitter site to PegwoodHill in Campton in the spring. Private development work at Pegwood pre-vented us from establishing this site before winter. This move will allow usto better serve many departments in the northern part of our system.

Fourth, construction of the radio public fire alarm reporting system isproceeding right on schedule. We have received our operating licensefrom the FCC and the receiving system at the Communications Center isabout 90% complete. We received permission from NH DRED to refurbishour old transmitter building and tower on Mt. Belknap to house the radiofire alarm repeater equipment and we anticipate that site being opera-tional by mid-January. We are working on the operational guidelines andthe system requirements for distribution to member departments in accor-dance with the policies adopted by the board of directors earlier this year.The first operational boxes in the field should be on-line during the firstquarter of the year. This will allow LRMFA to offer its member communitiesan NFPA National Fire Alarm Code® compliant public reporting system.

For more information on any of these projects please call me,528.9111 or e-mail to daiken@imsasafety.org. From the staff at LRMFAour best wishes to everyone for a Happy and Safe New Year! �

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chief Rene LefebvreChair

EAST ANDOVER

Dave PaquetteSecretary/TreasurerChief George Krause

BARNSTEAD

Chief Ken WardRUMNEY

Chief Loren PierceSTRAFFORD

Warden Ed Maheux, ex officioAssociation President

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 4 The Rural Hitch

Chief Norm SkantzeBristol Fire Department

Bristol Fire Department

04 — BRISTOL FIRE

DEPARTMENT

Fire Chief: Norm Skantze

Address: 85 Lake StreetBristol, NH 03222603-744-2632 (Office)Normskantze@

metrocast.net

Business Hours: 8:00–5:00

Officers: Deputy Chief John“Skip” Moyer

Deputy Chief GeoffreyLewis

Capt. Mike GossCapt. Mark ChevalierCapt. Maggi FellowsCareer FF Ben LaRocheCareer FF Steve

ThompsonCareer FF Scott

LewandowskiCall Lt. Marc HewittCall Lt. Chris Dolloff

Shift Coverage: Rotating 48-hourshifts; 24-hour cover-age.

Apparatus: 2 Engines (1 is also atanker)

1 Aerial/Ladder1 Rescue1 Forestry TruckZodiac Rescue Boat

Emergency Manage-ment Command PostTrailer

1 Command Vehicle

Hired in 2000, Chief Norman W.Skantze is Bristol’s first fulltimeChief — just one of several “firsts”in Chief Skantze’s life! He wasAmherst, NH’s first fulltime fireinspector (1985) and in 1987, be-came Gilmanton, NH’s first fulltimefire chief when the town made thedecision to merge the GilmantonCorner and Gilmanton Iron Works’departments. His experience in fireservice goes back many years, towhen he was a volunteer firefight-er/EMT with Gilmanton IW (1977–1980) through his years in collegewhen he worked as a call firefighterwith the Keene Fire Dept. and timespent as the Chief Coordinator forLakes Regional Mutual Aid (1994–1996).

Bristol is a town of approximately3,500 people; however, like manytowns in the mutual aid system, itspopulation triples during the sum-mer months. The Fire Departmenthas seven career personnel whocover rotating 24-hour shifts (thechief, three captains and three fire-

fighters). Additionally, there are 30per diem and call firefighters. Thetown also has a CERT coordinatorwho works for the Town’s emer-gency management agency and ispaid for one day per week. TheCERT coordinator works under thedirection of Chief Skantze, who isalso the Town’s Emergency Man-agement Director.

LOOKING AHEADIn 2006, the department re-

sponded to 945 calls: 583 medicaland 97 motor vehicle accidents,with the remainder being fire andservice calls. 2007 saw the depart-ment hit 960 calls, indicative of thegrowth the area continues to seeeach year!

This growth is where ChiefSkantze focuses his plans for thedepartment. He knows his depart-

BRISTOL — CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

Featured department...

Bristol Fire Department

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 5 The Rural Hitch

ment will have to continue to meetthe increasing demands of the area,including being prepared for an “allhazards” approach beyond the tradi-tional — fire, medical and hazardousmaterials emergencies — often whileworking with other departments inthe region. He feels the NewfoundArea Chiefs Association, an organi-zation that includes seven local fireand police chiefs, is a good step inthe direction of combining effortsand interagency cooperation. Thisgroup allows area public safety lead-ers who have a vested interest, tomeet and work together before anactual emergency situation. Workingwith a local fire or police chief forthe first time during an emergency isnot the ideal time to get to knoweach other!

The department also looks to thefuture by helping train future fire-fighters. There are two studentinterns from Laconia CommunityTechnical College at the stationnow. They work sixteen hours perweek, living at the station whileworking. One is from Londonderry,NH and the other is from Orland,ME (near Bangor). This is the thirdyear the Bristol Fire Departmenthas participated in the intern pro-gram and the Chief feels it is defi-nitely worthwhile.

EMERGENCIES THROUGH

THE YEARSThrough the years, Bristol has

found itself in situations requiring acooperative effort. On July 16,2003, Bristol Fire Departmentresponded to Box 33, Freudenburg-NOK, one of the largest employersin the area. The fire in the plant’scase treat division went to threealarms and resulted in over $1 mil-lion in damage before it could becontained. In addition to local firedepartments being on scene, theCentral NH Haz-Mat team had to becalled in.

And in 2006, Bristol faced one ofthe worst natural disasters in re-

BRISTOL — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

1855 Hunneman, No. 468. Bristol Fire Department is fortunate tostill have this in their possession.

cent history when record-breakingrain forced the evacuation of alarge part of the downtown areaand the dismantling of two dams.That combined effort required manylocal departments, Lakes RegionMutual Fire Aid, State Police, Na-tional Guard, Dept. of Transporta-tion, the Sheriff’s Department andmany local public officials. BristolFire Department played a key rolein the operations and underscoredthe need for cooperative effortsand advanced preparation for majordisasters — all things Chief Skantzefocuses on when planning thefuture of Bristol Fire Department.

RECENT FIRESThis past Fall, Bristol Fire Depart-

ment had a string of multiple alarmfires. They responded to a firealarm activation at 1447 on Octo-ber 7, 2007 at the newly-renovatedBristol Bakery and Neighbors Pizzabuilding, located on 8 CentralSquare. The property is part of thehistoric Bristol downtown and isattached to a row of two-story brickand wood frame buildings withmixed occupancies. On arrival,Engine 2 reported smoke in thebuilding and requested a firstalarm. A 1-3/4" hose line wasstretched to the front door and ad-vanced to the basement, where asmall fire was found and extin-

Above and below: scenes from the Bris-tol Bakery fire, Oct. 7, 2007.

guished. Apartments on the secondfloor, slated for occupancy in thenear future, were not affected bythe fire but received smoke dam-age. There was substantial smokedamage to the first-floor bakery andresturant and the basement stor-age area. The recent renovationswere part of a plan review processby the fire deparmtent, which re-quired the expansion of the firealarm, introduction of fire-ratedstorage areas in the basement,

BRISTOL — CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 6 The Rural Hitch

enclosure of vertical openings and fire walls betweentenant spaces.

An investigation of the fire revealed the careless dis-posal of rags used to stain and poly trim boards locatedin the basement caused the fire as a result of sponta-neous combustion. Both businesses are now back infull operation.

Bristol firefighters responded to yet another buildingfire on October 27, 2007 at 2130 hours. LRMFA dis-patched it as an automatic first alarm. While enroute tothe station, Bristol Lieutenant Marc Hewitt drove by thebuilding, observed a working fire and requested a sec-ond alarm. The pictures at right show the intial crewstretching a 1-3/4" hose to the A side of the buildingunder the supervison of Lt. Hewitt. Once inside, the crewencountered heavy smoke. Lt. Hewitt fell in a hole in thefloor, ending up covered in red paint being used torepaint the building, which was undergoing renovations.

Other pictures show mutual aid compaines workingwith Bristol, including: Alexandria firefighters ventingthe roof, mutual aid companies staged on Lake Street,the hole in the floor and Lt. Hewitt covered in red paint.

The fire was determined to be accidential, starting inthe oil burner room and extending along a cold airreturn, which was the reason for the unstable floorwhere Hewitt fell through. This is a good example of anear-miss situation, demonstrating the importance ofgood training and team work. It also illustrates how theview of the building’s exterior does not always matchwhat is going on inside!

An improper woodstove installation caused a fire toengulf a barn and house on Monday, November 5,2007. The department responded to a fast-movingblaze on New Chester Mountain Road. Within minutes asecond alarm was called and approximately 20 minuteslater, a third alarm was called. The barn was a total lossand the house 80% destroyed, displacing twelve occu-pants. There were no injuries but the blaze kept areadepartments busy for many hours. �

BRISTOL — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Scenes above and left from the Nov. 5, 2007 third alarm fireon New Chester Mountain Road. (PHOTO FROM HILL FIRE DEPARTMENT)

Oct. 27, 2007fire at the

former TNTFitness

building.

Chief John P. SchlemmerCenter Harbor Fire Dept.New Chief.

Chief Schlemmer be-gan his fire service in1970 in Smith, RI, makingthis his 37th year! Hemoved to Center Harbor in1987 and was elected adeputy chief the next year.He did a brief stint as

chief, returned as deputy chief, and later went toMoultonboro as a training officer. In 2006, he wasasked to return to Center Harbor and help with thereorganization of the fire department, working withChief Bob Woods. In October 2007, he was hired bythe town as Chief. Schlemmer, who has an Associ-ate’s Degree in Fire Science, teaches fire and rescueclasses and is a staff instructor at the Fire Academy.

Chief Schlemmer lives in Center Harbor with hiswife of 30 years, Cindy. They have three children andtwo grandsons.

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 7 The Rural Hitch

Chief Bob WoodsCenter Harbor Fire Dept.

Retired

Chief John DeSilvaSanbornton Fire Dept.New Chief.

Chief DeSilva becameSanbornton’s fire chief onOct. 1, 2007. Before that,he’d spent four years asthe Chief of Amherst FireDepartment.

He has spent morethan 20 years in the fire

service, with more than half of that time in a supervi-sory position. Chief DeSilva graduated from RivierCollege with a Bachelor of Science in Fire/EmergencyManagement, preceded by an Associate in Science inSafety Studies.

In addition to his duties as Chief, he is a memberof the NH Board of Fire Control and the NH TraumaMedical Review Committee, plus is a senior instructorfor the NH Fire Academy in Concord.

Chief Eleanor MardinHolderness Fire Dept.New Chief.

Chief Eleanor Mardin became Holderness Fire Chiefon Oct. 1, 2007, following in her father’s footsteps. Sheis the first female chief in the Lakes Region system. Shebegan her career in the Navy as an engineman andassisted in fire parties. After her service in the Navy,Chief Mardin received an Associate’s Degree in Fire Sci-ence. Additionally she’s been to Officer’s School at theNH Fire Academy, is certified as an EMT-I and Firefight-

er, and has finished ITRS training.Chief Mardin worked with the Plymouth Fire Department for 12 years, the NH

Div. of Forests & Lands for three years, and has been with the Holderness FireDepartment since 1988.

She grew up in Holderness, where she continues to live.

Jeff QuesnellCampton-Thornton

Fire Dept.New Firefighter/

Paramedic

Roger Thompson, Jr.Campton-Thornton

Fire Dept.New Firefighter/EMT

Firefighter ScottLewandowski, NREMT-I.

Bristol Fire Dept. Hometown Swanzey, NH.

Member Swanzey FireDept. AS in Fire Science.

Former student internAlton Fire Dept.

Assigned C Shift.New Firefighter Level II

EMT-Intermediate

Steve Dunshee.Campton-Thornton

Fire Dept.New Firefighter/

EMT-Intermediate

Firefighter MatthewGray. Bristol Fire Dept.NH Community Techni-

cal College StudentIntern. Hometown

Orland, ME. AssignedA Shift.

New Firefighter

Firefighter DanFitzgerald. Bristol FireDept. Hometown Lon-

donderry, NH. MemberLondonderry Fire Dept.NH Community Techni-

cal College StudentIntern. Assigned B Shift.

New Firefighter

Captain Maggi Fellows,NREMT-I. Bristol Fire

Dept. 2001–2007. Ash-land Fire Dept. Call Fire-

fighter 1993–1999.C Shift.

Promoted

New Employees, Promotions, Retirements...

SEND YOURDEPARTMENT

NEWS TOdebbiek@lrmfa.org.

Please send information andphotos of new employees,

promotions, retirements, and generalpersonnel news.

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 8 The Rural Hitch

This is the final installment of a three-part series.Last, but not least, we will evaluate our Customer Ser-vice. I have received positive feedback about the lasttwo articles and would appreciate input on this one aswell.

“Customer Service” seems like something we’d seeat the front counter at “Wally World” or some mallstore. In today’s fire service, it has become increasinglyrelevant and fire chiefs and departments are encour-aged to write strong vision and mission statementspreaching good customer service. There must be a rea-son — and I don’t think it has anything to do with returnitems or putting a rockin’ downtown fire on layaway.

In the last two decades, larger fire departments,such as Phoenix, Atlanta and Kansas City started cru-sading about this vision of fire department customerservice. Our departments may not be large full-timedepartments like the three previously mentioned; how-ever, we do provide the same services, on a muchsmaller scale. If you do further research on the historyof any fire department that has preached customerservice, you will find they have built a solid foundationof community trust and they have members who arededicated and believe in the service they provide.

Let’s dissect customer service a bit. Who is the cus-tomer? First and foremost, it is the taxpayer who paysfor our existence; it is also those people who live, workand play in our communities. In a nutshell, the cus-tomer is anyone you come in contact with while provid-ing service. Service could be broken down into manycategories. But what are we paid to do? We are paid tomitigate emergencies in the following areas: fire sup-pression, EMS, hazardous materials and technical res-cue. We also perform many non-emergency functionssuch as fire prevention, forest fire permits, regulationenforcement, car seat safety programs, etc. We mustnot forget groups that are affiliated with our depart-ments either, such as firefighter associations, ladiesauxiliaries and unions. They, too, advocate for our firedepartments.

Last issue, I talked about conduct. How do we con-duct ourselves when providing the services that we do?When I first started in this business a wise captain toldme, “Treat everyone you come in contact with as youwould treat your grandmother.” There are six basic rulesof thumb when talking about the expectations in firedepartment customer service.

Quick. Our customers want immediate results. Thisnot only pertains to quick response times, it could be a

case of checking a brush pile or information aboutcodes.

Skillful. We must stay sharp. Have your “A” game onat every incident. The public thinks when they call 911,we will arrive in a Black Hawk with three paramedics, oreven shut the valve off and the fire will go out. What I’mtrying to say is our customers have high expectationsfor us; let’s try not to disappoint them.

Caring. Treat most everyone as you would treat yourgrandmother. The reason I say “most” is its very difficultfor us to be caring to the drunk who spit in your facejust before they were tazed by the police. We should tryto stay neutral at these incidents. There may be under-lying circumstances — maybe they just suffered a majorloss.

Standard. We have SOPs and SOGs for a reason. Ourcustomers expect the same answer no matter who theytalk to in the department. When we issue fire permits,there really is no grey area. The regulations are clearlystated. But what about the customer who comes in andsays, “Well, the guy who wrote me the permit last weeksaid I could burn plywood”? If we play by the ruleswhere there are rules, then we usually don’t run intothis problem.

Professional. How do you conduct yourself in public?Do you have a big wad of chew in, spitting onto Route 3at the MVA? Does your fire department ball cap doubleas a grease rag? Our adult customers do not want to bespoken as if they were in second grade. Use clear termi-nology and have the facts straight the first time. If theyfind out later on that you were slinging a line of bull,you and the department will lose credibility.

Resourceful. Always be thinking. You don’t need toknow everything, but it’s handy to know someone whodoes know the answer to a question. There is a lot ofhistory behind our fire departments — don’t be afraid tocall upon someone who is a part of that history. Knowyour resources.

The customer may not always be right, but if thingsget nasty, they will usually have the final say! The cus-tomer does not care whether you are call or full-time;they expect nothing but respect!

I leave you with a challenge. Take a step back, do aquick evaluation of yourself and ask, “Where am I?” incustomer service.

Stay SAFE and Make it SAFE! �

Customer Service: Where Am I?By Kevin LaChapelle, Captain, Franklin Fire Department — A Shift

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 9 The Rural Hitch

Training ResourcesAre you aware of the FEMA Training Resources

page? If not, go to www.training.fema.gov/ andyou’ll see links to several training resources. You’llfind an NETC Virtual Campus, which includes 13self-study courses offering certificates when com-pleted. There is also a link to an NFA page thatoffers an additional 13 courses. Both of these linksallow you to complete courses and receive credit forthe training.

IS 100, 200, 700 and 800 courses may beaccessed through www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/crslist.asp.

Another great option is a training program called“Coffee Break Training.” This can be found atwww.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/coffee-break. If you accessthis training, you may provide feedback to ProgramManager Robert Neale at Robert.neale@dhs.gov.He is also interested in receiving comments regard-ing these programs.

All of these resources are a great way to learn ata time and pace that’s convenient for you. �

Departments WorkTogether

Several departments in the Lakes Region haveagreed to collaborate in a grant request in order to pur-chase building pre-plan/inspection software and hard-ware. Franklin, Tilton-Northfield, Belmont, Gilford,Laconia, Sanbornton, Ashland, New Hampton, Ply-mouth, Alton, Bristol, Hill and Meredith are looking topurchase software capable of being used on laptopcomputers from the apparatus to view pre-plans,inspections, floor plans and mapping. This informationcan be shared with other departments and agencies.

The core group has already met twice and decided topurchase software called Mobile EyesTM. This group willalso be looking to fund laptop computers for someapparatus in each department. There is the possibilityof other towns who are not interested in purchasing thesoftware being included in the read-only responder orpre-plan portion. The laptops will be capable of wirelessand cellular connectivity, have touch screen technologyand a GPS receiver.

If your Department is interested in participating,please contact Captain David Hall of Tilton-NorthfieldFire & EMS. E-mail dhall@tnfd.org �

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 10 The Rural Hitch

At 21, Lt. Rob Frame is the youngest Lieutenant at Lakes Region Mutual FireAid. He began his career here as a part-time person in August 2004, becomingfulltime in June 2005. Not only is he the youngest Dispatcher now, he was theyoungest hired part-time (age 18), youngest hired full-time (19) and theyoungest promoted to Lieutenant (20)!

He is a New Hampton firefighter and a Lieutenant with the Hill Fire Depart-ment. Rob began in the fire service at age 14 when he became an Explorerwith the New Hampton Fire Department. At 18, he became a member of thatdepartment. When asked why he is a member of two departments, he repliedthat he lived close enough to both to be involved in both and wanted the addi-tional experience.

Rob enjoys the people he works with at the communications center and likesthe challenge presented when it gets busy. He, like the others interviewed todate, also likes the rotating schedule.

On his days off, he tries to be outside as much as possible. In his spare timehe works on cars and helps people with yard work, cutting trees down, chop-ping firewood, etc. For fun, Rob fishes and target shoots. He has the usualassortment of “toys” — a boat and snowmobile! He is currently looking for ahouse in the New Hampton area.

Employee Spotlight...

Rob Frame

Fourth Quarter Statistics...From October 1, 2007–December 31, 2007

Incidents Dispatched: October 2007 1,549November 2007 1,674December 2007 1,787Total Fourth Quarter 5,0102007 Total 21,591

Resources Available:Engines 102 Tankers 15Ladders 9 Rescues 21Forestry 32 Ambulances 38Utilities 5 Fire Boats 14Towers 3

Statistics:� Began operations in September of 1971. Moved operations to our current facility in June of 2000.� Dispatches Fire and Medical Emergencies for 36 communities and 37 Fire and EMS Agencies.� Serves a population of 117,518 residents (2006 Estimate).� Is spread over 5 NH Counties, covering a geographical area of 1,494 square miles (16% of the area of the

State of NH — 1.5 times the size of the state of Rhode Island).� Protects over $20.4 billion dollars of property (2006 Valuation).� Has an operating budget of $906,978 (2007 budget). � Has 10 full-time and 8 part-time employees. � Dispatched 21,295 incidents during 2006 (58.34 calls per day).� Dispatched 21,441 incidents during 2005 (58.7 calls per day).� 20,001 incidents during 2004 (54.7 calls per day).

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid 11 The Rural Hitch

Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association62 Communications DriveLaconia, NH 03246

ASSOCIATION MEETING SCHEDULEJANUARY 24, 2008 @ 1900 @ CAMPTON-THORNTON

MARCH 27, 2008 @ 1900 @ GILMANTON

Campton-Thornton. 35A12007 Ford E-450 with a Horton Box. Built by Greenwood Fire

Apparatus. Equipped to the ALS Paramedic Level.

New Equipment...

Alton. 1E1Carries 1,250 gal. water, 50 gal. class A foam, 1,000' of 4"LDH Hose, 3,000w light tower, 1,500 GPM Elkhart remote

control master stream deck gun, 2,000 GPM pump, three pre-connected cross lays (2 foam capable if needed), and one 2-

1/2" pre-connected attack line, also foam capable.