Customer Service

SKYLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Adopt a Highway
Skyland Fire Department has adopted a portion of Williams Rd and participates in the Adopt-A-Highway campaign sponsored by the NC DOT.

Brush Fire Team
Skyland Fire Department has members of the department that have specialized training in the area of Wildland Fire Suppression. These members form our brush fire team. When the need arises for responses inside and outside of the Skyland Fire District this team comes together to fill those request.

Burning Permits
Skyland Fire Department is a certified burning permit agent meeting the requirements of the NC Forest Service. These permits are issued to residents in the community for disposal of yard accumulation debris only. There is no charge for the permits and they are available every day between the hours of 08:00 and 6:30 p.m. The permits do not permit someone to burn machine piled debris. If a resident needs to dispose of machine piled debris they should contact NC Air Quality Control for a valid permit.

Career Day’s
Each year the school systems incorporate career day’s to let each student become more familiar with the different career opportunities that are available here in our local area. Skyland Fire Department attends these events and has someone available to answer questions regarding our career field, training requirements and where to get started in a fire service career path.

Child Safety Seat Inspection Station
This service is provided two days of the week at our main fire station located @ 9 Miller Rd. Motor Vehicle Crashes account for nearly 42% of all unintentional childhood injury-related deaths. One method for us to help reduce this percentage is formal education to parents and caregivers on the proper installation of child restraints and correct harnessing of the child in the seat. Parents are encouraged to stop by the station on Wednesday or Saturday’s between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and have a technician check the seat for correct installation. Each technician has national certification in Child Passenger Safety and are trained to educate parents and caregivers on the many different vehicle belts systems, many different car seats on the market, and the Best Practice Recommendations for children riding in car seats.

Click It or Ticket
Skyland Fire Department assists local and state law enforcement agencies in the Click It or Ticket program. The department provides lights and traffic control personnel at check points across our district at the request of the law enforcement agency.

CPR & First Aid Classes
These classes are offered to local businesses and community groups. We offer First Aid, Infant, Child, Adult CPR , and AED (automatic external defibrillator) classes. There is a minimum of 10 students required to setup a class. The class covers how to recognize and care for victims of illness and sudden injuries, to overcome any reluctance to act in emergency situations, and to recognize and care for life-threatening respiratory or cardiac emergencies in adults.

Dive Team
Skyland Fire Department has a group of individuals trained in various levels of Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) diving. This team is used by the department for rescue dives and to assist local agencies including law enforcement with recovery dives.

Drinking and Driving Education / Prom Week
During the week of Prom at the high school we will schedule sessions during the lunch period for the students to come out and participate with our drunk driving simulation course. The department provides drunk driving goggles for the students to wear and a golf cart for the students to drive thru a simulation course of a curve and lane change. We have parked beside the course a hearse with a casket from our local funeral home to let them see the end results of making a bad decision. At the beginning of Prom week there is a wrecked car placed between the junior and senior parking lot. There is education signs placed out for the kids to drive by or walk by and read facts related to drinking and driving. On prom night we team up with the high school administration and the sheriffs department and provide a fire truck to help light up the entrance to the prom for the administration to check for proper invitations to the prom and any presence or smell of alcohol or illegal drugs that might be brought into the prom.

Fire Extinguisher Classes
This class cover’s the basic principles of using and selecting fire extinguishers for small fires in the workplace or at home. There is classroom and hands-on skills that are covered. Students will be required to extinguish a controlled fire using a portable fire extinguisher that will be supplied by the department. At the end of the class students will receive a certificate of participation in the class.

Fire Prevention Education for Daycare/Preschools
The department provides fire education for our local daycares/preschool in the month of October. The fire prevention team creates a skit utilizing our puppets along with a uniformed firefighter. They perform the skit for the schools. These skits are shorter and more for the Pre-aged kids. A fire truck is also brought out to the schools on the day of the program so the kids can see up close the truck and are able to walk thru and see what the inside of the trucks look like.

Fire Prevention Education for Elementary Schools
Each October is fire prevention education month. Each year we provided education on fire safety tips to over 5000 Elementary School aged children. The department has a very active fire prevention team that chooses different topics each year to educate the children on. The presentation method that the department uses is Education thru clowning and puppetry. The skit is done using three clowns that interact with the puppets and dance to music. It is a great presentation method. The children really respond well and enjoy the show. The on-duty firefighters follow up with classroom visits and ask the children questions about the show; this technique really reinforces the behaviors learned to the children and allows us to see how well the presentation methods worked.

Fire Evacuation Plans
We have request from businesses and residents to help them with questions that they have on fire evacuation planning. We will go out and meet with these folks on site and walk thru the facility and premises and give recommendations for safe evacuation of the building and where the meeting place should be. We provide these folks with a copy of the fire code requirements (if applicable) and give our recommendations based on the current fire code.

First Day of School
We set up apparatus at strategic locations near and around our schools on the first day of school. This  helps remind the public of school zones and the need for caution and slow driving thru these zones. We also assist with traffic control into and off of the campuses for the first couple of days. After the first couple of days parents and student drivers understand the traffic flow and generally adapt well to the congestion.

Honor Guard Unit
The department took the lead role in forming an Honor Guard unit made up of firefighters throughout Buncombe County. Skyland Fire Department has the most members on the team with 10 personnel on the Honor Guard. Several other members who work part time for Skyland or stationed at Skyland, represent their department within the Honor Guard. The Honor Guard formed in late 1999 and has since become the leading Honor Guard unit within the state. The Honor Guard provides its services to various organizations as a Color Guard unit for various events. The Honor Guard has help train and organizes several other units within the state and teaches Honor Guard classes at the States Chiefs Conference in August each year. The Honor Guard has participated in the National Honor Guard Competition in Indianapolis, Indiana at FDIC twice and placed in the top five both times. The Honor Guard has provided its services for funerals and memorials all across Western North Carolina. On average the Honor Guard completes roughly 30 events each year to include training, memorials, funerals and Color Guard events. The Honor Guard will be participating and helping with the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Dedication and Memorial Service in Raleigh in May of 2006.

Hydrant Testing
Skyland Fire Department annually tests the amount of available water thru each hydrant. The department sends personnel out to flow these hydrants and with the use of gauges determine the amount of water that each hydrant flows. This helps the department in two ways:

Juvenile Firesetter Program
This program is offered for juveniles that are either found guilty of setting fires or referred by family members for assistance. The program covers topic as like:

During the program the juveniles will be required by the department upon entering the program to complete community service at the fire station. This will give the juvenile a sense of paying some form of restitution back to the community for setting a fire. The amount and type of community service is up to the department to mandate since this is a self or family referral program. All information that is collected during the program will remain confidential between the Fire Prevention Office and the individual.

Knox Boxes
These security boxes are placed at business and residences for after hour access for the fire department. These secure boxes are mounted to the buildings and the master keys or door access keys are placed in these boxes and locked by the department. The department has a Knox box placed in each of our first out engines and in our Battalion Chief’s vehicle. The only way for the key to be unlocked in the department vehicles is by our 911 emergency center. They send out a tone over the radio which unlocks the key in our vehicles. Anytime that there is a request for the key to be unlocked it is documented on a recording tape and we have access to who has asked for the box to be unlocked. The only keys are located in these vehicles. If a business or residence changes a master key they have to call into the department and schedule a time for us to come out and unlock the box. This system helps the departments to gain rapid access to the building without causing damage to the building or residence. The firefighters are then able to extinguish any fire or investigate fire alarm activation. Before this system the firefighter could only do a walk around of the building and they wait up to 45 minutes or longer for a key holder to arrive and then unlock the building.

Mountain State Fair
Each September, the Mountain State Fair is held at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center for a ten day period. Skyland Fire department provides Fire/EMS/Rescue duties during the entire time from within the fairgrounds. The department’s role extends beyond our normal duties during the fair as we assist the Buncombe County Sheriffs Department with security, parking details and on site communications to include dispatchers. The Department also provides assistance to the public by assisting with locked vehicles, dead batteries, lost children and any other service that may be needed by the public or fair workers. The department normally starts it operations a week before the start of the fair during which time the fair is being set up and numerous personnel are setting up rides and attractions. The Fire department works with the Management of the Ag. Center and Fair officials to ensure the entire fair is safe and enjoyable for all. Each year the fair grows in numbers attending and in size, as it does the fire department role will increase to meet the demands.

Operation Safe Treat
This program was started in October 2001 after 9/11 when parents were concerned about letting their kids out for Halloween. The department sends out every available apparatus and firefighter into different housing areas of the district where kids are out “Trick or Treating” and makes a presence in the community and helps give a feeling of safety to the parents and children. Each apparatus gives out candy and fire prevention material as they make their rounds and sometimes sets up inside the development and lights up the area with floodlights to provide for the safety of the people out in the streets. The whole purpose of Operation Safe Treat is to let our presence be known out in the community and provide safety for our citizens.

Pre-Incident Fire Plans
The department does pre fire plans on commercial occupancies within our fire district to gain knowledge and information of special hazards and situations. The on-duty personnel schedule a time that the owner/occupant can meet with them to do a walk thru of the facility to let the personnel become familiar with the building and grounds and to ask any questions that they might have of the facility. These are not fire inspections of the facilities. Fire Inspections are done by the Buncombe County Fire Marshal’s Office not by individual fire departments unless the department is incorporated within a city or town.

Protecting Your Home from Wildland Fires
This education program addresses the concerns that homeowners are faced with in the event of a wildland fire. It gives the homeowner tips on things that can be done before a fire strikes around their home to assist the fire department during a wildland fire. The program addresses the FIRE WISE concept of protecting your home. The department provides information for homeowners to take home and review at their leisure. Once they review the DVD and printed material they are given a checklist that they can use to make their property FIRE WISE before a fire strikes. If requested the department can send out someone to help the property owner with a site survey on what recommendations that the department may have.

PSA (Public Service Announcements)
From time to time Skyland Fire Department releases bits of information to the news media for the citizens in the community thru PSA’s. It could be on any sort of topics from public education to bid proposals for new equipment or buildings.

Remembering When
The class address concerns that we are seeing state wide with injuries and falls that are associated with our senior adults. It covers topics from kitchen safety, heater safety, medicine safety, proper footwear, fall prevention in the bathrooms, physical exercise for staying mobile and many more topics. Currently we are offering this program for senior church groups, senior homes and assisted living centers.

Retired Member’s Recognition
Skyland Fire Department is very proud of our heritage and from time to time we like to honor those members that are still with us by serving them a meal just to say thanks for all your hard work thru the many years that you have put into making Skyland Fire Department what it is today. Some of these members that attend are the founding members of the department.

Smoke Alarm / Carbon Monoxide Detector Program
The smoke detector/carbon monoxide program is for those residents of our district that cannot afford the initial cost of a smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector. The request for assistance is done thru our Fire Prevention office and the amount of assistance is determined by the need of the request. If a resident is determined that they need assistance the department will provide one smoke alarm per floor of each residence.

SRT/ Water Rescue
Skyland Fire Department has members that are trained to various levels in water rescue from swift water to calm water and includes the use of a jet boat and raft. This team is used by our department and by other agencies in need of specialized resources for swift water rescues and water rescues.

Station Tours
We get request in daily for station tours for small to large groups of kids. We schedule these tours thru our Fire Prevention Office. When the groups come in for the tours the on duty firefighters take the kids on a virtual tour of the station. When they reach key areas of the station (bedrooms, kitchen) they will stop and take the time to educate the groups on proper safety procedures for these areas. Also included is a tour of the fire engines. The firefighters take the time to show the groups the different selection of tools required to do their jobs. Also included is putting on the turnout gear that the firefighters are required to wear. This help the groups understand that this is a person in this suit and not a monster. The children really love being able to put their hands on the tools and gear.

Standbys
We provide medical and fire standbys for different events that occur in our district which include: Kids Fishing Day @ Lake Powhotan, Special Olympics @ TCR High School, Events @ NC Agriculture Center through-out the year, Events @ Biltmore Estate and grounds, football games, soccer games, and celebrity golf tournament medical stand-bys.

Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) Team
Skyland Fire Department personnel help make up one of the State’s USAR Teams. This team receives its funding thru the State. Training consists of two week spent on Structural Collapse, Lifting and Moving, and Breaching and Breaking techniques. There are several other USAR teams across the state. These teams are utilized in times of hurricanes and other natural disasters to assist with rescuing victims or stabilizing unsafe incidents.

Victim Assistance
We have a program in place with various participants such as Quality Inn and Wal-Mart to provide short term shelter and immediate provisions for those who have suffered from some type of catastrophic event such as a house fire or flooding.