NslWp!-oy. Station No. 2.

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1 NslWp!-oy Elmwood on State Hwy 164 (H*y J at that time). It was suggested that Lake Fir.e Volunteer Fire Department equipment and manpower be used to run the station. The two departments had frequently worked together on fire calls in the. past. Thev would now both benefit by forming one department. Ground was broken in August, 197-l for Station No. 2. The grand opening of the new station was hosted on Sunda.v, October 5, 7975, the first day of National Fire Prevention week. 1,975brought about a few other changes. The fire department became incorporated. At an October meeting, a motion was made and carried to order engine 1961 in lime ve1lon,. "Red" fire engines across America were being replaced with bright coiors to increase their visibility at night. Fire training continued to evolve during the mid 7970s. To become recognized as a firefightea an individual needed to complete six months of apprenticeship, pass the standard Station No. 2. firemen's training course and complete the standard and advanced first aid coursc.s. Meetings and practice sessions were held weekly, to maintain competence. An ever increasing emphasis was put on education. There lvere three EMT classes to choose from: EMI Advanced EMT or Multi Medic. Voiunteers \{ere encouraged to enroll in Firemanshio I and II.

2 NAWps_ny Purchasing of apparatus, upgrading equipment and improving communication were areas of focus. In1975, a pumper was purchased. A park wal landsiaped behind Station 1. The \o. parking lot at Station No. 2 was blacktopped. TWo-way rudior were purchased along with Motorola pagers. Rare picture of some of the "Old Timers,".ridinq in a parade in 1g76. L - R Ben Dickel, Eugene Stuesser, Ed Stuesse r, Herman Wolf, Ted Laubenhimer, Peter Margraf Sr., and Joe Kohl.

3 NshWwoy Mueller barn fire, June, 1978 First Assistant Chief John Kohl with Lt. Ralph Schulteis working a pipe at the Muelter barn fire in John Kohl iscurrently County Supervisorand Ralph Schulteis is Richfietd'sTown Chairman.

4 NshWwry In1.977 the department had access to the county's Jaws of Life, a tool used in extrications. Fifteen scanners were purchased as a more efficient method to alert all active members. The department ordered22) Richfield emblems for uniforms. Station No. 1 in the 1970's. Chief Dick Becker from the Bark Lake Fire Department met with Richfield on December 13,1977. He expressed their desire to purchase additional land, possibly building a new fire house. He questioned whether their department with its current location was an important annex to Richfield. Chief Wolf confirmed that the Bark Lake Fire Department should continue to expand and it was a definite asset to the community. He felt that upgrading equipment was the right direction to go. The two leaders agreed on joint department training programs for EMTs. Richfield EMTs were invited to work on the Bark Lake ambulance Ending the Decade There was an ever increasing availability of classes to choose from. Chief Wolf encouraged the members to take advantage of any classes they could. Advanced Fire Training was offered at Thiensville, while Fire Apparatus Operation was given at Port Washington. Moraine Park Technical Institute held Fire Fighting with Foam, Hazardous Materials and Arson Detection. Flamable Liquid School was offered in Hartford. Lakeshore

5 NshWw!y Technical College in Sheboygan sponsored a seminar on "Confrontation by Professional Persons on Dying and Death". Four fire company members attended scuba school and were certified as divers. Interest also grew in emergency medicine. The Lions Club donated a Resusca-Annie with the latest recording equipment. There was much debate over expanding the fire department's rescue service. Recommendations by some members to purchase a rescue vehicle were met with initial resistence. However, a rescue/equipment truck was eventually approved, arriving in February, New rescue kits were obtained. Fourteen orange EMT jackets were purchased for Richfield and four jackets for Bark Lake. Women's involvement in emergency medical services was greatly increasing in urban, suburban and rural communities. Three women officiallv ioined the Richfield Volunteer Fire Company as EMTs. Attention was given to the grounds surrounding Station No. L. A concession building and park shelter were erected. Within a year a cooler was purchased, "to keep the beer cold", and a water and telephone line were installed. Bleachers were purchased. A baseball diamond was created. The tanker was used to flood the infield in the winter to make an ice rink. TWo months preceding the annual business meeting of 1979, Chief Ken Wolf requested that he not be considered as a candidate for chief. He suggested that the department consider dividing the duties between a fire chief and a president. A representative from the Germantown Fire Department attended the Richfield Board of Directors meeting in April of He explained that the by-laws could be amended to include two separate positions. The president would be in charge of administrative duties of the corporation. The chief would be responsible for all fires and fire apparatus. The amendment was explained to the membership. Chief Wolf requested a ballot, voting comrnenced ; 23-yes, 19- no. The ayes had it, For the first time in the history of the department, a president and vice president were elected. Ralph Kohl became the first president. Dave Haertel was elected chief. Chief Wolf served his community and lead the department throughout the decade. He was the catalyst for the advancements and improvements that were desperately needed to keep up with the ever changing fire fighting technology. He was a strong advocate for fire prevention education in the community. He arranged for his officers Chief Dave Haertl,

6 NshWpuy to attend officers' training. He highly encouraged all fire-fighters to attend local technical colleges to learn advanced fire tactic skills. His tremendous push for higher education for firemanship became the new standard. Like his father before him, Chief Kenneth Wolf was acknowledged for his dedicated service on his final day as chief with a standing ovation. Improvements Continue Throughout the 1980s Chief Haertl met with Chief Becker from Bark Lake and Chief Kramer from Friess Lake to discuss the need for consistency between the departments. It was decided to have everyone train under one department. Internal processes were becoming more fine tuned in the early 1980s. Members were taught the importance of accurate records of who was on scene. Firefighters who came directly to the scene were instructed to check in with the officer in charge. A policy was initiated that required a member to have at least two years of service in the department before being allowed to drive an emergency vehicle unless authorized by the officer in charge. Chief Haertl stressed that it was the responsibility of each department member to secure a replacement if they were not available on the weekend they had call. This premise was essential for the department to run efficiently. The Washington County Sheriffs' Department was instituted as dispatcher. A new radio tower was installed allowing the radio base and alerting system to function out of Station Washington County Dispatch Center, Communications Officer Scott Loiacono is pictured at the console. Notice the white buttons below the computer screen. That is the button that wakes up the fire/rescue early in the morning! The 911 system became operational in Washington County on

7 NshWpsrty No. 1. An alerting back-up system was installed in case there was a power outage. TWo Motorola 2-way radios with a 100 watt unit were purchased. The outdated alerters were replaced with Moiorola pagers. For the first time in the history of the department, there were more "rrorrfire" calls than " fire" calls. At the annual business meeting held on June 30, 1981., 119 runs were reported throughout the year. Of these, 59 or just under 507o were fire calls. One year later, the percentage of fire calls fell significantly.ini9s2, only 35% of the calls were fire related. This was a dramatic difference when compared to earlier years. Seventeen years earlier, SS'k of the calls were fire related (out of 52 runs, 44 were fire calls). This trend of ever increasing rescue calls would continue throughout the next twenty years. Washington County Dispatch Center, Communications Officer Beth Lang is dispatching. On average, calls in Washington County range from calls per day. By 1982, the teamwork between the Richfield and Bark Lake fire departments grew. Chief Haertl requested that both departments be alerted to all fire and rescue calls by the dispatcher. He further recofiunended that Bark Lake ambulance automatically respond to all major structural fires in Richfield. Chief Haertl was appointed Deputy for the Department of Industry,Labor and Human Relations. He was responsible for the fire inspectors and inspections. For the past several decades, insurance coverage and costs had been an ongoing discussion. Rates were continuously increased as more expensive equipment was purchased. Additional risk coverage for fire, theft, wind, etc. was needed for both stations.