JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County paid and volunteer firefighters from Jackson, Wilson, Hoback and Moran have created the Jackson Hole Fire/EMS Foundation to support first responders and better serve the community.
JH Fire/EMS Foundation includes Station 1: Jackson, Station 2: Wilson, Station 3: Hoback, Station 4: Moran, Station 6: Moose/Wilson Road and Station 7: Adams Canyon, in addition to chiefs, administration and board members.
The listed goals of the new foundation are to aid in recruitment/retention of responders, educate the community to improve safety, support emergency responders’ physical and mental health and advocate for new ways to ensure health and safety on the job.
According to Lizzie Watson, chair of the JH Fire/EMS Foundation, part of the advocacy work the foundation is planning on is trying to get exhaust extractors to capture the gases that coat the bunker and other equipment and fill the rooms in the station. JH Fire/EMS Foundation is hoping to combine efforts with the union, the paid staff, who have successfully set up exhaust extractors at the two staffed stations, Stations 1 and 6. At Station 6, sleeping quarters are directly off the bay.
Watson also spoke about providing two sets of bunker gear for everyone to mitigate extended contact with carcinogens that get on the gear and giving Fire/EMS members mental health support through Teton Interagency Peer Support (TIPS), a peer support program with on staff therapists designed for first responders.
“We do ask a lot of our members,” Watson says. “We’re trying to figure out how we can support them better.”
All six stations have been under one department since 2004 and include both paid members and volunteers. Only the downtown Jackson station and the station on Moose/Wilson Road, Stations 1 and 6, are staffed full-time.
Currently, about 56 percent of JH Fire/EMS is made up of volunteers. There is a 68 percent turnover rate, due in part to the nature of volunteerism but compounded by the cost of living in Teton County. Watson is hoping that working towards some type of health insurance option for members will improve retention.
“I feel like we could always do a better job,” Watson says. “One of the big goals of the Foundation is to provide equitable support of all members.”
To find out more about the JH Fire/EMS Foundation, click here.
