The comfortableness is, in part, due to Sauer. Regular Tuesday night training sessions helped the real estate investor become comfortable with calls. “I’ve always known and respected the fire department here,” Adams added. There’s a family legacy, not just with me but so many people who come to Fallen Leaf. “What I like about Fallen Leaf is it hasn’t changed to any dramatic state in my lifetime,” Adams said. The summer resident didn’t have any fire or medical background, but he did have knowledge of Fallen Leaf Lake, a place where his family has owned a cabin since 1936. Adams was turned on to the idea of volunteering when Sauer called Adams’ son, a senior at Berkeley, requesting help. While some volunteers have been with the department for 20-plus years, Glenn Adams is in his second year. In addition, they must be at least 18, have a valid driver’s license and train twice a month. Volunteers must live or work at Fallen Leaf a minimum of 30 hours per week. Community support raised the $300,000 needed to cover construction costs. Prior to 2000, the department even lacked a station. Volunteer firefighters have been around Fallen Leaf Lake since the 1940s, but it wasn’t until 1982 that the department became a community service district, Sauer said. Sauer said county officials assured the money would not be cut. At risk was 40 percent of the department’s $115,000 annual budget which is supplied by the county. “If we were busy with calls, it wouldn’t be what it is,” he said.Īlthough small, the department has not been been able to avoid California’s budget crisis. Sauer doesn’t mind that the calls seem rather mild compared to those received in a city. Calls, which average about 30 per year, range from requests for mutual aid on wildland fires, assistance with injured hikers to help pulling swamped boats from the lake. During the winter the station is empty, but checked and heated, as volunteers stay at their residences and keep their pagers on.įallen Leaf’s population swells from about 25 in the winter to 1,000 during the summer. Sauer mans the department by himself from May through October.
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