Birnamwood Area Emergency Services covers the villages of Birnamwood, Aniwa and Eland, along with the towns of Birnamwood, Norrie, Plover, Aniwa and Harrison.
Randy Berger is the fire chief. He said the number of calls varies and often has a lot to do with the weather; if it’s very dry, for instance.
The department has two tankers, a rescue van for gear and the Jaws of Life, two engines, a brush truck and a six-wheeler.
“All of our people are trained to do everything,” Berger said.
Fire department members meet on the first and third Mondays of the month. All vehicles are checked to be sure they are in good running condition.
Berger, chief for 10 years, said the dedicated volunteers are all like family.
“It’s a good thing to do, to help the community,” he said.
All the calls come to Shawano and then are sent to Birnamwood.
The towns and villages that the department covers put the expenses for the emergency services in their budgets.
To earn extra funds, the department has a pancake breakfast in the spring, usually around Father’s Day. They also have a street dance and in September a Pork in the Park fundraiser.
“We can always use more gear,” Berger said. “And we are always looking for more volunteers.”
Other officers are Corey Krull, assistant chief, Chris Krull, captain, Dave Backes, secretary/treasurer, and Denise Behm, captain and training officer.
There are three ambulances that cover the same area as the fire department, along with the village of Mattoon and towns of Hutchins and Norwood. There are two ambulances in Birnamwood and one in Mattoon. Service director Ron Bauch said they average 325 calls a year.
“I took it upon my shoulders to be sure there is a very good ambulance service in our community,” Bauch said.
There are 18 active EMTs and 10 active drivers. Two EMTs and a driver are on-call at all times from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday.
“We are always struggling to find new EMTs,” Bauch said. “Volunteering has declined so much in smaller communities. I volunteer because I think the community needs it and I am very community minded.”
Bauch, a critical-care paramedic for Aspirus MedEvac, said they do training on a monthly basis. Maynard Blodgett is the training officer, and Randy Wruck is the assistant service director.
For information, contact Bauch at birnamwoodems@gmail.com or Berger at 715-610-5098.
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