Annual Operating Budget, 2006-2007

District Administration ........................................................ $  109,500.00
District Officer Compensation ..............................................     39,025.00
Employee Payroll ...............................................................   631,900.00
Station Operation ...............................................................     23,800.00
Fire Apparatus Operation ....................................................     26,000.00
Rescue Operation ..............................................................       5,700.00
Fire Department Operation ..................................................     23,750.00
New Equipment ..................................................................      5,000.00
Capital Purchases ..............................................................      2,500.00
Miscellaneous ....................................................................      1,500.00
Total .................................................................................$ 868,675.00


Personnel Count:

Paid, full time .................................................................................    8
Active Call personnel .......................................................................  39
Fire Rescue Dispatchers....................................................................  4

Total personnel ...............................................................................  52

Personnel Qualifications:
Fully qualified (Firefighter I) Firefighters .............................................. 35
Number of these with Advanced Qualification (Firefighter II) .................. 18

Number of these with Fire Officer I.......................................................10
Emergency Medical Technician, Basic Level (EMT-B) ......................... 11
Number of these with Advanced EMT Qualification, Cardiac, (EMT-C).... 20

 


Fire Division - Emergency Response Statistics:
Incidents, Accidents, Box Alarms ...................................................... 830
Mutual Aid Calls responded to ........................................................... 225
  Number of Mutual Aid calls provided to other departments:
 
Mutual Aid Received:...........................................................................  36 


Rescue Division - Emergency Response Statistics:
Calls responded to .......................................................................... 514
Firefighter Training Conducted (Internal):
Number of classes held ...................................................................   100
Number of class hours ....................................................................    300
Collective firefighter training .............................................................. 3,000 hours


Fire Hydrant Expense:
Most people don’t realize that the fire hydrants in the district are owned by the Kent County Water Authority, but the Fire District is responsible for the costs. Here are the 2000 statistics:

Number of fire hydrants in the district ................................................  66
Amount paid per hydrant ..................................................................     $474.00
Total 2005 cost for fire hydrants ........................................................ $32,000.00


Street and Roadway Lighting Expense:
The Hopkins Hill Fire District is actually a "Fire and Lighting District". In that capacity, we pay 
Narragansett Electric for the costs of lighting the roads in the district. The 2000 numbers were:

Street Lights in the district ..................................................................  216
Cost per lamp post .............................................................................  Varies by lamp type
Total cost of street lighting in 2005 .......................................................  $25,000


Firefighter's Cross Origin:
The cross, which is associated with firefighters, is now known as the Maltese Cross and its history predates the Crusades.

The story of the Maltese Cross begins with a group known as the Hospitallers (that is not misspelled) of St. John, who later became the Knights of St. John. Their emblem was an eight pointed cross, the points of which stood for the eight obligations taken by the members of the Order.

During the Crusades, a term derived from the Latin word for cross, crux, bands of Knights fought to re-gain possession of the Holy Land from the Saracens. The importance here is that the Crusaders were identified by their "crux" or cross.

It was during one of the eight Crusades, as the Hospitallers of St. John were attacking the city of Jerusalem, the Saracen defenders utilized a terrible weapon, naptha filled glass fire bombs. The Crusaders sustained horrible injuries and heavy losses and ultimately, retreated to the island of Malta.

The efforts of the knights to rescue their brothers from the fires has created an everlasting association between the knights, and their cross, with fire fighting and the bravery of firefighters. 

The Order of the Knights of St. John remains on Malta to this day. It underwent several name changes before ultimately becoming The Knights of Malta, and their emblem, the Maltese Cross, has forever become identified with the heroism and selfless bravery of firefighters.