Small town, big commitment: Meet Shaver Lake's volunteer fire department

SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (KFSN) -- If you've driven done Shaver Lake, you've apt passed the tiny unpaid occurrence presumption that stands arsenic a lifeline for this upland community. For galore visitors, those volunteers person been the archetypal to respond successful times of need.

"Most of our calls are for radical who travel up present to recreate, whether they're camping oregon renting an Airbnb. That's our largest lawsuit base," said Fire Chief Steve McQuillan.

But for the residents who telephone Shaver Lake home, the department's 27 volunteers are essential.

"We person a batch of seniors present who person aesculapian issues connected a regular basis, and that's what we request to beryllium present for," McQuillan said.

Every unpaid knows what they're signing up for: a committedness to support a assemblage they love.

"This is wherever I live. I privation to beryllium present to service my friends and my family," said Shawn Lee, a nonmigratory and unpaid firefighter.

The volunteers travel from each walks of life-law, teaching, finance, medicine-and astir equilibrium full-time oregon part-time jobs with exigency calls. While the enactment is rewarding, McQuillan says it's besides demanding.

The Creek Fire successful 2020 was 1 of the toughest challenges they've faced.

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"Not lone did it devastate our assemblage successful Shaver, the Pine Ridge community-it took two-thirds of the homes, including ours," said unpaid Janet Parr.

Janet and her husband, James, person served arsenic unpaid firefighters for much than a decade. Losing their location was heartbreaking, but they stay grateful for the outpouring of support.

"If it hadn't been for each the tremendous enactment of the volunteers and extracurricular agencies, this municipality would beryllium gone," Janet said.

Five years later, the section responds to much than 200 calls a twelvemonth and says the request for amended instrumentality and facilities is greater than ever. Two caller occurrence engines hardly acceptable wrong the existent station, and plans are underway for a caller gathering connected adjacent land-a task McQuillan calls "long overdue."

The section is asking for assemblage enactment to marque that happen. Donations tin beryllium made straight to the Shaver Lake Volunteer Fire Department to assistance money the caller station.

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