PERRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A mutual-aid partnership between two volunteer fire departments allowed crews to knock down a working structure fire Thursday evening on Fairview Road after the area’s primary department found itself already stretched thin by another emergency call.
The Bainbridge Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post that crews were dispatched at 8:36 p.m. to a reported structure fire at 1191 Fairview Road in the Pike County township. Bainbridge’s part-time and volunteer members normally cover about 77 square miles spanning Ross and Pike counties from their single station in the village of Bainbridge.
Because Bainbridge’s primary crews were already committed to another emergency run at the time of the dispatch, Twin Township Fire Department units responded simultaneously under a mutual-aid agreement to handle the initial response and fire suppression, according to the department.
Bainbridge firefighters brought Engine 801, Tanker 811, Squad 817 and Command 819 to the scene, while Twin Township crews responded with Engine 1608, the fire department said. The Pike County Sheriff’s Office and American Electric Power also assisted at the scene.
In its post, the Bainbridge Volunteer Fire Department said the response underscored the importance of the region’s mutual-aid network, which allows neighboring departments to cover for one another when local resources are already deployed elsewhere so that no emergency call goes unanswered.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Bainbridge Volunteer Fire Department.
