CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Harrison Township Fire & Rescue’s all-volunteer crew has kept the township covered around the clock for three straight years, the department’s chief said in a Facebook post this week thanking the members for the milestone.
The department, which operates out of a single station on Charleston Pike on the outskirts of Chillicothe, is staffed entirely by volunteers who also respond to calls in neighboring townships when they’re available, according to the post.
The chief said the streak has come at a personal cost to the members who keep it going. “These members have left family during the holidays, missed special events, lost numerous hours of sleep and put added stress on their lives just to insure coverage,” the chief wrote, calling the volunteers “a strong department which we call our family.”
The post credited the crew with maintaining what it described as 100% coverage of Harrison Township for three years while still being able to lend help to other townships in need. The chief added that the department expects the streak to end eventually but pledged “we will continue to provide the best coverage we possibly can.”
Harrison Township covers about 36.2 square miles in eastern Ross County and has no incorporated municipality within its borders, according to U.S. Census data. The township, which borders Eagle Township in Vinton County to the east, had a population of 1,189 as of the 2020 census.
The department made headlines locally last week after receiving a shipment of emergency drinking water through a national program that supplies volunteer departments with water for use during wildfires and other lengthy calls in extreme heat.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Harrison Township Fire & Rescue’s Facebook page.
