Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)

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November 8, 2009

Westwood Fire Department turns 60

Kenneth Hart

Westwood — The Westwood Volunteer Fire Department celebrated 60 years of service to the community with an open house on Saturday.

The department was chartered in the fall of 1949, and, according to Chief Brent Webster, it was both the first volunteer department in Boyd County and first fire department to be formed outside of Ashland city limits.

He said he found it “unbelievable” that the department had reached the 60-year milestone.

The department has a roster of 31 active members and serves an area with a population of just over 7,000. As of Saturday, its members had responded to 248 calls in 2009.

Webster — who is also a Boyd County sheriff’s deputy and head of security at Ashland Community and Technical College — has been Westwood fire chief since 1996 and a department member since 1984.

His family history with the department runs deep. His cousin, J.J. Panchot, was chief from 1959 until 1979. The fire station has a bronze plaque hear its entrance bearing his name.

Also, Webster’s father, Lawson, is the department’s most senior firefighter, having been a member since 1967.

Richard Elkins has been a Westwood firefighter for nearly as long as Lawson Webster. Asked why he’s stuck with it for so many years, he seemed hard-pressed to answer.

“I just like the fire department,” he said.

Webster said much had changed about the department in terms of equipment and training in just the time he’s been with it.

“We’ve got completely different trucks now than when I started,” he said. “The largest pumper we had then was 750 gallons. The largest we’ve got now is 2,000 gallons.”

Webster also said the amount of training firefighters are required to receive in order to become state-certified had increased exponentially.

Bob Gainer, the former director of Boyd Emergency Medical Services and a member of the department’s board of trustees, has been associated with the department for 40 of its 60 years.

While he said that realization made him feel a bit old, he said he was had thoroughly enjoyed his time with the department and looked forward to continuing to work with its members.

The department received a nice birthday present, courtesy of state Rep. Rocky Adkins.

Adkins announced at the open house that the department had been approved for a $29,165 grant from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. The money will be used to purchase a new Jaws of Life and other equipment, he said.

“I know of no better place to spend our hard-earned tax dollars than to put them back into worthy places like the Westwood Fire Department,” he said.

State Rep. Kevin Sinnette presented the department with citation from the Kentucky House of Representatives commending it for its 60 years of service.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.

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