03/28/2026
Battalion One Firefighters did something remarkable today: they became the first volunteers to complete the new standard for becoming a certified firefighter in Mississippi. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Mississippi State Fire Academy set the standard for firefighter training such that there is little to no difference in the training to become either a career or volunteer firefighter in Mississippi. All now train to NFPA 1010, Standard on Qualifications for Professional Firefighters. We were first.
Our members began training to the new standard this past October. Classroom training was 3- hours long every Sunday and Monday night. They spent countless Friday and Saturday afternoons practicing skills until they became muscle memory. On top of that, they manned the station around the clock for nearly 10-days when the ice storm hit, responded to approximately 100 calls, and still keep out station, apparatus, and equipment clean and in working order. They showed up in force for special events like our Halloween night and Christmas Parades, performed smoke alarm installations, and even invented some new equipment (Brandon Christan's hose roller rocks!).
They went at it hard: turning knees into blistered and bloody knots as they crawled endlessly around the floor in the dark practicing search patterns, spent hour after soaked to the bone in cold weather learning to pump our apparatus under a wide range of conditions, and missed family events and special occasions. They even shaved their beards! In the end, they successfully completed Fireground Operations, Firefighter Level I, Firefighter Level II, Driver-Operator Level I, and Driver-Operator Level II and are now Certified Firefighters.
This accomplishment would not be possible without tremendous support from Fire Coordinator Joe Phillips and the Bolivar County Board of Supervisors. We have the station, the apparatus, and the equipment needed to reach goals such as these because our communities believe in us and provide first-rate support - like the new turnouts provided this week so we could be compliant with Academy and national standards. Thank-you!
This isn't the end point for our training journey either. Our members have set their sights high and will pursue advanced rescue training, leadership courses, and study emergency medicine and hazardous materials. We are hard at work in setting performance standards, measuring or improvement, and continuously reflecting on our ability to lower insurance costs in our communities, better protect all from harm, and do so while keeping ourselves safe.
Want to join our ranks? Full out an application at https://bcvfd1.com - you must have a positive attitude towards life in general and a passion for our community. You must be willing to commit 5-10 hours a week to our unit/community, be at least 21 years old, have no recent significant driving incidents, no felony record, and like teamwork. You should be curious and enjoy learning, want to be part of something bigger than yourself, live within Bolivar County, and get along well with others.
