Craig Daily Press

Some new cabinets here, a new fire truck there.

Since coming under Moffat County control, the Maybell Volunteer Fire Department has undergone changes in its administrative personnel. The members of the Fire Department’s Advisory Board who were appointed in July 2007 have been working to improve the fire department inside and out.

Lois Stoffle was one of five applicants chosen by the Moffat County commissioners to fill the then-empty seats on the advisory board.

“We’ve been able to do a lot of new things since we’ve started working with the county,” Stoffle said.

“We’re still reorganizing and recruiting, but we’ve started changing some of our training techniques,” she said, adding that changes included Bureau of Land Management training received by certain volunteers, who are now certified to fight land fires.

Stoffle said that a new training process used by the Fire Department is to video-record sessions for volunteers who cannot attend every meeting so that they can remain on track.

“It’s been really helpful for people,” she said.

Erin Musser joined the board in September as secretary/treasurer.

“I think we’ve really done a lot,” Musser said. “We managed to slightly increase our budget, and a lot of that money went to our new truck.”

The board bid on, and purchased, a fire truck previously used by Craig Fire/Rescue.

“It’s much bigger than the trucks we’re used to, so that’s a real upgrade,” Musser said.

The advisory board also has bought new equipment, such as gloves and helmets, and has appointed Dan Strickland as the Fire Department’s maintenance officer. They have held a variety of fundraisers to bring in money.

“We’re always attempting to do more,” Musser said.

Stoffle noted the improvements made around the Fire Department’s building, known to volunteer firefighters as “the Barn.”

“It’s a lot better organized than it used to be,” she said. “The whole area is cleaned up and sorted out, and a couple of our volunteers just built cabinets that we use as lockers. Everything we use has its place, now.”

Besides the physical renovations to the Fire Department, the advisory board members have restructured the rules that govern them.

“We’ve had to approve new bylaws for how the board is run,” Musser said. “We’ve decided on the term lengths for the board members, and we’ve defined our individual duties. We also had to determine the area boundaries of the fire department.”

Musser said she and the rest of the board members have a lot of goals for the future.

“For now, we just want to make little improvements that will last,” she said.

Stoffle is proud of the progress she has made with her fellow board members in the past year.

“I think that we’re even further along than we thought we’d be by now,” Stoffle said. “The progress has been really great, and we’ve made great strides. We know what we can do, and we’re looking forward to even more improvements.”

Andy Bockelman can be reached at 875-1796 or abockelman@craigdailypress.com.