Departments

The Nyssa Community is served and protected by twenty-one dedicated volunteer firemen, who annually donate thousands of hours and often place themselves in danger to protect their fellow citizens and their property. Not one member of the department is a paid professional. Nyssa Fire Chief Marvin Seuell and Assistant Fire Chief’s Dusty Simpson and Pedro Vasquez JR and their loyal crews take great pride in their level of training, skills, and high level of commitment to the community of Nyssa.

Some facts demonstrate this fact:

Each fireman spends over 100 hours of training per year to maintain and improve skills. New department members must undergo an initial training of up to four rigorous days. Every member of the department must be certified in basic fire fighting techniques, first aid, and CPR. Each fireman is responsible for the care and maintenance of personal equipment, as well as contributing to the constant maintenance and cleaning of the trucks and other equipment. The fire department has had an average of nearly 100 calls per year. Often the firemen are called from their jobs or their homes in the middle of the night, in bad weather, and on occasion must perform their duties under very difficult circumstances.

The Nyssa Fire Department is actually two cooperative depts., the City of Nyssa and Nyssa Rural. It was determined long ago that a cooperative agreement between the two departments, to share equipment, training, and budgets would provide a higher level of service to both the city and the surrounding rural areas of Nyssa. Each department contributes budgeted funds for the maintenance of the departments and for the purchase of necessary equipment.

The constant need to repair and replace aging equipment is a concern for the department personnel. The specialized trucks and other equipment are extremely expensive. Current major vehicles and equipment include: three pumpers, two tankers, 6 brush trucks. Only one of the trucks is less than twenty years old, which is a concern for the department leaders.
In addition to the basic vehicles, a wide-range of equipment is owned by the departments, from the individual member’s personal equipment to life-saving equipment such as the “jaws-of-life” and other specialized tools. The Nyssa departments are recognized by other regional departments and one of the best trained and equipped departments in the valley.

Of course, the most important benefit to the community is the high level of protection that such a well trained, managed, and equipped department provides to the citizens. Another important benefit from having such a highly rated department is that fire insurance companies closely consider the quality of local fire departments in determining the relative rates for fire insurance. Nyssa fire insurance rates are comparatively lower than other communities, due to the high rating the departments receive annually.

Beyond a doubt, Nyssa is well served by the members of the Nyssa Fire Department!