Volunteer Spotlight: Steve Borts

Name:  Steve Borts
Title:  Chief
Department Name:  Jamestown Rural Fire Protection District
Location: Jamestown, MO

What is your career?
I work full time as a car/truck salesman at a local car dealership.

How long have you been an NVFC member?
2 years

Why are you an NVFC member?
To be totally honest, we joined NVFC because we needed new turnout gear, and they [NVFC in partnership with Globe and DuPont] offered the grant, along with a free year membership when applying. So that’s how we started. And I wish we would have done it along time ago. We will continue our membership years into the future.

Why are you a volunteer firefighter?
I was raised by my father in the fire service. It’s a passion I have for helping others. We all give our time and effort to help better our community! I’m even raising my kids to join the fire service someday.

How long have you been in the fire service?
23 years

What are your memorable moments as a firefighter or EMS provider?
I will always remember my first fire. It was the summer after I turned 16. It was actually a house of one of the firefighters – but when she picked up and dialed the fire department emergency number, she got a ‘busy’ signal. (This was pre -911 for our area). Because her phone was one of the phones that rang for the emergency number, she got a busy signal – because she in essence was calling herself. She came driving into town honking the horn, yelling and screaming that her house was on fire. Some of my friends and I hopped into my car and drove out there to see if we could help. The house was fully involved. We grabbed hoses off the truck and helped put water on the house. There were only two firefighters on the scene at the time. I’ll never forget the first one….. Nor the heartache and anxiety watching the homeowner as all their belongings go up in flames….

What contributions have you (and your department) made in your community?
We are a 100% volunteer department. The biggest thing we donate/contribute to our community is our TIME. We have training once a month for 4 hours. We have officer meetings once a month for 4 hours. And we have board meeting once a month for 4 hours. This doesn’t count the numerous hours it takes to keep the station in order, 10 trucks in top operational condition, or the gear all up to date and tested. Then – we just finished Firefighter 1 and 2 training for 16 of our 28 firefighters. This was a huge commitment as it took 360 hours to complete. And that does not include studying, set up time, nor testing for the class. So I would say that our firefighters’ most important contribution to the Jamestown community is their dedication of time. They don’t make more of it. All the time you spend at fire department activities is time away from family and friends……..but that is what it takes with a volunteer fire department.

* Interested in serving your community? Find volunteer fire service opportunities at www.MakeMeAFirefighter.org.