The Rochford Rural Fire Association was formally organized on September 13, 1974 after a number of houses in our small town and surrounding area burned to the ground. The two closest fire departments at that time were in Lead and Hill City. We currently cover approximately 212 square miles with a very low population density. Our fire district is approximately 60% in Pennington County and 40% in Lawrence County.
The Rochford Volunteer Fire Department is an all volunteer department with a roster of 20 members. If you are interested in becoming a member you are welcome to come to our monthly business meeting on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the fire hall. You are welcome to attend even if just to see what the meetings are all about and what we do. If you decide to join, there is some time commitment involved but we don't ask you to make the fire department your entire life. We try to be as flexible as we can be with training, meeting attendance, etc. and we have a pretty good group right now that is social and friendly.
The Rochford Volunteer Fire Department is an all volunteer department with a roster of 20 members. If you are interested in becoming a member you are welcome to come to our monthly business meeting on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the fire hall. You are welcome to attend even if just to see what the meetings are all about and what we do. If you decide to join, there is some time commitment involved but we don't ask you to make the fire department your entire life. We try to be as flexible as we can be with training, meeting attendance, etc. and we have a pretty good group right now that is social and friendly.
Fire
Right now the fire department operates three fire engines and one water tender:
We also have a supply of AFFF foam for use on flammable liquid fires. Engine 1-1, Engine 3-1, and Engine 6-1 all carry the Barricade fire gel system for structure protection during wildland fires. |
Medical & Rescue
Over the past several years our calls have increasingly gone from wildland response and structure protection to medical calls. We are a basic life support (BLS) company capable of CPR/AED and we have two AEDs (automatic external defibrillator). We will treat what is within our scope of practice and wait for either the Hill City Ambulance, the Lead/ Deadwood Ambulance, Black Hills Life Flight helicopter or the Rapid City Fire Department's Ambulance service. Rescue functions in the area are provided by either Lawrence County Search and Rescue out of Lead, SD or Pennington County Search and Rescue out of Rapid City, SD. Our volunteers will assist as much as possible in all rescue and search and rescue calls, to the extent that their training allows. All of our medical and rescue training and equipment is funded solely by donations and our department fundraisers. Tax district monies, by state law, are reserved for fire related expenditures only. If you have any questions, concerns, or are interested in joining the fire department we can be reached at: Rochford Rural Fire Association 11696 Rochford Road Hill City, SD 57745 (60five)5eight4-two5three0 contact us form e-mail rochford fire dept |