User:Oelkersr

Chena-Goldstream Fire & Rescue
Chena-Goldstream Fire & Rescue(CGFR) is a small combination fire department located near Fairbanks, Alaska. The fire department was established by local volunteers in 1977. The department shares boarders with 3 other fire departmens in the Fairbanks area, Ester Volunteer Fire Department, University Fire Department, and Steese Area Volunteer Fire Department.

== History ==

Chena-Goldstream was established in 1977 by a group of residents in the local area that wanted better fire protection. The department initially operated as a bucket brigade. In the early days, water was very scarce as most of the water had to be hauled up a rough road from the bottom of the hill. As the department became larger, the need for more infrastructure made it necessary to build a station to hold the various apparatus the department owned at that time.

Eventually Station 1 was built on Murphy Dome Road and later Station 2 on Chena Ridge Road.

A famed part of the history of the department came in the ‘80’s when the department was operated as a subscription service. In those days the department was operated by collecting subscription fees from residents on a monthly basis. Your property would only be protected if you had been paying your bills. Eventually the unthinkable happened and a house caught on fire that had not paid their subscription bill. When the fire department arrived, the Chief of the department determined that the house was not protected and made the unpopular decision to let the fire burn and only protect the exposures. Eventually the department became funded by property taxes paid by the residents of the fire service area and the subscription service was ended. Still to this day, many houses still display their house number on the old signs used to indicate they were part of the subscription service.

== Fire Stations ==

Currently CGFR operates out of 4 stations. The first station to be built was Station 1 on Murphy Dome Road. The current headquarters is at Station 2, which is located on Chena Ridge Road on land donated by one of the founders of CGFR, Nilo Koponen. Station 3 is the newest station to be built and is located on the Eastern side of the district on Goldstream Road. Station 4 is located at the intersection of Potter Road and Becker Ridge Road near the end of Rosie Creek Road. While commonly referred to, Station 6 is not an official station. This is the term that is commonly used to describe the Pump House.