Eliza Dieck, Opinions Editor
On Sept. 25, 2025, the Sewanee Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) received a Certificate of Appreciation from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for implementing the “Best Community Risk Reduction Plan in Tennessee.” The official presentation of the award took place in Jackson, Tennessee. Jim Terrell, Dean of the School of Theology accepted the award on behalf of SVFD.
Fire Chief Terry Smith stated this award signifies that “we care about the community and we want to prevent accidents from happening. The wellbeing of the University is the most important thing to us.”
Along with the Certificate of Appreciation, SVFD was granted a $70,000 grant from the Volunteer Firefighter Equipment and Training Grant Program (VFEAT) in June. With this grant, SVFD purchased a self contained breathing apparatus fill station, known as an SCB8. The self contained breathing apparatuses allow the firefighters to breathe and protect them from harmful gases while doing their job on the fire ground.
The SVFD mission statement declares that its members “aggressively protect the Mountain we serve in all firefighting and rescue operations through our commitment to resilience, integrity, training, and service.” Since its inception in 1951, SVFD has done just that.
During the advent semester of 2024, SVFD collaborated with the Bonner Canale Program, the Tennessee Fire Marshal Office, and the Assistant Director of Philanthropy to initiate a comprehensive Community Risk Reduction Plan (CRR) with the goal of “getting ahead of the call.” SVFD is one of thirty-one fire departments in Tennessee that have created a CRR and received approval for its passing.
In an interview with The Sewanee Purple, Terry Smith stated that the CRR aims to analyze “everything from annual incomes and popular fire causes to determine how we can prevent incidents from happening in the future.”
In the beginning of the CRR, SVFD and collaborative entities describe the demographics of the Sewanee community through housing characteristics, socioeconomic profiles and education. The CRR describes three predominant risks considering these demographics to the Domain: fire loss (commercial fire), community wildland urban interface, and data quality issues related to fire reporting. Through education, community and structural initiatives, SVFD is seeking to reduce these risks by 15% in the next year.
Student Fire Chief Jed Straessle (C ’26) stated that the Community Risk Reduction Plan (CRR) demonstrates that “we care about the community around us and we are here for more than just fighting fires.”
Chief Smith affirmed that the creation of the CRR “came pretty easy to us because there is a strong buy in from the Sewanee community.” The formulation of the CRR encapsulates the strength of the Sewanee community and epitomizes the priority we place on relationships among students, faculty, administrators and community members. The CRR will be re-evaluated annually, integrating new initiatives because as Chief Smith stated, SVFD seeks to be “proactive rather than reactive.”
These honors exemplify the SVFD’s fulfillment of their mission statement to “protect the Mountain.” Straessle stated “the fire department is showcasing something that we haven’t in years. We are here for the greater Sewanee community. The community risk reduction plan provides fire prevention for everyone.”