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Oasis Volunteer Fire Department is ready

The small rural fire district shows how to prepare for fire season
Posted at 10:12 AM, May 29, 2023
and last updated 2023-05-29 12:12:34-04

OASIS, Idaho — Have you ever heard of Oasis, Idaho? And did you know they have a volunteer fire department that plays a crucial role in keeping lives and property safe in a lot of open space between Boise and Mountain Home?

Not far from the Simco Road exit off I-84, south of town stands a fire station all by itself. Bob Ruth, a Vietnam veteran and former Chief of the department may be retired but still ready to lend a hand.

"Well, it's been in my blood for years and years," said Ruth.

Over twenty years ago, Bob remembers how a few families decided they needed better protection from unpredictable prairie fires, because they understood that BLM fire crews have a lot of room to cover.

"They got together and said hey, we got to get something out here where we can protect ourselves, we can't rely on these people to come down."

Jolene Hobdey was one of those early homesteaders and acts as the department dispatcher. She makes sure every volunteer is checked in and accounted for when the bell rings.

"Do you know how important it is to build in an area that has a fire district?" asks Jolene. "Your insurance [availability and costs], for one thing. The other is mortgages, a lot of places won't lend you the money if you don't have protection."

Jolene's husband Jim is in charge of the vehicles and makes sure they, too, are ready when the time comes.

Jim tells us there have been some close calls. "Sometimes we've had chunks of sagebrush burning around tires. We've never caught one on fire, yet," says Jim.

But what has caught on fire are vehicles that can't get out of the way of the flames, and what's left. Jim showed us his collection of molten aluminum, letting us know that is what they often find once the fire is out.

So to help prevent that from happening to your car, home, or livestock, the VFD urges residents to get educated. Anyone can come to the department and walk through a display garden of fire-wise landscaping. Filled with low-volatile plants and shrubs that are also drought-tolerant.

To all the volunteer fire departments in Idaho, including Oasis, keep up the good work.