The Hessel Station, (Station 1) is located
at 4500 Hessel Road. and is considered our headquarters and business
office. There is a core group of dedicated volunteers living
nearby who respond day and night to approximately 350 emergency
calls for service a year. This station is also staffed
with part-time employees.
Station Two,
located at 1690 Watertrough Road, is also known as the Twin Hills
Station. This is our busiest station, running just under 400
calls per year. Most of time, Station Two is staffed 24 hours
a day; volunteers support the paid staff on incidents requiring
additional equipment or personnel. Originally built by the
volunteers in 1961, this station was completely remodeled with
a large addition, in 1996.
 Station Three, the Freestone Station, is the smallest of
our stations and is located on Bohemian Highway in the community of
Freestone. Running just under 150 calls per year, this station
houses one engine and one water tender, and is staffed by
volunteers. Though the numbers are small, the dedication and
length of service from the Freestone volunteers is hard to
match.
Although we attempt to staff our
stations 24 hours a day, staffing levels are not always
consistent. Volunteers provide staffing as part-time paid
engineers (one each) during the day at Stations One and Two whenever
possible. Volunteer firefighters also work evening "sleeper
shifts" at these stations; a small stipend is provided in exchange
for this service. Staffing for the daytime and sleeper shifts
is supplemented by volunteers responding from home.
For many years, the Hessel, Twin
Hills, and Freestone Fire Departments provided fire service for the
rural Sebastopol area. As the region has grown, our
departments have merged in an effort to reduce costs without
reducing services. While our level of training,
equipment, and size have changed, this is essentially the same
volunteer system that has protected our area since the 1950's
and 1960's.
We take pride in the fact that many
of our newer residents don't even realize the task of
protecting their families and property fall into the hands of truly
professional "volunteers". Please
support your local volunteer fire department.
Become a
Volunteer | 
