Name of Department: Copperas Cove Fire Department

Location: Copperas Cove, Texas

Type: Combination

Area served: City of Copperas Cove and portions of Coryell, Bell and Lampasas counties; population: 32,000 (city) and 15,000 (county)

Services provided: Suppression, EMS, operations-level hazmat, basic rescue

Size of department: 52 paid and eight volunteer members

Number of stations: Three

Apparatus: One quint, one engine, two brush trucks, three ALS front-line ambulances, two reserve engines and two reserve ambulances

Annual Budget: $2,958,031

The Copperas Cove (Texas) Fire Department recently was named a finalist for the 2007 Fire Service Award for Excellence, presented by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and U.S. Safety Fire Technologies. The department was honored for its Mentoring Industrious Minds & Educating Students Program.

The weeklong program, hosted in partnership with Copperas Cove Independent School District, exposes seventh-grade students to fire and EMS as a career and teaches students how academics such as math and science apply in the working world. The program is structured so that half a day is spent in the classroom and half a day is spent in the field with hands-on activities.

The hands-on activities expose students to important life skills as well as career information. Students learn how to extinguish a fire using a portable fire extinguisher, how to provide basic first aid, how to save themselves and others in a smoke-filled building, and participate in several hands-on projects such as hose streams, breathing apparatus, and search-and-rescue drills.

While there is always lots of fun, students also participate in some more serious activities such as the daily station duties or chores around the firehouse. These duties include washing hose, emptying trash, sweeping, mopping, and other cleaning.

Finally, students are educated on leadership by dividing the class into three “shifts” with one student serving as the “shift officer of the day,” where he or she is responsible for the shift's attendance, participation, chores and more.

Chief Dennis Haas has served as chief since February 2004. He began his career with the Abilene (Texas) Fire Department in 1979. He also served as program chair for fire protection programs at Austin Community College and as the county fire marshal for Travis County. Haas has an associate's degree in fire protection and a bachelor's degree in public administration. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Arson Investigators, the National Association of Fire Investigators, the Texas Fire Chief's Association, the Texas Fireman's & Fire Marshal's Association, and recently was appointed to the National Fire Protection Association's Technical Committee for fire officer professional qualifications.