DANVILLE — Smokey Bear has arrived in town, thanks to two Fire Department employees who chose to take on the project on their own time.
Firefighter Joe DeRusha and Fire Ward Jan Pouliot combined their talents to design and build a fire danger sign for the Main Street fire station. An 8-foot-tall Smokey Bear and his fire dog, Sparky, now stand in front of the fire station to warn residents of the fire danger index.
"Joe, a very artistic person, sketched the sign, then Jan took over and hand carved the sign and painted it," fire Chief Steve Woitkun said. "Jan did this on her own time, in the basement of her home, spending many hours on the project."
"It was fun," Pouliot said. "A lot of people have been stopping by and commenting. They like the dog, but the dog officer has already noticed that he doesn't have a dog license."
Woitkun said six or seven years ago, the Danville Fire Explorers donated money to the Fire Association for the purpose of purchasing a sign designed to inform and educate residents on the level of fire danger, and whether or not outside burning permits would be available due to weather conditions.
But the project was sidelined until DeRusha and Pouliot took it on about a year ago. Other signs carved by Pouliot have hung in town for years, like the "Welcome to Danville" sign, the sign for Danville Elementary School, and the sign for the fire safety complex.
"This sign will aid the Fire Department by informing the public when the fire danger is high and no outside burning is allowed," Woitkun said. "This will hopefully cut down on brush fires we respond to and other outside burning calls, thus saving the taxpayers the cost of apparatus and personnel responding."
State law requires permits for outside burning. They can be obtained at the Danville Fire Department, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Wednesday, from 7 to 9 p.m.
