By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The Hays Fire Department offers a “Ride-Along” program for local adults to learn more about the services provided by the department.

According to Brandon Zimmerman, he and his fellow firefighters are not “sitting around waiting for the fire alarm to sound.” Until that happens, they are busy performing “many different services, which most residents are not aware of,” explained Zimmerman.

“If a person has a weird sound in their house and they don’t know what it is, they call (fire) dispatch and we come over and we’ll investigate it.

“Sometimes it’s a simple as somebody’s phone is making a noise that they’ve never heard before and we’ll come and investigate. Things as simple as that all the way up to gas leaks, water leaks, CO2 alarms, structure fires.

“Sometimes a car bumps their house. They’re not for sure if it did anything structurally. We come, sound out the building, make sure it’s structurally safe and then get them in contact with the people they need to take care of the problem,” Zimmerman said.

“And yes,” Zimmerman added with a smile, “We also rescue cats out of trees.”

To participate in the Ride-Along program, call the Hays Fire Department at (785) 628-7330. A minimum ride-along of four hours is recommended and selected participants will sign a liability waiver.