RIVERTON – It’s often been said it takes a special type of person to risk their life by running into a burning building.

A handful of men and women in our community risk their lives every time the pager tones sound. These exceptional people volunteer to keep our community safe.

Torrington Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) has been proudly serving the city of Torrington and Rural Fire District 3 since 1920. 

This year, TVFD has responded to approximately 90-100 calls.

Traditionally, the fire department is staffed with 40 on-call and reserve volunteer members that are willing to put their lives on hold anytime the community is in need. 

This weekend, 10 of those members headed to the 90th Annual Wyoming State Fire Convention in Riverton to show off their skills in a handful of fire suppression and prevention drills. 

The convention also serves as a great opportunity for fire department members to gain additional resources through the knowledge of other departments. 

There are door prizes, raffles and dinners for the members to attend throughout the weekend.  

Rural Division Chief, Mike Lira, was one of the members from the Torrington City team who competed this year.

Lira, following his father Albert’s footsteps, took an early interest in TVFD.

“I used to go down to the fire station with my dad as a kid and thought that was something I always wanted to do once I was old enough. I finally had the chance to sign up and I enjoyed it,” Lira said.

Lira recalls attending the prior conventions with his dad however he’s proudly served on the drill competition teams for seven years. 

“We took fifth overall for the first team (Torrington City) and seventh for the second team (Torrington Rural),” Lira said. 

“I like the chop [Cellar drill]. It’s challenging. The year before last, we missed it [first place] by 1/10th of a second and last year we took first, so we were hoping to get it again, Lira said, “It seems like we are pretty strong in that event.”

There were a multitude of events and celebrations the members participated in throughout the weekend. The events showcase the dexterity of the team members as they work together. 

“The cellar drill consists of the five-man team racing down the field the plug man jumped off and attaches the hose to the hydrant. The axe man chops a hole while the other members clamp and work on getting the nozzle put on the end of the hose and stuff to nozzle on the hole,” Lira said. 

TVFD city team was on a roll during the chop drill however they sustained penalties.

“Our first event, which was the replacement, is where we got two penalties, one for touching the hose and not having the hose completely tight. Another penalty was on the chop for spraying water before it made it in the hole,” Lira explained. 

Afton, Newcastle, Lander and Riverton fire departments also competed this weekend.

Another portion of the competitions that TVFD City team did well in is the Wye contest. 

“A Wye is an appliance we use that takes one hose coming in and splits to two hoses going out,” Cody Scott, TVFD Training Division Chief and member of the TVFD city team said. “The truck starts it’s run and drops the plug man off at the hydrant. Then lays out the hose. A guy sets the clamp behind the second coupling, it is then broken at that coupling and a Wye is put in. Then two sections of hose are connected, one to each leg of the Wye with nozzles. Then the two nozzle men must hit separate targets to complete the run,” Scott explained.

Scott also began his career with TVFD at a young age. 

“I joined the fire department right after high school in 2007. I ran drill my first three years on the rural team,” Scott said, “I got back into it last year when I was able to have the time off in the summer to make it to convention. Joined the city team last season in Lander.”

Although the teams didn’t do as well as expected, they still came home winners. 

The TVFD city team took third place in the Wye contest and third in the ladder contest. 

“Michael Schuler was awarded a belt buckle for his outstanding performance at the clamp,” Lira added.

TFVD is looking forward to next year’s fire convention that will be held Afton. 

“We get one weekend that we can come down and practice, so we will head to Afton a couple weeks before the event,” Lira said.

Torrington will be hosting the 2025 Wyoming State Fire Convention. 

“We usually try to go out and get the community involved and let them know we are hosting the event,” Lira said. “Usually, people will help by donating stuff like money, door prizes and stuff like that. We go out and sell raffle tickets and get raffle prizes.” 

Over the years, participation in the convention has decreased.

“I think at one time there was anywhere from 15-16 teams that they had,” Lira said. “It [the convention] is slowly dying. We [TVFD] didn’t run for a few years just because we didn’t have the members. It takes a lot of time practicing. It’s a great time to get together and meet other people.”

If you are interested in becoming a member of the TVFD you can contact any member of the department or stop by the department Monday nights at 7 p.m. You can also reach out to them on their Facebook page for more information.