Jim Kutzman is now serving as Auburn’s new Rural Fire Chief as of Jan. 1, 2012.

Kutzman has been serving the community as a volunteer firefighter for 21 years and says he enjoys helping people in any way he can. He says this recent promotion is just one more way he can help and is looking forward to working closely with the 27 other volunteer firefighters who protect and serve this side of the county.

Kutzman admits this was something he was working towards because he has a lot of ideas he would like to see implemented in the department that would bring about better coverage, as well as better moral for the many men and women who risk their lives when called out.

The veteran fireman can’t say enough about his fellow firefighters of the Auburn Rural Fire Department. He says they are all very dedicated to their duties as firefighters and care very much about their community and the people who live within it.

Kutzman, who owns his own business, is married to the former Norma Pillow and they live in Auburn with their daughter London. Being a firefighter is very personal to Kutzman because he is serving in the community where his family resides, and bringing about the best protection he and the other firefighters can is extremely important to him.

One of the most recent ideas to come about at the department has been born at the hands of firefighter Kyle Hampton who graciously agreed to put his computer skills to work and design the very first Auburn Rural Fire Department website, which will host a plethora of information concerning the department, their runs, training and up and coming events.

Kutzman says the website will be a positive and informative way to connect with the public and praised Hampton for his hard work.

The website, www.auburnkyfire.com also offers a historical look into the department as well as a way to donate.

According to the website, the Auburn City Fire Department was established in 1920 with Vance Hogan being the first fire chief. In an effort to better protect the rural community, the Auburn Rural Fire Department was established in 1967. The Auburn Fire Department now has 27 active volunteer firefighters serving the community including seven EMT's, one paramedic, and a large percentage of CPR/AED certified firefighters.

The Auburn Fire Department is one of six fire departments in Logan County. They cover approximately 150 square miles which is all areas north to the Butler County Line, east to the Warren County Line, south to the Simpson County Line, and west to the Russellville Rural Fire Department district. They protect approximately 1500 citizens within the city limits of Auburn and 1000's more within their district. The Auburn Fire Department consists of a Rural Fire Department and a City Fire Department. For administrative reasons, each department must have a separate chief and on paper are considered two departments. However, the departments are considered one department by the firefighters that volunteer for them. No firefighter is a volunteer for the city and not the rural nor vice versa. In other words, all firefighters of the Auburn Fire Department are both city and rural volunteer firefighters.

Jeff Gregory serves as the Auburn City Fire Chief with Kutzman as his assistant and vise verse for the rural department.

The Auburn Fire Department currently maintains an Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating of six. This rating helps determine insurance premiums paid by homeowners and businesses. Classification is assigned from one to 10. It is the goal of the department to drop that score to at least a five by the end of 2012.

Fire department revenue primarily comes from voluntary annual dues paid by the community's residential and commercial property owners. The department also receives some revenue from fees for responses to non-member incidents. There is never a charge for any medical response and residents who have paid dues for the current year are not charged a fee for any responses.

The website offers the ability to donate to the organization online. A donator can simply fill out a form online to begin the process. They will then be directed to a PayPal secure page to enter credit card information and finalize the transaction.

In 2010, the Auburn Fire Department made 659 responses. Thirty-eight percent of those responses were medical related and the largest percentage of the non-medical responses were for vehicle accidents and brush fires. In 2010, they had approximately 45 structure fires.

If you have any questions Kutzman wants people to feel free to contact him at 725-1925 or Gregory at 772-1605.

Both chiefs and all the fire fighters on the Auburn fire departments want those in the community to know they are there to serve them and if someone is in need they will be there.