Save lives, preserve property and the environment, and ensure the health and safety of ourselves and the community.

Our Core Values:

TEAMWORK
The Fire Department recognizes that only through effective communication, positive attitude, shared workloads, and collective commitments to common goals will we be able to meet our responsibilities to our customers, and each other. Only through constructive actions, comments, suggestions, and openness to new ideas, will our team goals and objectives be met. "We" rather than "I" shall be the prevailing attitude and practice.

SERVICE
We will provide quality life safety, health care, property conservation, and environmental preservation for our customers in a safe, timely, professional, and effective manner.

COMPETENCE
We will strive to be proficient and optimally effective in our professional practice. We will work to continually improve, by all available means, our knowledge of the profession and our individual and collective performances.

INTEGRITY
We will be honest, forthright, loyal, and articulate in all of our daily communications and activities. We will treat our customers, and each other with respect and courtesy at all times.

ADVOCACY
We will act to expand choice, promote wisdom, and provide opportunity by empowering those with whom we work to enhance their careers and make informed decisions. Special efforts will be made to act as advocates for the community we serve, the Department, and our individual members.

CONFIDENTIALITY
The privacy of all our customers and members will be respected, and all information obtained in the course of our professional service will be handled with sensitivity and respect.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPROVEMENT
Through objective and measurable means, we will take responsibility for identifying, developing, and fully utilizing knowledge for continuous quality improvement in our individual and collective performances.

FAIRNESS
We will be fair and understanding in developing, implementing, and evaluating policy and practice, as well as in our personal interactions with others. We will seek to maintain an appropriate balance between community, City, Department, and individual priorities

The Public Information section of the Tea Volunteer Fire Department is always looking for ways to enrich the community in which we serve. We currently encourage the school district in which we provide fire, rescue and hazmat service to continue to do the good job that they have done in promoting fire safety with the fire drills, participating in fire prevention week each year and by distributing fire prevention poster/color books for the elementary kids.

We encourage the adults to join us in participating in a future ongoing training programs by teaching their children how to safely cook without causing a fire, smoke detector battery checks and the Stop, Drop and Roll program. We encourage all adults to be proactive when it comes to fire prevention!

Public Relations are also responsible for coordinating the activities of the fire department with the public and other fire departments. Activities such as Fire Prevention engagements, fire department trucks for parades, open house for businesses, grand openings, church functions and any other needs the community might have for the fire department. Anyone, whether living in an apartment or house, may request for a scheduled appointment for the equipment and building facilities that the Tea Volunteer Fire Department has to offer. We as a fire department are always eager to lend a helping hand to our community, schools and neighbors.

Firefighter,Alex Curryis our Public Relations Officer. You can contact himatcurry90@gmail.com or (507) 215-2456.

The last Monday of each month Tea Fire and Rescue holds department wide training for its members as well as special training sessions when needed. Training is held on all sorts of topics, some are but not limited to:

Hazardous Materials (Hazmat)

Vehicle and farm execration

Emergency Medical Training (EMT)

First ad and First responders

Truck/Hose operations

Interstate safety

Severe Weather/Emergency Management

Certified Fire Fighters classes

Driver/Pump Operator classes

General Fire Safety Tips

• Keep a fire extinguisher in your home and car, and read the directions.
• Dial 911 before attempting to attack the fire yourself, no matter how small the fire seems.
• Remember that lives are much more valuable than property. If you're out of the building, STAY OUT!
• Don't smoke in bed.
• Don't leave your cigarettes or other lit smoking materials unattended.
• Keep ashtrays away from curtains, upholstered furniture, and other combustibles.
• Always look for the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) or Factory Mutual (FM) labels when purchasing appliances, storage containers or electrical accessories.
• Remember that smoke, heat and toxic gases from fires can kill you long before flames get to your part of the structure. KEEP LOW when evacuating.

Home Fire Safety Tips

• Set up Evacuation Drills in the Home (EDITH) - practice evacuating your house, and meeting at the designated point OUTSIDE.
• GET OUT of your house if you have a fire - call 911 from your neighbor's house.
• Take a walk around your house, shed, garage and property. Repair or discard any unsafe items, and make sure you have any flammable materials stored safely.
• Discard properly any soiled cleaning rags or towels. Soiled material can spontaneously combust under certain conditions.
• Clean your clothes dryer's filter between each load.
• Pull your dryer out from the wall, and ensure that there isn't a dangerous buildup of lint behind the dryer or in the exhaust hose.
• Make sure that everything you put in the dishwasher is safe for dishwasher use - plastic can burn from contacting the heating element.

Fire Safety Tips Regarding Children

• Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children.
• Teach your children never to play with matches, lighters, or fireworks.
• Teach your children how to call 911, as well as their address and telephone number.
• Teach your children the "Stop, Drop, and Roll" method to extinguish flames on themselves.

Cooking

• Never "Barbecue" or grill indoors on a smoker or barbecue grill. These devices are intended for outdoor use only.
• Keep your grill at least 30 feet from any structures - for residents of apartments, condominiums and townhouses, it's the law. For the rest of us, it's just an excellent idea.
• Don't leave food unattended on the stove.
• Keep dangling clothing away from burners.
• Turn handles on pots and pans so that they can't be knocked off the stove accidently.
• Keep appliances clean and free of grease and crumbs.
• Make sure your stove is turned off and small appliances unplugged before leaving the house or going to bed.

Smoke Detectors

• Consider installing both a photo-electric and ionization smoke detector in your house. While photo-electric detectors may react quicker than ionization detectors, the photo-electric detectors may not detect the black smoke generated by synthetic materials as quickly as the white smoke generated by natural materials.
• Check your smoke detectors monthly, and replace the batteries in them in the spring and fall when you adjust your clocks.
• Install at least one smoke detector on each floor of your house, away from air vents, and at least six inches away from walls and corners.
• Install smoke detectors near bedrooms.
• If there are any smokers in the house, install a smoke detector in their bedroom.
• If your smoke detector sounds while you are in bed, DON'T SIT UP! Roll out of bed, and stay low to the floor - remember that the heat and toxic gases are up higher.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors

If you burn anything in your house, such as wood, natural gas, propane, kerosene, or coal, install a Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector. This device can warn you of potentially deadly CO gas before the concentration reaches the harmful level.

Learn the warning signs of CO poisoning: redness of the skin, headaches, dizziness, nausea, and weakness, loss of muscle control, chest tightness, heart fluttering, sleepiness, confusion, vomiting or diarrhea. If more than one person in the household is sick, and they feel better after being away from the house for a while, CO poisoning should be suspected. If you suspect CO poisoning, get out of the house and call the fire department.

South Dakota State Fire Marshall Site

Fire Prevention Website