KVFD serves the community one chicken at a time

Over the hot morning breakfast before the rush of the day, volunteers sat in the open department garage, eating, sharing jokes and talking. Some of their children milled around, possible future Kidron Village Fire Department volunteers, experiencing and contributing to the camaraderie.

The volunteers — including those on the roster, their families and other community members — were gearing up for grilling and distributing 6,200 chicken halves for their annual chicken barbecue, an event that has grown and expanded over the years. But the goal has always remained the same — to raise funds to support the volunteer-led fire and EMS department.

The contributions from the 2024 spring and fall barbecues bought a full set of extraction tools, commonly known as the Jaws of Life. This year the raised funds aren't earmarked for anything in particular but will help ensure a continued quick response time to people experiencing emergencies.

“The average response time for a volunteer to leave the building on a squad call last year was 3.18 minutes,” Fire Chief Jon Peters said. “That's with no one on staff at the department. For fire, since they have to put on fire gear, it took 5.12 to leave on a call.”

KVFD is in charge of 19 square miles, plus mutual aid to other departments. In 2024 it had a record number of 344 runs. This year Peters said the department is set to surpass that number.

Currently, there are 26 on the roster, and they're all volunteers. They like to have 30, so they're a few short. They prefer volunteers to have both EMS and firefighter training but also have people who only do one or the other.

Peters said they are always looking for more volunteers but that he always tells interested people the same thing with a smile.

“You may not be able to make it to every call, but you will be here on the first Tuesday of August to help with the barbecue,” he said.

He shared about the closeness of the department and how they took excellent care of a loved one of his when he was out of town and for the weeks following.

“We are the closest family,” he said.

Miller Poultry from Indiana, which recently bought Gerber's Poultry, supported the barbecue by donating 11,222 pounds of chicken 

They also have a chicken barbecue in the spring, with a drive-thru for chicken only and no meal. In the spring they made 3,000 chicken halves.