KEARNEY, Neb. — Serving as a volunteer firefighter is already a challenge.

But what the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department has faced recently goes far beyond the typical trials and tests.

“Yeah, the last week has just been, it’s been brutally tough,” Fire Administrator Jason Whalen said.

Fire Administrator Jason Whalen says state’s largest volunteer fire department responded to 30 fire calls and three rescue calls over the last week, a number well above the norm. Most of the calls came in the dark of the night… and almost all involved wind chill values more than 20 degrees below zero.

“We’ve got concerns with the safety of our firefighters, we got concerns with the apparatus, the water," Whalen said. "Water freezes relatively quick in (negative) 20-degree weather. There’s always a challenge to our diesel motors.”

The dreadful week for Kearney firefighters climaxed around 3:30 Sunday morning with a call about smoke coming from this house on B Avenue. They didn’t know details about any people in the house. They searched, found 61-year-old Terry Grossman and pulled her from the blaze, but she died shortly after.

“So it’s emotional for our guys. It’s tough, but again, nobody quit," Whalen said. "Everybody kept going.”

They worked for nearly five hours before considering the fire under control. The wind chill was -35.

“Bunker would really, actually freeze solid," Whalen said. "We actually had extra bunker gear brought to the scene, we had extra radios brought to the scene — all of our equipment, we were bringing extra equipment because stuff was freezing up. Our air packs, our regulators, everything was freezing up.”

A photo by Kearney Police Officer Derrick Hosick captured firefighter Bill Schaffnitt during the response. He had been on a ladder spraying water into the attic and was exhausted.

“That is our community," Whalen said. "That’s the city of Kearney, Buffalo County. That’s what makes us unique. All of our agencies work side by side together and we support each other.”

Firefighters also responded to an apartment fire Tuesday morning that displaced 10 people. Neither that residence, nor the house on B Avenue had working smoke detectors.

“That’s really how we want you to help us," Whalen said. "Make sure your smoke detectors are working, your carbon monoxide detectors are working and you’re checking them to make sure.”