Last Friday, Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) crews responded to one of the more unusual calls of the year: a cow moose stranded in a backyard pond.

After the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife advised they wouldn’t be able to respond until the following day, volunteers from Humane Evacuation Animal Rescue Team (HEART) and their Technical Large Animal Rescue (TLAR) team stepped in and requested assistance from SVFD.

SVFD says rescuers developed a plan to help the moose back onto dry land. Crews tried several options, including building a ladder ramp. Initially, the moose refused to use the ramp, but eventually was able to climb out of the pond and quickly returned to grazing nearby.

Despite being stuck in the pond for approximately five hours, she appeared to have avoided any serious injuries. “A huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers with the Humane Evacuation Animal Rescue Team HEART Spokane and their Technical Large Animal Rescue Division. Their expertise played a critical role in the successful outcome of this rescue,” said SVFD in a Facebook post.

KREM-TV CBS 2 Spokane

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PHOTOS: The Juniper Dunes fire northeast of Pasco in Franklin County had spread across nearly 10,600 acres, or 16 square miles, by Monday evening and was 0% contained, according to the Southeast Washington Inter-agency Team. The Washington Fire Chiefs Association reported that the fire appeared to be human caused, but provided no details.

No structures have burned, but late afternoon Monday a Level 2 evacuation order was issued for areas near the Juniper Dunes in Franklin County. Franklin County Emergency Management has posted the evacuation zone on its Facebook page. Residents were told there was a significant threat in their area and that they should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

The fire had been burning toward the northeast since Saturday night from the area around the northern part of Juniper Dunes Road, driven at times by the wind. On Monday, it was burning in the Juniper Dunes recreation area 10 miles northeast of Pasco and spreading into the Juniper Dunes Wilderness. Southeast Washington Inter-agency Incident Management Team personnel had arrived to help on Sunday.

About 80 fire crew members were on scene Monday, and the fire also was being fought from the air with multiple air tankers using water from the Snake River, according to the fire chiefs association. As fire spread into the wilderness area, access to it with firefighting vehicles as not possible, and firefighting was being done with hand tools. There are no roads or maintained trails in the wilderness area. No firefighters have been injured.

Tri-City Herald – Metered Site

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Morehead City Fire-EMS has opened a new $2 million Station 3, replacing temporary facilities used since Hurricane Florence.

The post Morehead City (NC) Opens New $2M Station Replacing Hurricane-Damaged Facility appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The North Thompsonville Fire Department in Connecticut donated a fire engine and spare equipment to the Searsmont Fire Department in Maine after a recent fire destroyed their apparatus.

The post CT Department Donates Fire Engine to ME Department that Lost Rig in Explosion appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

Painesville City Council will consider legislation to seek nearly $280,000 in federal funding from FEMA to replace aging emergency medical equipment for the fire department.

The post Painesville (OH) Firefighters Seek Grant to Replace Aging Cardiac Monitors, Aeds appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.