VIDEO: More than two decades after retiring, former Springdale Fire Chief Mickey Jackson still remembers some of the department’s biggest calls like they happened yesterday.

Jackson spent a combined 37 years leading the Springdale and Fayetteville fire departments – an illustrious career in Northwest Arkansas that started in 1964. “Springdale was growing real fast,” Jackson said.

“When I became chief, we had a population of 12,000 people. Gutensohn Road was the west city limits line, and Mountain Road was the east city limits line.”

As the city boomed, Springdale transitioned from an all-volunteer fire department to a full-time force. Out of 16 applicants, Jackson — just 23 years old at the time — was selected as the city’s first full-time paid fire chief.

“Nationally, there weren’t any 23-year-old fire chiefs in the country then,” Jackson said. “So I knew they were taking a chance on me.”

Jackson said the department was in need of modernization when he took over leadership – and the community stood behind them. “There wasn’t any doubt when I took over the department that it was behind the times,” Jackson said.

“A major turning point for me was in 1966 when we presented to the citizens the bond issue just for fire department improvement, and they overwhelmingly approved it.” That investment helped modernize the department.

KFSM-TV CBS 5 Fort Smith

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Several residents at a Plymouth Township apartment complex are displaced following a massive fire on Thursday morning.

According to Plymouth Township Fire Chief Pat Conely, several residents called in the fire around 11:30 a.m. at Hines Park Place Apartments near Wilcox and Haggerty roads.

Conely said the fire started in the back corner of one unit, and then transitioned to the far section of the building. In all, about eight units in the first building were impacted by the fire, and another 16 units in another building were affected by smoke.

Conely said a third building was also impacted by smoke, but they hoped to get some residents in those buildings back into their apartments by Thursday night.

Everyone did make it out of the buildings OK, and crews also rescued pets. Conely said one firefighter was injured when he fell through the roof, but he was checked out and was back working.

According to Conely, the high winds made fighting the fire a challenge, and also the fact that the building has two roofs, and the fire got below the first roof and above the second roof.

Fire crews from several other cities also responded to the fire, and workers with the Red Cross and Salvation Army were on scene assisting residents impacted.

WXYZ-TV ABC 7 Detroit

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VIDEO: Since 1951, Asotin County Fire District #1 has served the community with dedication, and this year marks 75 years of service.

This Saturday, May 16, Asotin County Fire District #1 is celebrating 75 years of neighbors, friends, and family members protecting the community as volunteer firefighters and EMS professionals.

Fire Chief Noel Hardin says the anniversary will be used to celebrate the sacrifices made by volunteers, as well as a chance to give the public a glimpse of the Asotin County District #1 Fire building.

“When we finished our station, we moved in during COVID, so we were unable to do station tours,” Chief Noel Hardin said. “We saw that our 75th anniversary was coming up, so we thought this would be a good time to do a grand opening, station tours, and tie everything together.”

For most rural communities, especially in the valley, volunteers have formed the backbone of the emergency response system, as 60% of all U.S. firefighters and more than 80% of the country’s fire departments are either all or mostly volunteer, according to the NFPA.

KLEW-TV CBS 3 Lewiston

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VIDEO: Western Washington’s mountain snowpack is running below normal, and state wildland fire experts say that could mean an earlier start to wildfire season and potentially more active conditions in the months ahead.

“Our seasonal snowpack was really poor this year, one of the worst that we’ve had in a while,” said Vaughn Cork, a fuels specialist with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

The KOMO 4-CAST team has been tracking the low snowpack, and DNR wildland fire management experts say reduced snowpack can be a key indicator for when fire season ramps up.

“The lower snowpack, the earlier the season tends to get going,” Cork said.

DNR is preparing for wildfires to potentially start erupting in central and eastern Washington in the next few weeks. Matthew Dehr, a DNR wildland fire meteorologist, said he is watching conditions closely as summer approaches.

“I’m concerned that as we get into June, our fuels are already going to be receptive to fire starts. That might be problematic for months into the future,” Dehr said.

KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

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Coxreels eliminated the aluminum inline swivel on five SLPL models (725, 750, 825, 835, and 850) and incorporated a nickel-plated steel inline swivel.

The post SLPL Spring-Driven Model Enhancement appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.