VIDEO: After years of fighting fires, Hamburg Fire Chief Jarrod Emes recently decided to no longer focus on fires, but family.

“I wrapped up a twenty-eight-year career. The tail end of it was just a refocus on family. It’s been a long time serving the organization and community,” said Emes.

For his replacement? Well — he decided to focus on family there, too. “A lot of family history here. Departments across the county and the region, there’s a lot of family involvement and the time it takes for organizations to grow and develop,” Emes said.

Not someone above or below him, but right by his side helping the community. “We could look to each other when we knew a particular job needed to get done,” said Chief Bethany Thren.

His sister Beth is taking the helm as chief of the Union Fire Company No. 1 of Hamburg. They say there’s no sibling rivalry here, just a focus on putting out the flames. “She’s always kind of looked up to me. I think it’s really proud to pass it on,” he said.

WFMZ-TV 69 Allentown

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City leaders are continuing to invest in public safety with a focus on improving emergency response times across Kennewick. The fire department has recently added three new ambulances and is working to increase staffing levels to better serve the growing community, city officials announced.

Currently, some stations operate under what’s known as a “jump rig” system, where one crew is responsible for both an ambulance and a fire engine. City leaders say this arrangement can stretch resources thin during emergencies. “At station three and station five, they have one crew that jumps from an ambulance to a fire engine. So we’re trying to fully staff those two stations,” said Erin Erdman, Kennewick city manager.

The goal moving forward is to fully staff those stations, allowing crews to stay dedicated to a single unit and respond more efficiently to emergency calls. City leaders say the increased staffing and expanded resources will help improve response times and provide more consistent emergency coverage for residents across Kennewick. The investments come as the city continues to experience population growth, creating additional demand for emergency services throughout the community.

Apple Valley News Now

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East Jefferson Fire Rescue conducted live training on an uninhabitable residential structure on Tuesday. Staging for exercises started about 8 a.m. Focused exercises took place in different sections of the house, one crew at a time, throughout the day.

In addition to the East Jefferson Fire Rescue’s (EJFR) two off-duty crews being onsite, two Navy fire crews participated in the training. The road leading up to the home, on the 1000 block of Umatilla Avenue, was cordoned off on either end. Small fires were set in different sections of the house by instructors, and dummy victims were placed for rescue, EJFR Fire Chief Bret Black said.

“Their objective is to find the victim to put the fire out and communicate with command,” Black said. “We have a very choreographed and scripted process of how we do that. It’s about fine-tuning our craft of that communication, the tactics.” Coordinating the movement of fire hoses as a team takes practice. They are heavy, a hundred PSI or more, a couple hundred gallons a minute, Black said.

As crews entered the home, black smoke billowed into the sky before settling over the Port Townsend residential neighborhood. Crews spent five to 10 minutes at a time in the home, which lacked visibility, Black said. “We’re practicing using our thermal imagers,” he continued. “They do know the layout, that’s the law. They don’t know where the fire is.”

Peninsula Daily News – Metered Site

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A controlled burn in Louisa, Kentucky, escalated into a chaotic wildfire, endangering homes and trapping firefighters. The fire was eventually extinguished, with minor injuries reported.

The post Two Fire Apparatus Damaged, FFs Suffer Minor Burns at KY Forest Fire appeared first on Fire Apparatus: Fire trucks, fire engines, emergency vehicles, and firefighting equipment.

The Grand Junction (CO) Fire Department has added two Pierce Enforcer pumpers to its fleet, purchasing the rigs through the Pierce Stock Truck Program in order to capitalize on popular options and configurations and a quicker delivery time.

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