SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Sevierville Fire Department opened a new headquarters to bring better fire service to the city.

The new 17,000 square feet facility cost $6 million to build, and is located on Dolly Parton Parkway in East Sevierville. The city fire chief said after noticing the need for a new fire station, they identified the east area of the city that needed better fire protection.

"We identified that this end of Sevierville, this east side, was our largest bedroom community, the largest residential population. So it made sense that we needed to cover this area," said Chief Matt Henderson.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Friday, April 5 with a room full of 250 people from the community. Many in the community say they are very proud and excited to have this new headquarters in full operation. MORE

Turtle Plastics, a leading manufacturer of environmental, health, and safety solutions for firefighters and first responders, is inviting attendees at FDIC International in Indianapolis to meet television actor Jeremy Holm, co-star of the upcoming feature film “Silo,” at the Turtle Plastics Booth #3369 throughout the day on Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April 12.

The nonprofit Turtle Plastics Foundation is donating $5.00 per autograph by Jeremy Holm but not less than $5,000.00 in total for the Autograph Signing Event at the Turtle Plastics Booth #3369 during FDIC 2019.  All proceeds will be contributed to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The promotion shall last April 11, 2019 thru April 12, 2019.  

Best known for his role as FBI Agent Nathan Green in the Netflix series “House of Cards” and as Mr. Sutherland in the USA series “Mr. Robot,” Holm stars as a volunteer fire chief in “Silo,” a new major motion picture scheduled for release in theaters in the summer of 2019.

Turtle Plastics designs and manufactures interlocking recycled plastic safety cribbing blocks used by first responders and fire trainers as stabilization tools as well as ergonomic, modular tiles for fire/rescue and industrial applications. The company’s patented Turtle Tube™ Grain Bin Rescue Sleeve (U.S. Pat. No. D809,210) is the most cost-effective grain rescue sleeve product on the market with the fastest deployment.

Filmmakers approached Turtle Plastics for technical and financial support because of the company’s expertise in grain bin rescue product development and its commitment to helping first responders prevent silo deaths. Turtle Plastics offers a grant program for farm bureaus and insurance companies wanting to buy Turtle Tubes and donate them back to financially strapped volunteer fire departments and rescue squads in the major grain states.

“Turtle Plastics is proud to support ‘Silo’ to bring awareness to the deadly dangers of grain entrapment and the heroic firefighters and first responders who are challenged with rescuing trapped individuals,” stated Liz Demetriou, President of Turtle Plastics. “In addition to supporting the film, we have been pleased to donate 50 Turtle Tubes to training programs and volunteer fire departments in need since 2017.”

About “Silo”

“Silo” is a feature film directed by Marshall Burnette and produced by Sam Goldberg. Based in part on a real-life incident in Illinois where three teenagers were entrapped in a grain bin on a family farm, “Silo” spotlights the very real struggles found in rural farming communities, where many volunteer fire departments and firefighters live and serve. Prominent actor Jeremy Holm stars in the film as a volunteer fire chief. New Hope, Kentucky Fire Department firefighters also appear in the cast. The film is scheduled for release in theaters in the summer of 2019. 

About Turtle Plastics

Turtle Plastics, a global leader in manufacturing, is deeply committed to environmental health and safety solutions that protect workers and ensure a sustainable environment. The company’s Dura Crib™ and Dura Stat™ cribbing and blocking products are made from 100% recycled plastic and are safer, cleaner, stronger alternatives to wood for shoring cribbing, vehicle extrication, material handling and heavy vehicle maintenance and repair. The company’s Turtle Tiles™ are versatile, ergonomic modular tiles used as compartment matting in fire trucks, and as flooring in commercial and industrial applications. The company’s Turtle Tube™ grain rescue tube is a life-saving, rapidly deploying sleeve for use in grain entrapment at food processing plants, breweries, elevators, and grain transport vehicles.

LOUDLABS NEWS - RIVERSIDE - Measure Z took effect April 1, 2017, and is anticipated to help restore many critical services eliminated in June 2016, and enhance other critical unfunded needs, such as first responder staffing and vehicles, road and tree maintenance, and building repair and maintenance. By increasing the City’s sales tax rate from 7.75% to 8.75%, Measure Z is estimated to generate approximately $10 million in revenues in Fiscal Year 2016-17, and over $50 million in FY 2017-18. 

The ceremony, scheduled to start at 10 a.m. at Fire Station 1, 3401 University Ave., will introduce 17 pieces of apparatus, according to a statement on the city’s website. That equipment includes eight engines, three tiller trucks, one straight truck, one brush engine, two water tenders and two squads. 

All of that material was approved by the city council in May 2017, six months after the department declared that it desperately needed to replace vehicles that were worn out and too expensive to repair. The equipment will be paid for over five years with revenue generated by Measure Z. Riverside voters passed that one-cent transaction tax in 2016 to help pay for critical city services, including road, tree and building maintenance and more first responders, 

It’s not often that a fire chief makes a personal visit to a factory to thank the men and women who construct turnout gear for firefighters.

However, Wade White, an assistant fire chief of the Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department, made that trip recently to pay tribute to those who toil on the assembly lines because he saw them as unsung heroes in a significant rescue. When the network news segment broke, he saw the video of a fellow firefighter falling through a roof of a building completely consumed by flames and emerging engulfed by fire 50 seconds later before being rescued by fellow firefighters. Chief White was so moved by the outcome—a fellow firefighter had survived with his life -- he decided to meet firsthand with the team who made the firefighter’s turnout gear at the Honeywell plant in Dayton, Ohio, and he was offered a close-up view of the quality controls built into each garment.

ALSO: Honeywell, DuPont Award 20 Scholarships for First Responders to Attend FDIC Training

He offered touching words of gratitude to the sewers, stitchers, cutters and other line workers that had a hand in creating the garment. “That firefighter is alive today because of you. The gear did what it was supposed to do. Keep on doing what you do. Your work is important,” said Chief White.

White is Commander of the Maintenance and Supply Division of LA Fire Department, overseeing 106 fire stations and 3300 firefighters. But in a career with the Fire Department that spans 32 years, he knows what it’s like to battle fires that burn at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit within buildings. As a firefighter, he’s seen burning sections of wall structures or roofs collapse and fall onto himself and other firefighters. He has felt the extreme heat of fire conducting through his gear against his skin. But he had never witnessed what he saw captured on a smart phone of a curious building resident who filmed of a fire in progess in LA, he said. The video showed the firefighter falling through the roof into a blazing building. The firefighter was exposed to severe conditions, high heat, and direct flame as firefighters worked immediately to remove him from the area he had fallen into.  

 Chief White said he was both amazed and deeply heartened to find out that the firefighter survived the perilous incident. “The firefighter is lucky to be alive,” he said. Chief White credits the firefighter’s training, plus the Honeywell Morning Pride turnout gear, as critical to the firefighter’s survival.

 “The gear this individual was in was probably the best he could have been in. It provided the protection, and this member is alive because of it,” said Chief White. “It was nice to see the individuals who actually had a part in building the coat and pair of pants that individual was wearing, and it’s very heartfelt.”

  Not many people know what goes into making of turnout gear for firefighters. It takes hours to physically assemble one coat—and the whole process of design, testing, stitching, cutting, inspection and other quality controls add many more hours to the process. It requires a dedicated team to put together a single article of Morning Pride turnout gear.

Assembling turnout gear requires a uniquely blended skill set – one part individual, (think piecework, and recall the detailed sewing and double stitching carried out by tailors and seamstresses of yesteryear), and one part technological (relying on the most advanced c