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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Memorial Information: Fire Chief Steve Smith

Long time Woodinville Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Steve Smith died peacefully on Saturday, December 3 after an illness that was discovered earlier in the summer of 2016. He was 67.

Chief Smith retired in 2005 after a 38 year-long career in the fire service. Smith started his career as volunteer firefighter in King County Fire District 40 near Renton. In 1978, Smith was hired as a firefighter at Fire District 40 and quickly began moving up through the ranks to Battalion Chief in 1988 before accepting the position of Deputy Fire Chief at Woodinville Fire. He served in that role until assuming the Fire Chief responsibilities in September of 1996.

Chief Smith is survived by his wife Terri of 36 years, his daughter Shayna and sons Adam, Brian and Mark. Services will be held Saturday, December 17 at 11:00 a.m. at Fire Station 31, 17718 Woodinville-Snohomish Rd NE, Woodinville, WA 98072. Remembrances and donations can be made to Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation at https://www.aamds.org/forms/make-donation.
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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Londonderry Looks at Fire Station Upgrades

Town officials are hoping to rennovate and expand Central Fire Station, which was built in 1978. (COURTESY) LONDONDERRY - Officials are looking at potential changes to one of the town's fire stations. Applicantions for those wishing to run a feasibility study for the fire department's Central Fire Station are being accepted from now until March 1.
The station is on Mammoth Road and the hope is to both renovate and expand the building.

The study would determine the feasibility of the changes, the costs of the work as well as floor plan options and estimates of space needed.

Some of the proposed changes include adding new apparatus bays to the south side of the building and adding a new structure to the north side that would house things like sleeping quarters, officers, an exercise room, a kitchen, and a training and command room.

Four foot height increases to the current garage doors are also being asked for.

Any ongoing construction would have to accommodate the 24/7 staff on hand in case of emergency. Temporary housing for the team that dispatches for both Londonderry and Hampstead would also be needed.

Should any feasibility study not be suitable, officials would also be look for alternatives from the developers.

The current 8,584-square-foot building was built in 1978. The building is one of three that Londonderry firefighters operate out of. 
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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Fire Station Construction Continues in Chippewa Falls

The$5 million fire station is going up on three acres of land on Chippewa County Boulevard. Mayor Greg Hoffman says the fire station will help ease the burden on Chippewa Falls' downtown station as well as replace the station on West Park Avenue.

Hoffman says the location of this new facility makes it easier for crews to respond to key areas of the city.

"You can go so many different directions from here. It's easy in easy out. You can get downtown and get to the industrial park and much more with ease from here," he said.

Mayor Hoffman says the fire station should be open by this spring.

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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Wasaga Hands Pumper Keys to Georgian College Firefighting Program

Georgian College's firefighter training program has added a second vehicle to its roster, thanks to the Town of Wasaga Beach. On Dec. 1, the department drove its recently retired pumper down to the college's firefighter training station in Springwater Township and turned the keys over to Georgian's program lead Robert Wilson.

Wilson said getting the truck means the students can have access to a vital piece of training equipment.

“We teach our students how to pump, how to use hose lines, basically, how to fight fires, and without a pumper we can’t give them that knowledge. A pumper to us is really important to our program and our kids,” he said.

The program currently has an older pumper donated to the program by the Town of Midland’s fire department. That pumper will still be used by the program, Wilson said.

“A new truck is something that we can rely on for several years to come to teach these kids the techniques of firefighting,” he said.

The firefighting course at Georgian is a three-semester program that currently has 50 students and covers ice water rescue, auto extrication, handling hazardous material, as well as live fire fighting.

“A lot of our students are getting on volunteer fire services, which is great because we need volunteer firefighters, and it gives (the students) the training to keep up with the standards for when they apply to full-time services,” Wilson said.

The pumper donated by Wasaga Beach is 27 years old. It was replaced with a new vehicle two years ago.

“You can do a number of things with a retired pumper: you can sell it, trade it in when purchase a new one, get scrap value depending on how rough a shape it’s in, or donate it,” said Wasaga Beach fire chief Mike McWilliam. “We looked at what we could get on a trade-in, and the company really didn’t want it as a trade-in.”

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Posted: Dec 12, 2016

Thieves Steal Radio, Fire Engine Battery from South Yreka Fire Dept.

Siskiyou County, Calif. - On Wednesday, the South Yreka Fire Dept. (SYFD) got called out to a car accident. When the firefighters went to leave, they noticed a battery of their only fire engine had been taken. They got called off the car accident - if they

They got called off the car accident - if they had not been, the sparks from the unattached cables could have started a fire.

"We saw the cables and tools laying on the ground and it hit us that somebody had broken into it," chief Bernie Paul said.

They replaced the battery within an hour. After replacing it with a new one, firefighters and Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office deputies found the battery outside the fire department.

"It's a very, very large battery," Paul said. "It won't fit in a pickup truck or a car, you know, it's for a large piece of equipment. so I'm not really sure. Other than that, maybe to sell it? I don't know."

The locksmith who came to fix the door that was broken suggested the thieves stole the battery in order to charge electronics at home.

The thieves also took a handheld radio from the station.

"We keep very tight control of our radios because it is a frequency that all the departments - 30 departments in Siskiyou County - we all use those frequencies, so we don't want
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