Creatures of the Night

West Valley Firefighters battled a commercial fire October 25, 2015 At 1940 W Alexander. The fire came in at approximately 2:20 AM. The building was a total loss and damages were estimated to be above 10 million dollars. When firefighters arrived, flames were coming from the roof and from most of the front of the building. Crews went into a defensive strategy to fight the fire. Crews from West Valley, South Salt Lake, and Salt Lake City worked to keep the fire contained to the business and did a great job protecting adjacent businesses from catching fire. There were no injuries reported. Investigators from West Valley City and the ATF worked together on the investigation. Their findings will be forth coming.
Here is some footage from the fire.

Come visit us and have some fun!!!

West Valley City Fire Department will be hosting an Open house This Saturday October  10,  2015. At fire Station 73 2834 south 2700 west

There will be fun activities for the families, food and of course the fire guy's.

Here are just a few examples of things that will be going  on.

10:00 AM Our technical rescue team will be demonstrating rescuing a patient from an elevated platform.

12:00 Hazardous materials hands on. You can help us decontaminate fire fighters.

1:00  Extrication,Watch a demonstration then you can help tear apart a car with the "Jaws of life"

2:30  Fire attack, Crews will demonstrate the teamwork it takes to attack a live fire.

House Fire January 2, 2015

#WestValleyCity and #SouthSaltLake #Fire departments battled a stubborn house fire.




As crews arrived, thick black smoke and flames were billowing out of the rear of the residence. Crews made an aggressive interior attack and soon the fire appeared to be under control. Battalion Chief, Chris Beichner noticed "black smoke coming from the gable ends of the home". The smoke was under pressure, meaning that there was active fire working the attic. As crews inside worked to pull the ceiling from inside to get a better view. They found a false roof. Often homes are remodeled after being built. such was the case here. Looking at other homes in the neighborhood "we realized that a new roof had been constructed over the existing one." stated chief Beichner. Crews were deployed to the gable end to combat the difficult fire. They were able to overcome the hiding fire and all ended well, for the fire fighters that is. A family of five were displaced. Its always difficult to see some one loose so much especially at the holidays. Fortunately no one was injured. Damage to the home was estimated to be over one hundred thousand dollars.

Thanks to everyone that helped.

Remember Be Smart...     Be Safe....   BE READY!

Fire Marshal Bob

What, When, Where, How and Why? Questions we all have

Early Morning Devastation 4015 w 3500 S West Valley City

West Valley City firefighters responded to an early morning house fire at 4015 west and 3500 south. The call came in at about 8:00 AM, it was called in by Deputy Fire Marshal Carl Andreasen. He was at a business in the area doing an inspection follow up when he noticed the thick black smoke rising from the home. As crews arrived the fire was rolling from a shed at the rear of the home and carport.

A home located close to the one involved was threatened but the firefighters did a great job in protecting it from becoming involved.

With the fire contained to the one unit crews were able to concentrate on controlling the fire and making sure everyone was accounted for. There were early reports of people inside, but the firefighters were able to account for everyone quickly. With the amount of fire that involved the structure and everyone accounted for the fire crews fought this fire from a defensive position, meaning that we attacked from the outside first. While this is not the most glamorous way to attack a fire, it is the one that provides the greatest safety for those fighting it. Firefighters will risk their lives to fight a fire where other lives are at risk, but we are trying to be more responsible in risking lives when we know that the only thing at risk is property. The firefighters were able to knock down the fire quickly at this point, making it possible to transition to a more aggressive offensive or interior attack.

There is a lot to do at a fire, more than just extinguish the flames. We try to make sure that  everyone at the scene is safe, whether thats the firefighters, home owners or those that are just there to see whats going on, some time that is a huge chore in itself. We conduct an investigation for every fire. sometimes it is simple and obvious what cases the fire, other times it may take days or weeks to get all the information. We are always grateful for the help we receive from our partners from the West Valley City Police department

That brings me to the title of this article. The What, When and Where are usually easy to answer. The how and why are sometimes much more difficult and require more effort expertise and follow up. We appreciate the patience that we get from the public and the media. We want to make sure we get things right.
We love serving our community. It's a privilege we don't take lightly.

To everyone, Have a great Thanksgiving

Remember..... Be Safe..... Be Smart.... BE READY!
Fire Marshal Bob

CAFFEINE POWDER - A WARNING FOR PARENTS

You may have heard about the use of caffeine powder and some of the problems people are experiencing as a result. We recently responded to a call of a young man who had taken about a protein powder scoop's worth of the drug. Some rough math shows that's about the equivalent of drinking 700 energy drinks. This young man, healthy and fine earlier in the day, was now in full arrest. 100% caffeine powder is easily and inexpensively purchased online and unfortunately, it's also easily over dosed and potentially deadly. Please, be aware, talk to your family about this drug and *SHARE THIS WARNING* with your friends.

Jayson,

MEET JAYSON: Our crew met him when, at only 5 weeks old, a rare condition caused his heart to stop and his parents called for help.
Jayson had heart surgery to fix the problem and his mom sent us a note to say he's doing just great.
"If it weren't for West Valley Fire Department, my son wouldn't be here today. We will never forget what you guys gave back to us and we are forever grateful."
We'll never forget Jayson. From your friends who met you that scary day, Scott Pearson, Nick Herzog, Matt Butterfield, Phil Lords and Alex Wingeier of Medic Ambulance 74 and Tower 74, we wish you a happy and healthy future!

Fire crews battle an early afternoon fire.

West Valley City fire fighters responded to a house fire at about 12:20 July 11, 2014. (4715 w 3145 s) crews arrived to find a split entry style home well involved in fire.

Crews acted quickly to extinguish the fire. Fortunately no one was at home at the time of the fire. The fire is still under investigation The fire started in the kitchen area.  The stove was found to be the starting point of the fire. No foul play is suspected. Damage to the home is over 100,000.  A family of 6 has been displaced and will be staying with family. There was also a water main break at the fire hydrant that supplied the. First in engine. Fortunately the fire had been extinguished prior to the water break.

 BE Smart.... BE Safe.... BE READY!!!!

Fire Marshal Bob

Coming soon......UFO's in the summer sky

Hello everyone, Just a reminder that starting this Tuesday July 1st you might notice some unidentified flying objects in the Utah sky. Not to fear, its just the annual onslaught of fireworks.

It really is a time of celebration as we remember our nations birth. But this celebration comes with some risk when combined with fireworks. So here are just a few reminders and tips.
1. Buy from a reputable dealer.  Don't drive to Wyoming to get your fireworks. If you do you are at risk of bringing in illegal fireworks.
2. Be a good neighbor, fire works are allowed between the hours of 11:00 AM and 11:00 PM, from July 1st - July 7. On the fourth you can shoot them off until midnight. For the days of 47 celebration the dates you can use legal fireworks are July 21st - July 27. The hours are the same for these dates and you can shoot till midnight on the 24th.
3. Still illegal are bottle rockets, firecrackers, M80's, re loadable mortars, and any fire work that has more than 500 grams of powder.
4. Dont be a dud.... Dont combine drinking alcohol and lighting fireworks.
5. Adults be just that ....Adults! Please supervise any child that is around fireworks, by law no one under the age of sixteen is to light or handle the fireworks.
6. Look up before you light! you should have 150 Feet of clearance overhead to safely light fire works. You should also have at least a 30 foot radius around the fireworks display you are doing.
7. Check with your local jurisdiction to see if there are any other restrictions that are in place. Certain locations have banned the use of fireworks in areas that pose a problem. By checking you can avoid most of these problems.
8. When you do light the fireworks make sure that you are shooting from a stable hard surface. Not grass or uneven terrain.
9. Join the bucket brigade. Keep a bucket of water to dunk the discharged  fire works in. Also keep a hose handy. These two items stem a lot of problems.
10. When in doubt... don't!

Be safe have a great summer. The following video is just a brief reminder of most of these tips. Remember Be Smart... BE Safe... BE READY! Fire Marshal Bob

A river runs through it

June 22, 2014 West Valley City, Utah

At about 7:10 on a beautiful Sunday evening something evil lurked just under the surface of the road.
The evil turned out to be a leak in a 24 inch water main. Residents described the initial leak as volcano like, spewing road, water, rocks and debris into the air.  The neighborhood quickly became inundated with water. Fortunately the storm drain system was able to handle the hundreds of thousands of gallons coming from the roadway.



West Valley City Fire, Police and pubic works, worked to keep the traffic back and alert residents about the potential hazards. These departments worked along side granger hunter water improvement district to get the situation under control. Granger hunter had to shut down pressure stations and locate the appropriate valves to stem the rising waters. Fortunately there were no injuries reported, and no property damages were known of at the time of this article. The attached video was taken well into the incident and the water pressure had been lowered considerably. Thanks so much for those that responded quickly and helped to make sure that damage was kept to a minimum.

Remember,      BeSmart.... Be Safe.... BE READY!
Fire Marshal Bob

ITS WEST FEST EVE!!!!!!!

Hello everyone. I'm so excited! Because its WEST FEST EVE! You know the night before the big three days in june
.
Come join the Fire Department as we celebrate with the City in the annual three day event. This year the fire department will be doing many fun family activities, we'll have safety sheets and books. We will be featuring our "home safe home" program with an activity book for families with over 60 activities to make your home a safer place. There will be photo opportunities, an inflatable house for families to learn about home safety, and our C.E.R.T. team members will be there to help Westfesters get their "Ghoul" on by doing moulage for those that are not faint of heart.

One item we especially want to talk about is the West Valley City Firefighters support of Camp Na Na Mah. This is the University of Utah burn center camp for kids ages 7-12 that have been injured by fire. Camp is held in early August and runs for four days. Each year the firefighters rally together to provide meals, activities, and interaction with the kids. "Its one of the most rewarding things I've done" according to Mary Lindsay Vonk, one of our engineer paramedics.

This year, Battalion Chief Jeff Fox has headed up a special fundraiser for camp nah nah mah. Thanks to the efforts of the West Valley City firefighters, police officers, and community. We have around 30 bikes that we will be selling during westfest. These bikes have been cleaned up and serviced and are very reasonably priced. You can purchase one of these bikes during westfest at the fire department display. The money will be donated to camp nah nah mah to help offset costs for this wonderful program. You of course can make a donation to the camp even if you don't need a bike.


We hope to see you there, and don't forget about the fire works on Saturday June 21 at 10:00


Remember....

Be Smart... Be Safe... BE READY!              Fire Marshal Bob