West Pulaski Fire Department with assistance from Lake Maumelle Fire Department fought to control a large structure fire in an unoccupied home in the Ferndale area. Home owners were out of town when a fire broke out and our department was summoned to the early morning incident on Jones Road.  Difficult access to the large home on a hilltop made fighting the fire a challenge as the fire fully engulfed the structure before firefighters arrived. The intensity of the fire made it impossible to save the house.  A neighbor heard an explosion then saw flames and called 911.  Assistant Chief Greg Brewer described the difficulty, ”We’re probably 800 feet off the road back there to it. When you see it from the road burning there’s nothing you can do it’s already through the roof.” He continued, ”We’re hauling water with tankers.  We’ve hauled in about 25,000 gallons so far.  This is a loss for this family and the firefighters who so desperately wanted to save the home.”

Follow this link to the story reported by Fox 16 News:
http://www.fox16.com:80/news/story/Fire-destroys-West-Pulaski-County-home/i9_T66u1_060p6tiOAdYTw.cspx?rss=2413

WPFD is excited about a newer fire vehicle that has just completed construction at  Station #2 (Kanis Road).  A truck chassis donated by the Arkansas Forestry Commission has been re-purposed as a Fire Tanker truck that will bring thousands of gallons to our fire responses. This vehicle has been designated as our new Tanker #2.

This 1993 International chassis was originally a stakebed truck used by the military for construction material delivery and will now work for us with its  2,000 gallon water tank.   After receiving this chassis in October, it was sent to be retrofitted at the ADC fabrication  facility in Tucker, Arkansas to get it in shape for its new life as a fire truck.  Four new storage compartments were added, the entire vehicle was sandblasted, painted and then the interior was refurbished.

Firefighters at Station #2 got the truck back in early January and got right to work adding the necessary components to place it in service. Lots of wiring was added to install power controls,  emergency lighting,  sirens, air-horns,  radios, work (scene) lighting,  and tools/hardware necessary to get it roadworthy as a fire vehicle.

We are always happy to upgrade our equipment to serve our community better!

Click this link below to see additional pictures that are available at our gallery page for Tanker 2- Retrofit:

http://www.wpfirerescue.org/photo-galleries/apparatus/before-and-after/

WPFD Firefighters were dispatched for an emergency patient extraction from a heavily wooded timber area recently.  Responders coordinated efforts with MEMS Ambulance, Baptist Med-flight, Arkansas Game and Fish Officers, Saline and Pulaski County Sheriff offices to access extremely remote area within timber property to mobilize and extract the patient to a hilltop landing zone for emergency medical airlift to a hospital.

West Pulaski Fire Department responds to all emergency situations in our fire district area.  At the time you dial 911 for emergency assistance,  all necessary local (and sometimes state agencies) will be summoned as needed to begin the response, no matter what the call may be.

Choose Read More to see some images of the wildland rescue>>>>>>>

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WPFD firefighters, with the help of LRFD  Rescue 2,  LRFD Engine 21, and MEMS worked to extricate a fallen climber from Shinall Mountain that  suffered a broken ankle after falling 30 feet from a cliff area.  See the story below reported by KATV.

WPFD had a lot of activity this year.  Running a large volunteer organization like ours with multiple facilities is a substantial task considering your entire workforce is unpaid.  We could not function without the tireless efforts of all of our dedicated firefighters that are compensated only with the satisfaction of serving the public need and responding for our neighbors and brother/sister firefighters. Additionally, we wanted to recognize some individuals that went above and beyond in service to our organization. See the awards presented below. (more pictures will be posted later)

We truly hope for less emergency calls in the new year, but assure you we will be ready should you need us.  Best wishes to you and your loved ones from the WPFD family.

Picture from the event are at this link:

http://www.wpfirerescue.org/event-information/2009-annual-christmas-party/

Department Firefighter of the Decade

Department Firefighter of the Year

Station Firefighters of the Year

WPFD was dispatched to a flooding situation on December 26, 2009 due to a levee break up stream from ponds and creeks that flow through drainage at an intersection of Lawson and County Line roads at the Pulaski and Saline County lines.  An 8-10 foot wall of water washed a passing car off the road without injury, but temporarily trapped the driver in the vehicle.

Even though the torrential rains had stopped for a few days before the incident, a series of levees had become rain saturated from constant water flowing into and over the retaining walls of 4 ponds in the area. As one pond broke, it sent a huge amount of water to the next in the series of ponds creating a chain reaction downstream to other water reservoirs.

Trees and power lines were down as secondary downstream levees threatened to break. West Pulaski Fire/Rescue crews were dispatch to various surrounding areas to protect property owners and evacuate danger areas until road and bridge crews from Pulaski and Saline County could assess the damage with Entergy and First Electric power crews.  No major injuries were sustained but at least one home and a few vehicles were damaged in the incidents initial levee break.  More information about this incident can be found at the following new sites as well as an interview with Chief Ronnie Wheeler.

http://www.bentoncourier.com/content/view/199559/1/

http://www.fox16.com/news/local/story/Levee-breaks-near-County-Line-Rd/lSX_aOsyA0OmwepSyEKGxQ.cspx

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=96615&catid=2

What if someone in your home calls 911 for HELP!

Fire Department, Police and an Ambulance will respond, but need your assistance to find you faster!

What if:

• The weather conditions are bad and visibility is poor?
• You have let bushes, vines or weeds grow to hide the numbers?
• You have placed your numbers too low on the post and they have been covered by weeds?
• You have placed brass address numbers on your post which do not contrast with the background color and can’t be easily seen?
• You placed address numbers on the mailbox, but numbers are covered when flag is pulled down?
• You have not posted your 911 number by your driveway?
• Your address numbers on mailbox are small, obstructed and/or non-reflective?

PLEASE TAKE A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO ENSURE YOUR ADDRESS NUMBERS ARE PROPERLY POSTED AT YOUR HOME!

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West Pulaski Fire Department would like you to join us in supporting the efforts of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  NCMEC, with the U. S. Department of Justice and many wireless telephone carriers,  has developed a program for free wireless AMBER Alert Notifications to your wireless phone.  Please visit the link below to the organization’s website and sign-up today for a free text message notification when an AMBER Alert is issued in your local area.  Your participation will help find our nations children that are missing or abducted.  Someone’s child needs your help!

Sign up TODAY at www.wirelessamberalerts.org

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If you or someone you love needs emergency help, you would probably want help to get there as fast as possible. The best way to assist someone in need to receive emergency help is to Move to the Right for Sirens & Lights!

Some people might panic when an emergency vehicle approaches.  Please yield to emergency vehicles by pulling over (in a safe place) or stopping to allow emergency vehicles to safely negotiate  around you. Failure to yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle delays in emergency responses by ambulances, fire engines and fire trucks arriving at the scene of an emergency.

Firefighters with WPFD are volunteers that respond from their home areas in a moments notice.  We only use our flashing lights when dispatched to an emergency scene and the situation is critical. You are asked to allow us to pass you SAFELY when driving marked fire vehicles and personnal vehicles that display flashing emergency RED lighting and/or sirens.  Sometimes we go directly to the emergency scene (if close by) or directly to our local stations to retrieve emergency vehicles. Your help is appreciated to help us get where we are needed in a quick and safe manner. 

Firefighters are careful to avoid vehicle collisions by driving slowly when traveling against traffic, or coming to a complete stop at intersections. However, the cooperation of ALL vehicles on the roadway is essential.

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WPFD visited the 2009 Fire Show on October 31, 2009 that was presented by the Arkansas Forestry Commission in Greenbrier, Ark.   Firefighters representing departments from all over the state of Arkansas had the opportunity to see fire technology and equipment on display from vendors and departments that implement the tools we use.  WPFD took our Tanker #1 truck to be displayed. Demonstrations were also provided by AIR-EVAC (emergency medical helicopter transport),  chainsaw training,  and more.

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