WASHOE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
It’s been a fast-paced few weeks since July 1, when the new Truckee Meadows Fire protection District was officially established as a stand-alone agency. So far the new fire district has responded to 533 calls including responses to 40 fires in Northern Nevada.
Standing up the new fire district involved 24 career and volunteer stations, selecting and equipping and 105 career and 180 volunteer fire fighters and support staff, and required a significant amount of effort and commitment by more than a dozen departments at Washoe County. During the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, more than 150 Washoe County personnel were honored by the commissioners for their successful combined efforts to set up the district in less than one year.
“Through a well-organized, focused effort, we proved that we could provide excellent and professional service to our region,” said Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Chief Charles A. Moore. “We are extremely grateful to the work that went into the planning and opening of TMFPD by Washoe County employees.”
In addition, the community is reminded that living safely in an area with extremely high fire danger takes everyone’s diligence to always being fire safe — along with a professional fire and emergency response team of career and volunteer fire fighters.
“The ability of the crew to provide professional, timely emergency response service in our district has been evident since day one of operations — this weekend being the perfect example”, said Moore. Over the weekend, the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District career and volunteer crews quickly responded to 10 reports of brush fires and three structure fires north and south of I-80 caused by the lightning storm.
“The refound energy of our volunteer crews is infectious; they are a force multiplier and support a professional, timely and effective response in our District,” said Moore. Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Chief Shawn Wilburn, reports supporting 17 calls in July compared to zero in May of this year.
Fire protection is a community issue; reminding residents to take control of what is available to them, Moore cautioned the community that open flames such as campfires and opening burning are banned; however, back yard barbecues are still permitted.
“While we can’t do anything about Mother Nature,” Moore reminds us, “please use caution with what is under our control. Random sparks can quickly ignite dry vegetation erupting into large fires quickly.”
