Our prayers go out to the family, seek friends and colleagues of Officer William McGary that died on 2/1/2013.

Public servants continually go into dangerous situations and environments to do the job that must be done.  This occurs so often that the simple acts of going into a burning building, performing a traffic stop, or directing traffic becomes “routine” .  The danger never goes away just because you have done it a hundred times before. Your chances of being injured just increase continually because you have done this a hundred times and will keep doing the job to get it done.  Unfortunately, Police Officer William McGary was fatally injured by a careless driver that struck him while McGary was directing traffic after a vehicle accident at the intersection of Dave Ward Drive and Exchange Street, in Conway

Now that things are mostly back to normal, pilule please take a moment to evaluate how you and your family coped (survived) during the cold weather and extended power outage. WPFD was extremely busy responding to the emergency calls during our major weather event that cause or impacted our responses with downed trees and powerlines, blocked roads, several vehicle wrecks / passengers trapped in vehicles, trees on homes/cars, numerous medical calls and structure fires caused by candles, generators, and fireplaces. Have you thought about what you would do differently to be better prepared for our next major weather event or storm? Are you ready to “survive” blocked roads, lost utilities, extended stays at home without normal home heat and water? Please make a plan now to be ready before the next major event. Winter storms, heavy rains, impacts from gulf hurricanes, tornadoes, and more could happen at any time. Creating a safety plan to ride out the event and manage short-term safe survival on the road or in your home is key for anyone in rural areas. Get ready by visiting http://www.ready.gov/ to learn more. Resolve To Be Ready In 2013.

WPFD is also on Facebook. We recently used this facebook account to deliver timely community information during our Christmas Winter Storm. Using this public facebook page allowed us to push out timely reports on dangerous road conditions and utility outages.  Our reporting is eyewitness and on-site reports from various sources that don’t usually make it to the TV news or as delayed like commercial utility websites.  As a part of our community response, we are continually in communication across our large fire district area.  Being aware or road and utility conditions is a part of how we are able to respond in emergency conditions. We are happy to share this public information in the the community interest for those of you that also need to know road accessibility and when utility contractors were working in the general areas for the major power restoration effort.  Join us now so that you can be in the loop for general information and major storm incident conditions, should they occur again. Join up and share with your friends and neighbors in our area so that we can continue to build an informed network that is helpful and timely.

West Pulaski Fire Department is on Facebook.  Choose this link to see our community page and become a FAN today with a “Like”  at Facebook.com

www.facebook.com/pages/West-Pulaski-Fire-Department-Little-Rock-Arkansas-wwwwpfirerescueorg/122021361203839

Our prayers go out to the West Webster Fire District volunteer firefighters that lost their lives or were injured in a senseless act of cruelty. These brave souls were attacked while serving their community. Please remember these volunteers and their families that are dealing with great loss at a time that is normally joyful and peaceful. Rest in peace brother firefighters.

Firefighters Lost

Lt. Michael Chiapperini, 43, had been named Firefighter of the Year just two weeks ago, and he led the fire department’s Explorer program for young people interested in becoming firefighters. He had recently taken vacation time to help recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported. He also was the public information officer for the Webster Police Department. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, who also worked with the fire department.

Tomasz Kaczowka, 19, was a 911 dispatcher for Monroe County. He also was a member of the Explorers group that Chiapperini advised, had worked at a fast-food restaurant and had been a member of the fire department for about a year. One of three brothers, he was studying at Monroe County Community College. On his Facebook page, he said he could speak Polish and German.

Firefighters Injured

Volunteer Firefighters Theodore Scardino and Joseph Hofsetter, also a full-time firefighter with the Rochester Fire Department, were injured. Both injured firefighters sustained significant injuries.

http://www.firefighternation.com/article/news-2/shooting-new-york-house-fire

Its time again for a vehicle upgrade to our Station #4 area that serves Little Italy on the north side of Lake Maumelle. Their current water hauler was refurbished almost 10 years ago with an old semi-tractor trailer chassis that already had a million miles on it.  Seriously, the current truck has a million miles on it, literally. So adding a newer and low mileage vehicle (this one has less than 10,000 miles on it) to the fleet for water carrying capability has been high on the list. WPFD acquired this very low mileage 90’s model Freightliner truck chassis from the Arkansas Forestry Commission through the governments surplus property program that benefits fire departments around the country. WPFD sent the military grade hauler down to the Tucker Bus Shop for refurbishing.  This is where a good low-mileage vehicle gets the age brushed away with some thorough cleaning, painting, repair, and enhancements to begin its next chapter as a fire ready water tender (that is fire speak for water tanker). A new water tank was constructed to carry approximately 2,500 gallons of water. Black chassis paint was applied. Body paint was added in fire red with accents in metallic silver.  This heavy duty truck will now get the treatment of emergency warning lights, auxiliary power additions, radios, sirens, identification markings and reflective safety striping. WPFD does just about all of that stuff in house with our talented crew of volunteers that have done this stuff several times before. It is great to see a fine truck like this added to our fleet for low dollars and high value when it comes to maintenance and getting the job done. It will haul needed water to fire scenes that don’t have fire hydrants, which in the country, is many places in our fire district. We will post some additional pictures soon, but look for this truck to come online for active duty in the coming weeks once upgrades are completed.