Latest news with #OFD
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Three-alarm brush fire scorches Oakland Hills
The Brief The fire broke out just after 9 p.m. in the area of Skyline Boulevard and Grass Valley Road. Crews managed to stop progress of the fire about an hour later. Firefighters will remain on scene overnight to fully extinguish the blaze. OAKLAND, Calif. - A brush fire scorched a hillside in Oakland on Saturday night, prompting a large, multi-agency response as officials gathered to combat the blaze. The fire was initially reported to be a two-alarm event and was reported to be burning in the area of Skyline Boulevard and Grass Valley Road in the Chabot Park neighborhood – about two miles east of the Oakland Zoo – just after 9 p.m., according to the Oakland Fire Department. The brusher was quickly upgraded to a three-alarm fire, and more than 50 firefighters were deployed to deal with flames in about 150 square feet of brush that were burning at a slow rate of speed, the OFD told KTVU. No buildings were reported to be threatened by the flames. OFD Chief Damon Covington told KTVU that ground units worked quickly to get the blaze contained. "Crews have done a fantastic job of really getting to the head of the fire and getting control of the fire," he said. Cal Fire, East Bay Regional Park District and Oakland Police Department units assisted in the response. Forward progress of the brush fire was halted by about 10:10 p.m., and roughly 60 firefighters at the scene managed to surround the blaze, the OFD said. Covington told KTVU that firefighters would likely remain on the scene throughout the night to completely extinguish the fire and mop up any lingering hot spots. "We are on the verge of fire season," Covington said. "We're ready to go, our team is ready to go. And this was an example of it."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City dedicates new OFD training center
A crowd gathered Thursday to dedicate the Walter Freeman Training Center that has been designed to carry the city's fire department into the future. Built for $5.525 million, the training center at 1323 Daviess St. includes a new four story fire tower, vehicle bays and a classroom for indoor training. Fire Chief James Howard said the city began developing the property in 1946, with Freeman leading the charge to turn it into a training area for firefighters. '…Chief Walter Freeman not only left a mark on this organization, but significantly contributed to the continuing evolution of the property that we're standing on right now,' Howard told the crowd. Howard said the original drill tower was a wooden structure that was replaced when Freeman became chief in 1973. '…That was the year in which he oversaw the replacement of that drill tower, that he'd helped build, with a concrete block design as well the addition of a classroom building….' Howard said. It was shortly after Freeman's death in 1985 that the training center was named after him. 'Time has certainly passed and a new generation has seized the opportunity to remake and expand these training grounds to meet our needs and the training needs of those to come,' Howard said. 'We rededicate these grounds with honor and respect to Chief Walter L. Freeman in recognition of his contributions to this department and this city over his tenure.' Along with Freeman, two other former firefighters — Starling Lambert and David W. McCrady, have their names attached to areas of the training facility. Lambert, who served as chief from 1952 to 1970, has been memorialized with the Starling J. Lambert Burn Room, which is the first floor of the new tower. '…His name from today forward will be synonymous with a space where new recruits are tested to prove that they have what it takes to do this job,' Howard said. McCrady, who served as the department's training chief, has been memorialized with the David W. McCrady Classroom. '…His passion for firefighting was contagious,' Howard said. 'He was a mentor; he was a teacher and a friend with a huge heart….' The fire training center is part of the city's effort to modernize fire facilities through the 'Operation Firehouse' program. By the time the program is complete, all of OFD's facilities, except for Station 5, will have either been remodeled or replaced. The training center will also be available to county and volunteer firefighters, city officials said. OFD had been using the old ABC Rentals building on the site for training, but has converted the building into storage. Howard said there are plans to use the building in a different capacity but wasn't ready to announce those details yet. Mayor Tom Watson said investing in the city fire department's training center and its stations has been a priority. 'Public safety is our main concern as elected officials,' Watson said. '…It's been needed for a while, because when that fire is going on, they need to be protected and they need to be trained well; they have families at home, too.' The training center also contains safety features such as diesel exhaust filtering systems and fire turnout gear extractors to reduce cancer causing carcinogens that firefighters are exposed to. Howard, who leads a department of 100 firefighters, said having the training center in a centralized location provides convenience and visibility to the department. '…We could've built it way out in the county and something to make bigger over the years, but it would've been harder for us to train,' Howard said. 'We train almost every day so trucks can come here to a central location. That's the benefit of this and we want the public to see that we are doing something and practicing these skills.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
I-69 ORX project on schedule despite flooding
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – For more than a week, work on Section 3 of the I-69 Ohio River Crossing (ORX) Project has been paused due to the rise of floodwaters just as progress began to take shape. 'When you look at the aerial footage,' says I-69 ORX Spokesperson Mindy Peterson, 'and you see where we were this past September, and you see where we were in January already before we were hit by the high water, you can see the progress.' Section 3 of the project includes the construction of 3 access bridges. These are being built to provide all-weather access for construction workers. Once the main Ohio River bridge is built, these access bridges will be open to drivers. 'You can look around today at the high water and you can see how vitally important it is to have that all-weather construction access in place,' says Peterson. She says flooding delays are actually part of the schedule. Evansville councilwoman charged with fraud 'This is not unexpected,' says Peterson. 'It's a challenge when you have the high water, but this is something crews have prepared for, they know it's coming, it's part of the schedule. So, Section 3 remains on schedule, and that means that construction will be about 60% complete by the end of this year and complete by the end of next year.' Just because there's no physical work going on at the construction scene because of the floodwaters, officials say that doesn't mean work is not going on behind the scenes. 'We actually have two construction yards that are off-site and they are above flood level,' explains Peterson. 'And so we have some pre-assembly work going on there, we have some form work going on there.' Peterson says before construction can resume, crews will need to assess the area once flooding improves. 'We'll definitely have clean-up to do,' says Peterson. 'Once the water recedes, we'll have a lot of trees, we'll have a lot of debris that we'll need to move out, but we are expecting all of the equipment to be in great shape.' Construction on the new Ohio River bridge is set to begin in 2027 and be complete in 2031. I-69 ORX project on schedule despite flooding Surgery demonstration highlights annual Health Careers Day Madisonville residents take advantage of snow day OFD back home after helping Eastern Kentucky flood operations Gibson Southern Students use iRacing to fuel their future Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2 firefighters hurt in Owingsville roof collapse: Department says crews faced community backlash
OWINGSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — On Sunday morning, the Owingsville Fire Department addressed the community on social media after a fire led to a roof collapse that hurt two fires and led to one being taken to the hospital on Saturday. The Owingsville Fire Department (OFD) posted on Facebook that just before 2:45 a.m. on Saturday crews had been dispatched to a working structure fire on Ridge Road. 1 hurt after escaping from bedroom window of burning house in Russell Springs Department staff wrote that while helping the owner of the property salvage important items, the roof collapsed without warning and hit two firefighters, trapping one of them. The OFD said that within five minutes, crews got the trapped firefighter to safety. Emergency personnel checked on him before he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. He has since been released, per authorities. Fire department staff said that throughout battling the Ridge Road fire on Saturday, crews had been dispatched to the area three times. The department said that some people may not 'understand the method to the madness' that firefighters use when making important decisions. Breathitt County community launches recovery initiative with help from Riverside Christian school leaders 2 firefighters hurt in Owingsville roof collapse: Department says crews faced community backlash Gov. Beshear gives Kentucky storm response update: 'We're in this together' 'Feel free to join the department closest to you, I promise you everyone is needing help,' OFD staff wrote. Owingsville fire officials said multiple other departments from the Bath County area helped OFD crews extinguish the house fire. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
OFD back home after helping Eastern Kentucky flood operations
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) – The gear is unloaded and search and rescue boats scrubbed clean after Owensboro firefighters help eastern Kentucky residents affected by recent flooding. Lieutenant Ted Johnston was a part of a team that initially arrived in Hazard, Kentucky. The Owensboro Fire Department (OFD) was eventually stationed in Martin County, Kentucky to assist in water rescue operations. 'I mean the water was rising incredibly fast,' recalls Lt. Johnston. 'It took us a while to find the route to where we were supposed to be going because every way we went was blocked off by water.' Johnston says his team battled hazardous conditions, including low-hanging power lines due to the high water levels, making reaching flooded residential areas challenging. 'The water was at incredible levels,' says Lt. Johnston. 'The local fire chief that we were with said he hadn't seen it that bad there since '77 when they had flooding.' Snow plows and emergency crews ready for Tri-State Winter Storm Outside of flooding, accumulating snowfall proved challenging as well. 'The temperatures were dropping,' explains Lt. Johnston, 'and just making sure you have enough dry clothes. All of our members do have dry suits, but they get leaks and you're not always wearing that suit if you're not doing water operations. So just really making sure you got the clothing you need and be able to kind of adjust to the weather.' Lt. Johnston says each disaster is unique, but also valuable, when it comes to being better prepared for the next one. He also believes helping others in need is simply the right thing to do. 'There's going to be a time where we need help here, so we're going to offer our help anywhere that we need,' says Lt. Johnston. OFD back home after helping Eastern Kentucky flood operations Gibson Southern Students use iRacing to fuel their future Rolling lane closures signal continued I-69 ORX progress Newburgh sites collect 145 tons of ice storm debris Gov. Braun brings property tax bill discussion to Evansville Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
