Bedford Fire Department 2011 “No Illusion”. Video and Pictures taken from 2011.

Here is another example of firefighters and public safety personnel wearing pink for breast cancer awareness!

View more Virginia Firefighters wearing pink here

Stafford County Fire and Rescue Department members are wearing pink t-shirts to show support for those fighting breast cancers. All proceeds from sales of the shirts will be donated to “Susan G. Komen for the Cure”.

Wynn Locher
Stafford Professional Fire Fighters Local 4012

The City of Staunton Fire & Rescue has gone pink for October. The members of the department are wearing pink t-shirts the entire month. Pictured are the members of B-Shift with our 9-11 Memorial.

Lieutenant Perry Weller
Staunton Fire & Rescue

Portsmouth continues to wear pink shirts. Pictured below are of the ladies of the Portsmouth firefighters credit union located near station12. Also pictured below is a house fire where two firefighters were photographed wearing pink shirts.

The fire photos are from Portsmouth Battalion Chief Jim Hoffler

OWL Volunteer Fire Department Wears Pink Duty Shirts to Make a Statement against Breast Cancer

Woodbridge, VA October 9th, 2010 — OWL VFD, usually known for putting out fires and responding to 911 calls, put on pink tee shirts for the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

During the Month of October all OWL VFD crews will switch from their normal dark blue shirts to pink tee shirts to show solidarity for those fighting breast cancer, those that have survived breast cancer or for loved ones lost to breast cancer. “Cancer has touched almost everyone’s life, including members of our own department. We want to remind them that they are not alone, that we care.” said Department Chief Jim McAllister. OWL VFD has a history of supporting cancer research with their annual St. Baldrick’s event that they hold every March to raise money for Children’s cancer research. “This is one more way we can give back and raise awareness.”

“I think wearing pink is great.  Breast Cancer is a devastating disease.” Said Captain Kurt Bolland.  “Those fighting for their lives are courageous and brave.  We want them to know they aren’t alone.”  OWL VFD crews will be wearing the pink tee shirts for the entire month of October.

OWL VFD is one the largest and busiest volunteer fire departments in the United States with over 300 active members. OWL VFD provides fire suppression, EMS care, and rescue services to 80,000 residents in our 27 square mile area through the operation of three fire stations. OWL volunteer firefighters and EMTs work the 6 pm to 6 am shift, five days a week, plus 24/7 holidays and weekends.
For more information on OWL VFD, visit www.owlvfd.org 

Roanoke County Fire Station #9 is wearing pink during October.

Check out more crews wearing pink here and submit yours today!

From left to right: D. Sizemore, D. Lacy, J. Yopp, J. Newman, T. Gray, C. Campbell.

QUANTICO, Va. – For the month of October, firefighters on base will wear pink shirts to help raise awareness for breast cancer. The firefighters brought up the idea of wearing the pink shirts last year, but weren’t able to get the shirts made in time.

“I really pressed the idea this year,” said Daniel Ruchka, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, here. “We passed the idea up our chain of command and we got approved in time to get the shirts ordered.

“Almost everyone I know has had someone who was a part of their lives affected by breast cancer,” said Ruchka. “I personally have been directly affected by it; that’s why I was pushing for us to wear the shirts.”

Continue reading… Quantico firefighters wear pink to raise awareness of breast cancer | InsideNova.

Credit: Pfc. Tabitha Bartley/Quantico Public Affairs Members of Quantico’s fire department will be sporting pink shirts this month in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Roanoke County Station 5 A-shift are wearing pink during October. Captain Dean Peroulas is 3rd from the right. He allowed us to post the picture.

A side note that VAFireNews.com editor Rhett Fleitz runs mutual & automatic aid with the crew from Roanoke County 5A.

Feel free to send in your pics to editor@VAFireNews.com!

View more firefighters wearing pink here

Roanoke County Station 5 A Shift

Submitted by Danny Clary

Fort Pickett firefighters sport pink shirts during the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. This is A Shift. L-R front row Jason Krotzer and Jan Clarke, back row Jeramiah Fix, Edwin Foster, and Danny Clary.

By Mike Sanders

Congratulations to the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management for the opening of the brand new Moorefield Station Fire Station 23 in the Ashburn area of the county. The new fire station became operational on July 7, 2011.

Originally, Fire Station 23 was opened in 2004 and was a combination volunteer/county leased facility operated jointly by the county and Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. It became a county operated station in 2009. Affectionately known as “The Warehouse Rats”, the original station was a temporary facility located in a commercial warehouse area just off of Waxpool Road. With the opening of the new station, the warehouse will now house the county’s Fire Marshall’s vehicles and other miscellaneous emergency apparatus.

The new station 23 can be seen from the Dulles Greenway toll road and is located at 43495 Old Ryan Road. Station 23 houses an engine company, medic unit, and a basic life support unit. In addition, several specialty units run from the station including a tanker, medical ambulance bus, and a mobile air unit. Finally, the EMS 601 Battalion Chief has an office at the station.

A special thanks to Captain Glenn Swain and the shift on duty July 30th for your hospitality during my visit.

For anyone who has heard ambulance sirens wailing in the night and prayed everything was all right, you’ll rest better after reading this. Actively involved in responding to emergencies in Chesterfield is a remarkable man named Dave Tesh, who not only works a full-time career position as Volunteer Recruiter/Liaison for Chesterfield County Fire and EMS—but also serves as Deputy Chief in the Forest View Volunteer Rescue Squad, Station #3.

And— judging by the testimonials that poured in— Dave is well regarded not only in Chesterfield County, but throughout Virginia as well.

“Dave walks the walk,” wrote Bobby Hill, EMT-B Recruitment Coordinator for the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad Foundation. “If I had to choose one individual to speak on behalf of volunteer EMS in Virginia, that person would be Dave Tesh.”

Continue Reading…(source) Above the Crowd: Meet Dave Tesh | Richmond Times-Dispatch.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Stairs and slides are replacing the signature fire poles at many fire stations.

Safety concerns over firefighter injuries have caused many departments to phase them out, including the Portsmouth Fire Department.

“The risk is primarily falls, sprains, and strains from coming down. So when they came out to get on the engines, they came down with full gear on,” said Capt. Paul Hoyle with the Portsmouth Fire Department.

An injury leaving the station would have a negative impact on the department’s response.

Now stations either build their bunkrooms on the first floor or rely on stairs.

Continue Reading…(source) Fire poles being phased out | WAVY.com | Portsmouth, Va..

This is the 2010 Department Video for the Powhatan Volunteer Fire Department Company 1

Visit their web site at PVFD1.com

After nearly two years of planning, Augusta County is getting a fire station in the Riverheads area.The Augusta County Board of Supervisors plans to approve lease and service agreements for the new Riverheads Fire and Rescue Station Wednesday.The new station will house volunteer firefighters and members of the Staunton Augusta Rescue Squad.

Continue Reading…(source) Riverheads Fire Station in Final Preparations.

]]> http://www.vafirenews.com/2011/01/augusta-county-riverheads-fire-station-in-final-preparations/feed/ 0 http://www.vafirenews.com/2011/01/world-trade-center-steel-approved-for-charlottesville-fire-department%e2%80%99s-future-fontaine-fire-station/ http://www.vafirenews.com/2011/01/world-trade-center-steel-approved-for-charlottesville-fire-department%e2%80%99s-future-fontaine-fire-station/#comments Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:19:12 +0000 Webteam http://www.vafirenews.com/?p=12596

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently approved the Charlottesville Fire Departments’ request for a piece of World Trade Center (WTC) steel. The steel was recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001 and secured at JFK Airport by The Port Authority of NY and NJ until now.

New Fontaine Fire Station

On September 9, 2009 staff from the Charlottesville Fire Department traveled to New York City.  With the assistance of the Port Authority a specific piece of Steel was selected that will be memorialized in the building of the future Fontaine Fire Station.  Charlottesville will serve as the final resting place for the WTC Steel Artifact that is 17 feet long, weights 4 thousand pounds, and has a starburst split at one end.  The Artifact also marks the site of the recovery of one of the fallen FDNY hero’s lost that morning.  The Artifact will not only honor the victims of 9/11, but all public safety professionals who selflessly serve throughout our communities and country every day.

The Port Authority’s 9/11 WTC Project requires that Artifacts can only be used in a memorial open to the general public such as in parks, training grounds for uniformed personnel or places of public assembly. According to Lee Ielpi, President of the September 11^th Families Association who announced this project:  “The steel withstood the most horrific attack on American soil that took the lives of 2,973 innocent people.  This is a rare opportunity to create a lasting memorial honoring the lives lost and educating future generations about the events of September 11, 2001.  Every day, your work as emergency personnel demonstrates the power of good.  A public memorial to the victims and hero’s of 9/11 is a powerful way to insure their memory lives on in your community”.

A Charlottesville delegation will travel to New York later this month to participate in a series of events to honor those lost, take delivery of, and provide an escort for the WTC Steel Artifact as it makes its way back to Charlottesville.  The route of the WTC Steel Artifact can be tracked from the Charlottesville Fire Departments Facebook page at http://on.fb.me/hSzbns.  Financial assistance is needed to help bring the steel home to Charlottesville.  Donations are being accepted and can be sent to:

World Trade Center Steel

Attention:       9/11 Steel Memorial Project

Charlottesville Fire Department

203 Ridge Street

Charlottesville, Virginia 22902

For additional information on this event or to learn more how you can contribute, please contact CFD 9/11 Steel Project Coordinator, Battalion Chief David Hartman at:

Email: hartmand@charlottesville.org;  Phone: (434) 531-4826

To schedule an interview with Chief Werner, contact PIO Battalion Chief Rich Jones at 531-3506

Santa Claus visits Jordan Alverado, a 6-month old cancer patient, and her mother Maria, right, on Saturday.

DALE CITY, Va. — Dale City Volunteer Fire Department volunteers filled in for Santa Claus on Saturday and toted presents all over Dale City in a fire truck festooned with evergreen garlands, larger-than-life candy canes and red bows.

Ed McPike played Santa and accompanied the volunteers as they made their rounds.

Most of the children Santa visited suffer from cancer, said Trudy Sipes, who has been riding with the volunteers at Christmas time for the last 23 years.

Continue Reading…(source) Santa delivers smiles to sick kids | InsideNova.

Credit: Parker Michels-Boyce/The News & Advance Members of the Lynchburg Fire and EMS team replace the decaying roof on the Georgia Avenue home of a man who recently lost both of his legs to diabetes.

Firefighters Scott Kelly and Neil Patterson took Biglow home from the hospital on Dec. 12. When they saw the house, they knew something needed to be done.

The two called their supervisor and explained the situation. The firefighters discussed what could be done to help the couple.

They talked about temporarily relocating Wansley and Biglow but wanted to keep the family home for Christmas, Patterson said.

Wansley said the firefighters told her about the Lynchburg Firefighter’s Foundation and how they might be able to help. The foundation, which serves the firefighters, also accepts donations that can be used to help in the community.

Continue Reading…(source) Firefighters pitch in to repair city couple’s rotten roof | The News & Advance.

Submitted by Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner

Tonight (12/17/2010), the CFD and the Charlottesville Fire Corps hosted a Mexican Posada for our community’s Hispanic community. Over 250 attended the event held at Charlottesville Fire Headquarters on Ridge Street. The event included Posada caroling, a visit from Santa, Pinata events, authentic Mexican food/hot cocoa/cookies (yummy) and toys and candy for the kids. Each year, I am reminded to stay clear when the Pinata breaks open and the candy falls as it turns into a all out kids free for all with smiles everywhere.

It was a great event from the aspects of fire department community outreach, a cultural sharing event, a family event, fire department recruitment and for just good fun for all. This is an annual event and was the 3rd Posada in the past 4 years (last year canceled due to snow storm) with the most ever in attendance.

Kids got to meet and have pictures taken with a firefighter in full protective clothing and interact with other firefighters. All of the children had a chance to sit with Santa and received Christmas presents.

The event was primarly planned by Felipe Mendez, a member of the Charlottesville Fire Corps and was supported by the other members of the Fire Corps and a number of volunteers and members of the Church of Incarnation.

Thanks to Vice Mayor Holly Edwards who stopped by and took part in the festivities.

And thanks to all of my CFD Firefighters for their help for this event and everything that they do every day. This is truly one of the greatest fire departments anywhere!

Command Sgt. Maj. Gabriel Berhane, left, and Col. John Strycula, garrison commander, drive a fire truck through a bay at the emergency services center on Fort Belvoir North Area, opening the new facility. Photo by Travis Edwards

With the ceremonial cutting of a ribbon, Fort Belvoir leadership officially opened the Fort Belvoir North Area’s new Emergency Services Center Wednesday.

Instead of the usual, oversized scissors, the garrison command team used a new fire truck to cut the ribbon stretched across a large bay door.

“It really takes great partnership to make a project like this come together. It is the folks at the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers], the people who’ll use the facility, and the contractor that make it all work together,” said Fort Belvoir Garrison Commander Col. John J. Strycula.

Continue Reading…(source) Lead Story – BelvoirEagle.com.

NBC29:

Fluvanna County is counting down the days until it can move some of its firefighters into a brand new station. The Kents Store Fire House is set to open in January. The county says the new fire house is long over due, and the current station can’t accommodate future growth.Plus, the price tag on the new fire house turned out to be a good deal. The current Kents Store Fire House is small, and many firefighters don’t even have a place to sleep. However, that will all change in a few weeks with a brand new facility on the way.

via New Kents Store Fire House Near Completion – NBC29.