Benicia Fire Department

Benicia Fire responded to a vehicle fire in the industrial park early Friday morning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

If you are currently healthy, please consider donating blood at Benicia's Bucket Brigade Blood Drive on December 8th and 9th. Thanks to our partners #AMPORTS and #VolkswagenPortQuality, every blood donor will receive this free tee shirt! Patients rely on blood from volunteer donors and your donation can potentially save as many as 3 lives. We are performing COVID-19 antibody testing to discover donors who may be able to donate convalescent plasma (CCP) in order to help patien...ts fighting COVID-19. The Benicia Fire Department will be having their 2 day challenge at the Benicia Community Center on December 8th & December 9th. Please make your appointment by calling 877-258-4825 or click the link below. https://www.bloodheroes.com/index.cfm Vitalant - Bay Area

The Benicia Fire Department is collecting new, unwrapped toys to distribute to children and families who need them. All new toys, including stuffed animals with tags, are being accepted. Distribution boxes are currently located at: Fire Station 11 - 150 Military West, Benicia Fire Station 12 - 601 Hastings Drive, Benicia... Please wear a face covering and sanitize your hands upon entry. Give us a call at 707-746-4275 if you have any questions!

Happy Thanksgiving, Benicia! We are grateful for our resilient community, especially this year. We helped St. Dominic School with their food drive this week (social distancing and face coverings included, of course). Thanks to their students for collecting food for those in need. A lot of people are struggling this year, and their kindness is admirable. Check out their video below!

The alert signal you may have heard this morning is a test of the Benicia emergency alert system. The system is tested the 1st Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m. In case of an actual emergency, sign up for AlertSolano to receive specific information and instructions related to the incident. If you have any questions, you may contact the Benicia Fire Department at 707-746-4275. Please do not dial 9-1-1 unless you have a life-threatening emergency. Visit www.alertsolano.com for... more information. To prevent delays in messaging, download the Everbridge App - Android - https://tinyurl.com/jbufc8k; iOS - https://tinyurl.com/ydyb8rvw

The Benicia Fire Department is collecting new, unwrapped toys at Station 11 (150 Military West) and Station 12 (601 Hastings Drive) for kids in need in our community. This holiday season will look different for many families and toy donations are even more needed this year. The front office at Station 11 is open from 8am-12pm and 1pm-4pm on Monday-Thursday and every other Friday. The deadline for toy donation is Friday, December 18th. ... Thank you for helping to spread joy this holiday season!

If you are currently healthy, please consider donating blood in the coming weeks. Patients rely on blood from volunteer donors to see tomorrow and your donation can potentially save as many as 3 lives. We are performing COVID-19 antibody testing to discover donors who may be able to donate convalescent plasma (CCP) in order to help patients fighting COVID-19. Please join us in the 1st Annual Solano & Napa County Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge. The Benicia Fire Departmen...t will be having their 2 day challenge at the Benicia Community Center on December 8th & December 9th. Please make your appointment by calling 877-258-4825 or click the link below. https://www.bloodheroes.com/index.cfm

Last week, our firefighters simulated rescuing a victim from a hillside using a rope system. The firefighters were able to practice using a new system of ties to hold the victim in the carrier. This system will allow us to extricate victims in less time so that they can receive the medical attention they might need as soon as possible. We're always training to be ready when you need us!

We are excited to welcome the goats back to the City of Benicia. The goats provide environmentally friendly, sustainable vegetation management and wildfire prevention. Their grazing cleans up the physical appearance of the landscape and greatly reduces fire hazard around homes that are close to open space. While Fire Department personnel look at open space areas that are high-risk with challenging topography when considering suitable locations for the herds, the Fire Department does not have the ability to move the herds to specific locations.

Benicia firefighters have returned home from the Silverado Fire in Orange County. The Benicia team met up with dozens of other teams from across the state, many of whom were also in yellow OES engines. Did you know? CA State owns yellow "All Risk" Fire Engines and specialized rescue equipment in order to augment local government response in support of the State's Master Mutual Aid Program. Benicia houses one of the OES engines in our apparatus bay so that we are equipped to help our neighbors across the state when they need it.

Come get your FREE flu shot at Community Park's farthest parking lot today from noon to 3pm. For more information, visit www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/flu/default.asp Flu shots are especially important this year. This week, the Solano County Department of Health and Social Services, Public Health division, confirmed that a Solano County resident under the age of 65 tested positive for the first case of flu and COVID-19 co-infection. With the likelihood of both COVID-19 and ...seasonal flu activity this winter, contracting either disease may weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to the other disease, said Bela T. Matyas, M.D., M.P.H., Solano County Health Officer. Getting a flu vaccine this year is more important than ever, and flu vaccines are the best way to protect yourself, your family, and the community from becoming seriously ill with the flu. Vaccination not only reduces the risk of catching the flu, it also reduces the chance that you’ll be hospitalized. In other words, the flu vaccine will provide some protection and reduce your chances of needing to be hospitalized if you do get sick. The start of the flu season is always unpredictable, and the flu vaccine, once administered, takes two weeks to become fully effective, therefore Solano County Public Health urges everyone six months and older to get a flu vaccine as soon as possible, and to get one every year, as the flu virus changes over time. Timely flu vaccinations help prevent a disease that hospitalizes hundreds of thousands and kills tens of thousands of Americans every year. Symptoms of the flu can be like early symptoms of COVID-19, meaning people with flu symptoms may require a COVID-19 test and need to stay home from work and isolate while awaiting their results, said Matyas. It is also important to note that flu is not COVID-19, which is caused by a different virus, and that the flu is not the same as the common cold, which is also caused by different viruses.

Halloween fun at Station 11. Thank you to all the trick or treaters who came to visit us! And thanks for doing your part to keep our community safe by wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing. Let’s keep it up, Benicia!

Daylight Saving Time ended today. Check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors while changing the clocks to fall back. Test your alarms every month, replace batteries every year, and replace alarms every ten years. The U.S. Fire Administration instructs to install smoke alarms on every level of the home and inside and outside each sleeping area. Did you know? Half of home fire deaths happen between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are asleep. If the smoke ala...rm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Call the fire department from a cell phone or a neighbor’s phone. Stay outside until the fire department says it’s safe to go back inside. For questions about smoke and carbon monoxide detector safety, call Benicia Fire Department at (707) 746-4275.

Benicia Fire Department - Station 12 is ready for trick or treaters! Come visit us at 601 Hastings Drive (face coverings required!) Bags were packed by masked and gloves firefighters. Trick or treating will be contact-free and socially distanced.

Halloween is almost here! Remember to light jack-o-lanterns with electric, flame-less lights. If your kids will be outside at nighttime, give them flashlights and wearable glow-sticks so that they are more visible to passing cars.

Benicia Fire and the Benicia Police Department responded for an accident involving a train versus a vehicle on Industrial Way early this afternoon. The driver of the van had minor injuries and was able to walk away from the incident. Remember - trains can’t stop quickly and never assume tracks are abandoned or inactive.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Benicia Firefighters Association is selling tee shirts for $20 each to support the Pink Heels Foundation. Special thanks goes to our beautiful models, they did a great job. The shirts come in S, M, L, XL, and 2XL for both men's and women's.... Stop by Station 11, 150 Military West, to pick one up! We're open 8am-4pm Monday - Thursday and every other Friday. We close from 12pm-1pm daily for lunch.

Wondering about these new signs popping around town this past week? They are part of the City’s Evacuation Plan to ensure that all Benicia residents are prepar...ed in the case of emergency. The city has been divided into FIVE zones and each zone has its own evacuation route. Get to know your evacuation zones here: https://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/index.asp In the coming weeks, you’ll also receive an envelope in the mail with more information about the Evacuation Plan, including physical maps. Be prepared and stay safe!

This morning, four Benicia firefighters packed up the yellow OES engine and headed down to Southern California. Our team is responding as part of the State's mutual aid system for the suppression of the Silverado fire in Orange County.