Downey Fire Department

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS DURING TIMES OF NEED Two Downey Fire Department crews have been deployed this week to various wildland fires. This morning, Downey Engine 63-B was deployed on Strike Team 1286-A to the Bond Fire in Orange County. S/T 1286 is comprised of engine companies from Downey, Santa Fe Springs, La Habra Heights, and Long Beach fire departments. ... On Wednesday, Downey Engine 61-A’s crew was assigned to state pre-deployment strike team 1815-A with crews from Downey, La Habra Heights and LA County fire departments. The Downey Fire Department remains at full coverage, committed to protecting the city of Downey.

NEW FIRE STATION 2 & 4 UPDATE New Downey Fire Station 2 & 4 have been under construction since earlier this Fall. Currently, they are on schedule to be completed in Spring 2021. The original fire stations have been in operation since Downey was incorporated as a city. These projects are two of the many capitol improvements funded by Downey’s Measure S sales tax.

1285 Alpha update Strike Team 1285A has been working diligently at the Blueridge Fire in Orange County. The Fire has moved into the Chino Hills State Park and may cross into Riverside County soon. ... Units assigned to 1285A are: - DNY E61 - SFS E821 - LVN E62 - WCV E2 - LACo E5118 - STEN/SFS 803

NEW DRILL TOWER CLASSROOM Today, Downey Fire Department received a new modular classroom building at the Drill Tower. The building will accomodate larger multi-company crews to assemble at the drill tower and provide an improved learning environment for instructional lesson plans to be delivered prior to manipulative drills and skills review. Training is a vital component of the fire service to ensure top performance, quality customer service and employee safety. All fire... companies conduct training and drills at the drill tower on a monthly basis and recruit drill schools are also conducted at the tower. This month, eight new Downey firefighter/paramedics will begin Recruit Class 2020-2. Last month, the Downey City Council approved the purchase of the new modular training classroom for the fire department.

DOWNEY FIRE HEADS TO ORANGE COUNTY... Tonight Downey Fire Engine 61 responded as part of a mixed Strike Team 1285A to the Blueridge Fire in Yorba Linda.

***UPDATE*** The fire has been knocked down and is currently being investigated by a DFD Arson team. UNITS ON SCENE........ Right now your Downey Fire Department is on scene of a working residential fire. No injuries have been reported and the cause is unknown. Please stay clear of Fontana st. between Downey ave and Brookshire ave.

FF HAPKE DEPLOYED.... Last night FF Mike Hapke was sent to the August Complex Fire. This fire has lapped over into seven counties and has surpassed 1 million acres. FF Hapke has gone out as a fire line EMT and is currently assigned to Spike Camp Covelo. ... Good luck Mike, safe travels and a speedy return.

CHIEF DEVEREUX & CAPTAIN BROWNE RECOGNIZED Congratulations to Downey Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Scott Devereux and Captain Pete Browne for serving as lead Subject Matter Experts in the development of the LA Regional Training Group’s RIC Readiness and Support lesson. This regional training was issued to all LA Area fire departments today. Chief Devereux and Captain Browne have been working on this lesson for more than a year. Their expertise & passionate efforts w...ill aid thousands of firefighters throughout Los Angeles County. Downey Fire Department is proud of Chief Devereux and Captain Browne for their outstanding work on this important regional project! View a glimpse of the training video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/451918887 This is the sixth lesson of the seven part RTG Firefighter Safety Series which consists of Behavioral Health, Cancer Prevention & Decon, Emergency Communications, Operational Risk Management. Mayday, RIC-Part 1 (Readiness & Support) and RIC-Part II. At times, firefighters’ work involves risk of injury and even death. In the interest of saving civilian and firefighter lives, this is a risk all firefighters train for and take seriously. The assignment of a rapid intervention crew (RIC) is often a critical step in managing this risk, as part of a larger operational risk management strategy. Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, You sink to the level of your training.

DOWNEY FIREFIGHTERS PREPOSITIONED FOR RED FLAG WARNING This morning, four Downey firefighters were deployed to vulnerable Southern California communities due to the current Red Flag Warning. Downey’s firefighters are scheduled to remain assigned to the state pre-positioned strike team until December 5th. https://www.fire.ca.gov//red-flag-warnings-fire-weather-w/... SoCal Edison and PG&E have also issued a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) notifications to potentially impacted customers. https://www.sce.com/wildfire/psps https://www.pge.com Stay safe & serve well, always!

DOWNEY FIRE ON THE FRONT LINES Last night Downey Fire Engine Company 61 responded as part of a Strike Team to the Glass fire in Napa and Sonoma counties. E61 was part of Strike Team XLB 1246A which was made up of companies from the LA area: -Downey Engine 61... -Santa Fe Springs Engine 822 -Alhambra Engine 71 -LA Co FD Engines 244 & 282 -Strike Team Leader Pryor (LACoFD) and Trainee Marin (SFSFR) Good luck and safe travels.

STRIKE TEAM 1284 RETURNS HOME After 11 days of fighting fire on the Bobcat Fire, Engine Company 63 was demobilized and returned back to Downey, along with Strike Team Leader trainee Captain Rasmussen. Another great job by our firefighters! Thank you FFs Ochoa & Molina, Engineer Clark, and Captains Villanueva & Rasmussen. Strike Team 1284 was comprised of engine companies from Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Torrance, Vernon & West Covina, and led by Santa Fe Springs BC Escontri...as. One Downey company remains assigned to the Bobcat Fire: Firefighters Puebla & Salas, Engineer McMillan and Captain Hildebrand. They have been deployed since the 15th. Keep up the good work and continue representing Downey well!

THE FINAL BELL It is with much sadness that the Downey Fire Department announces the passing of retired Firefighter/Engineer Dave DeGeuss at the age of 93 in his home state of Florida. Dave was hired on July 1st, 1958 and retired on September 4th, 1983 after 25 yrs of service to the community. RIP Brother.....

EVERYDAY IS TRAINING DAY Truck Co. 611 and Eng Co. 61 at the new Kaiser wing assessing access. Everyday our companies have boots on the ground preparing and training like your and their lives depend on it....because it does. ... Video courtesy of B. Boyington

FIRELINE PARAMEDIC GONZALES DEMOBILIZED After 16 days on the Dolan Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, Downey Firefighter/Paramedic Mike Gonzales returned back to Downey. Great job! Glad to get you back home!

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE A moderate earthquake occurred at 11:38 p.m. and was initially rated as magnitude 4.6 according to the U.S. Geological Survey, about 1.8 miles west southwest of El Monte. Downey Fire Department conducted windshield damage surveys throughout the city. No reports of damage have been reported in Downey. Expect aftershocks. Did you feel it?

ENGINE 62 DEPLOYED TO BOBCAT FIRE Early this morning, additional Downey Fire Department resources were deployed to the Bobcat Fire. Engine 62-B () responded to the Palmdale area along with additional engine companies from Alhambra, Glendale and Torrance Fire Departments, providing immediate-need structure defense assistance along the northern flank of the Bobcat Fire. Serving as the operational area’s mutual aid coordination center, Downey Fire Communications Center ...has assembled and deployed fire resources from the local municipal fire departments to the various wildland fires throughout the state. Currently, multiple firefighters are assigned to four different strike teams and multiple overhead assignments on the Bobcat Fire. Additionally, another Downey firefighter/paramedic has been deployed to Los Padres National Forest’s Dolan Fire for the past 15 days. Since the beginning of August, Downey firefighters have been continually rotating crews and resources to the numerous wildland fires as far away as Butte County near the Oregon border, while maintaining full coverage within the City of Downey (our top priority). All fire departments throughout the state are as equally committed to California’s master mutual aid system, lending assistance whenever & wherever it is needed, bending to the extent they are able to assist neighbors in need. Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone, Every Day. 24/7/365 Stay Safe & Serve Well, Always!

Yesterday Ambulance Operator Brian Braasch stopped by Fire Administration during his last shift to complete his exit interview with Fire Chief Gillaspie. Brian has accepted a firefighter job offer with Long Beach Fire Department and begins their recruit drill school on September 28th. He was an A/O at Fire Station 4-A since November 2019. Congratulations on achieving your goal of becoming a career firefighter. Thank you for your service to the City of Downey and best of l...uck in Long Beach. Downey Fire Department is continually recruiting for Ambulance Operators. A/Os are emergency medical technicians assigned to Downey’s ambulances who are also striving to ultimately become firefighters. An ambulance is assigned at each of Downey’s fire stations and responds to 9-1-1 emergency medical calls within the city, providing patients with ground transportation to the local hospital emergency rooms. Ambulance Coordinator Carlos Guerra manages Downey Fire Department’s Ambulance Program. Many of Downey’s A/Os gone on to become firefighters with Downey Fire Department or other professional fire departments. New A/O hiring interviews are currently scheduled for September 24th & 25th. https://www.downeyca.org//human-resou/career-opportunities