Fire Associates of Santa Clara Valley

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas...

Look for some exciting fire equipment driving around Santa Clara at Sunset next week...

For those wishing to support our annual Department sponsored Toy Drive, please watch the following video. We are currently accepting donations of new, unwrapped... toys at each of our fire stations. To keep you and our firefighters safe from exposure to COVID-19, we’ve implemented safety protocols including a no-contact donation drop-off process. Thanks to all who have already donated and to those who are considering helping us spread holiday cheer during these difficult times. SJFD wishes you all a safe and happy holiday season! See more

Move over for lights and sirens, every day!

Giving Tuesday...

Early Monday morning Santa Clara County Fire Department responded to reports of a house on fire in Cupertino. Arriving units reported a 2 story home with heavy fire showing from multiple sides of the structure - a 2nd alarm was requested. Residents escaped, and fire crews were able to contain the blaze to the house of origin. Fire Support Unit 3 responded with the second alarm to provide rehab. It's a super hot weekend here in the Bay Area and even at 2:00am ice cold drinks were greatly appreciated!

Even in a pandemic help is still needed!

Palo Alto Fire is working a 2nd alarm structure fire on Bryant Street near downtown. San Jose Fire is working a 3rd alarm structure fire on N 14th Street. Traffic is disrupted in both locations.... Fire Support Unit 3 is responding to Palo Alto for Rehab. Fire Support Unit 2 is responding to San Jose for Rehab.

With COVID-19 cases spiking locally and across the U.S., we urge community members to heed advice from public health professionals. Avoid gathering with others ...from outside your household, wear a mask when outside your home and stay 6 feet away from others. You can help protect essential workers and SJFD firefighters - stay home this holiday season. TESTING RESOURCES: Widespread testing provides a more accurate picture of how many cases exist in our community and helps us understand how and where the virus is spreading. There is no up-front cost for testing. At many testing sites, you do not need medical insurance to get tested, however, if you have health insurance, you will be asked you to share that information. You are getting tested through your health care provider, a co-pay may be charged for your visit, but you will have no out-of-pocket expense for the COVID-19 test itself. Find testing locations at https://www.sccgov.org/s/covid19/Pages/covid19-testing.aspx FOOD RESOURCES: Have you faced economic hardship as a result of COVID? Are you at high risk for serious illness from COVID? You may qualify for free local groceries delivered to your door through the San José COVID Food Relief Program. Learn more and apply: https://bit.ly/3o1fc0a HOUSING ASSISTANCE: The County of Santa Clara has identified housing for every COVID-19 positive individual in the County who needs housing assistance. Housing may also be provided to individuals who have tested positive and must quarantine from others in their household. For more information, dial 2-1-1. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Santa Clara County residents can call 2-1-1 for information and additional community resources available as part of the pandemic response. Residents can also receive information regarding COVID-19 by texting the word coronavirus to 211211 and following the prompts provided.

It's not every day that we get a groundbreaking ceremony for a new fire station.

Thanks to the staff and customers My Pizza who coordinated this collection of needed supplies to support firefighters in the South Bay... a truckload of drinks and snacks will go a long way! Firefighters work hard and need constant hydration and nutrition to keep going. Fire Associates uses 4 Fire Support Units to operate in the field next to our fire crews, keeping them hydrated, cool, and fed. Have your own truckload of drinks and high protein snacks you want to donate? Reach out now - or visit our web page to make a cash contribution.

Happy Birthday to Captain Sam Siebert down at the San Jose Fire Museum - 101 today!!! Yes... I said 101! We celebrated with many others... Fire Support Unit 3 participated in a drive by celebration with Sam and the Museum crew... it was great to see Sam up and about... running to each vehicle as it drove by.... Happy Birthday Sam!

Fire Associates has been receiving phone and email inquiries regarding how members of the public can help firefighters in the current situation. Many of these inquiries have been directed to us by various South Bay fire and police departments. Right now, the focus of our efforts is on keeping firefighters safe by providing both hydration and food. We are using huge quantities of ice, water, and Gatorade (by the pallet load), and all of our resources are currently committed to... getting supplies into the field where they need to be. Unfortunately, this means we are unable to work with you, the public, who would like to contribute a case or two of water or Gatorade to the firefighters. It's not that we don't appreciate your generosity, it's just that we don't have anyone available at this time to open a fire station and receive your generous gifts. We are simply not set up to accept donations of goods. However, we do need your support on an ongoing basis, and there are a couple of ways you can help. The first is simply to make cash donations. As mentioned above, we are using these supplies by the pallet load, and we are burning through our cash reserves to keep up with the demand. When it comes to cash donations, we can assure you that all of our staff are volunteers, with no paid staff or management. There is no overhead involved in our services, and 100% of every donation goes directly to obtaining and delivering supplies to firefighters in the field at major emergencies. The other area where we need help is in manpower. We are always looking for dedicated volunteers to assist us. This is a less immediate way to help, as there is a process to join Fire Associates and some training is involved. Therefore, we can't put you to work in the field right away. That said, we are definitely looking for help. If you would like to make a cash donation to Fire Associates, you may do so via PayPal at this link: http://www.fascv.org/Donate.html. There, you will also find other ways to make cash donations to us. If you would like to volunteer in the future, we invite you to attend our monthly meetings on the first Thursday of each month. Currently, these are virtual meetings on Zoom. For information about volunteering, please contact [email protected], who can provide you with information about our organization and upcoming meetings. Finally, one last ask please share this post to your page/s help us spread the word about our work and our need. Click the share button on this post, do it now help us help the fire crews working so hard in the South Bay. However you choose to assist us, we truly appreciate your help.

During yesterday's Coyote Fire, just north of Morgan Hill, Fire Support Units 2, 3 and 6 stopped by CalFire's Morgan Hill headquarters to fill up on ice - It was hot as we operated in 3 separate divisions of the 143 acre fire. Initial loads of ice and cold drinks were shared with the crews, and all crews were hydrated before our units went for fresh ice and prepared to do it all again. From here FSU2 and FSU3 went back to their divisions, FSU6 made a meal run and picked up 180 burritos which were then distributed to crews around the fire.

Please monitor your local media if you live near the edge of one of these fires. Stay safe.

Fire Support Unit 6 on Montalvo Heights Rd in Saratoga helping Santa Clara County Fire Department with a Level 2 Wildland Fire. 105 degrees!!

Things got busy yesterday - late in the afternoon a fire broke out off Hwy 17 in Los Gatos - a large contingent of fire crews from Santa Clara County Fire Department and CalFire tackled the blaze - Fire Support Unit 3 responded to assist. In order to continue to provide coverage to the rest of their area, rigs were moved up from around the County to provide coverage from County Fire Stations, including rigs from Palo Alto Fire Department, City of Mountain View - Fire Departme...nt and San José Fire Department Meanwhile, in the South of the County Christopher Ranch had a problem at their main garlic processing facility after an electrical transformer exploded, igniting a pile of stored pallets, and spreading to a large refrigerated storage building. South Santa Clara County Fire Protection District responded, assisted by Gilroy Fire Department, Morgan Hill Fire, CalFire, and San Jose Fire providing both on-scene support and station coverage. Fire Support Unit 6 responded to that incident to provide hydration in extremely hot conditions. Yesterday was a great example of our mutual aid system at work, with Departments around the County helping each other to get the job done while continuing to provide effective emergency protection to everyone in the County

In case you hadn't already noticed...temperatures are rising in #SantaClaraCounty and record heat is possible through the weekend. #SCCFD urges residents to ...Hydrate early and often Limit outdoor activities Check on elderly neighbors #CAwx

It’s going to be a SUNNY and hot weekend in Sunnyvale! The US US National Weather Service San Francisco Bay Area/Monterey California has issued a heat watch adv...isory for our region beginning Friday afternoon, August 14, lasting through Wednesday, August 19. Temperatures are expected to reach into the mid 90’s up to 103. Please remember to practice heat safety by staying hydrated, staying cool and not over-exerting yourself. Heat stroke and dehydration can be life threatening. County of Santa Clara, California has a number of cooling centers, if you need to, please take advantage of them. Here is the list of cooling centers throughout the County as well as heat safety tips on how you can beat the heat: https://bit.ly/heatsafetytipsSCC. The following County of Santa Clara Public Health Department social distancing guidelines will be enforced for cooling centers: Do not enter if you have COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough, diarrhea, headache, muscle aches, shortness of breath, unexplained loss of taste or smell Face covering is required (exception of children 6 years and under or if medically inadvisable) Maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet from others at all times PLEASE also remember to never leave your kids or pets in hot cars. It only takes minutes for heat stroke to kick in and it can be fatal. If you have pets, make sure they also have shade and plenty of fluids. The excessive heat may cause power outages, as a friendly reminder we ask that you do not call 911 if your power goes out. Instead please contact PG&E directly. To report a power outage, or check the status of an outage, please contact PG&E at their Power Outage Information Center by calling 1-800-734-5002. You may also check the information online by visiting: https://m.pge.com/#outages. Please make sure to visit U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) for weather related updates and more information on the heatwave, it’s important to stay informed. Stay cool, Sunnyvale!

Rehab Volunteers are getting younger!