We received this message about one of our crews!The men and women of the Drexel Heights Fire District strive to provide the best possible service to the community. We want to hear from you when are folks go above and beyond what you might expect. And yes, we also want to hear from you when we don’t meet your expectations. Our folks take pride in what they do and your comments go a long way in saying thanks and also making us better.
My husband had just been released from the hospital with COVID in his lungs. I was clueless as what to do since we got ZERO instructions from the hospital. I even had the guys read the hospital discharge paper in case I just didn't know what I was looking for. But it didn't have any of the information filled in. The guys were SO nice and really made me feel better about being the clueless caretaker. I was to say the least a basket case when they arrived. They will never know how much it meant to me to have them come and check on my husband and to help relieve some of my stress.
Thanks again, Amy and Toby Verrette
MONTHLY TIPS HELPING YOU STAY SAFE |
What's Your Plan if Fire Happens?
Your ability to get out of your home during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning
Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.
Escape planning tips
1) Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm.
2) A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code® requires interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
3) When you walk through your plan, check to make sure the escape routes are clear and doors and windows can be opened easily.
4) Choose an outside meeting place (i.e. neighbor's house, a light post, mailbox, or stop sign) a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they've escaped. Make sure to mark the location of the meeting place on your escape plan.
5) Go outside to see if your street number is clearly visible from the road. If not, paint it on the curb or install house numbers to ensure that responding emergency personnel can find your home.
6) Have everyone memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. That way any member of the household can call from a neighbor's home or a cellular phone once safely outside.
7) If there are infants, older adults, or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the designee is not home during the emergency.
8) If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency. Emergency release devices won't compromise your security - but they will increase your chances of safely escaping a home fire.
9) Tell guests or visitors to your home about your family's fire escape plan. When staying overnight at other people's homes, ask about their escape plan. If they don't have a plan in place, offer to help them make one. This is especially important when children are permitted to attend "sleepovers" at friends' homes.
10) Be fully prepared for a real fire: when a smoke alarm sounds, get out immediately.
11) Once you're out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the fire department dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.
Put your plan to the test
- Practice your home fire escape plan twice a year, making the drill as realistic as possible.
- Make arrangements in your plan for anyone in your home who has a disability.
- Allow children to master fire escape planning and practice before holding a fire drill at night when they are sleeping. The objective is to practice, not to frighten, so telling children there will be a drill before they go to bed can be as effective as a surprise drill.
- It's important to determine during the drill whether children and others can readily waken to the sound of the smoke alarm. If they fail to awaken, make sure that someone is assigned to wake them up as part of the drill and in a real emergency situation.
- If your home has two floors, every family member (including children) must be able to escape from the second-floor rooms. Escape ladders can be placed in or near windows to provide an additional escape route. Review the manufacturer's instructions carefully so you will be able to use a safety ladder in an emergency. Practice setting up the ladder from a first-floor window to make sure you can do it correctly and quickly. Children should only practice with a grown-up, and only from a first-story window. Store the ladder near the window, in an easily accessible location. You don't want to have to search for it during a fire.
- Always choose the escape route that is safest – the one with the least amount of smoke and heat – but be prepared to escape under toxic smoke if necessary. When you do your fire drill, everyone in the family should practice getting low and going under the smoke to your exit.
- Closing doors on your way out slows the spread of fire, giving you more time to safely escape.
- In some cases, smoke or fire may prevent you from exiting your home or apartment building. To prepare for an emergency like this, practice "sealing yourself in for safety" as part of your home fire escape plan. Close all doors between you and the fire. Use duct tape or towels to seal the door cracks and cover air vents to keep smoke from coming in. If possible, open your windows at the top and bottom so fresh air can get in. Call the fire department to report your exact location. Wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth at the window to let the fire department know where you are located.
Clear Your Escape Routes
Items that block doors and windows in your home could keep you from escaping in the event of a home fire. And that could mean the difference between life and death. So unblock your exits today! Key to your family’s safety is planning and practicing a home fire escape plan twice a year. Start by identifying two escape routes out of each room, if possible, then make sure that each of those escape routes can be used safely by everyone.
Progress is being made. The walls are going up at 5030 S. Camino Verde?
Drexel Heights Fire Station 401 located at Camino Verde and Ajo Highway is quickly making the transition to becoming a brand new Fire Station. This construction project is funded by the 2017 Capital Bond initiative. When completed, the apparatus area will be able to accommodate modern fire apparatus and the new facility will have enhanced safety and wellness features for the firefighters. The walls are going up and its exciting to see the progress! Please bear with us during construction. Thank you.
IF YOU NEED HELP, AND CAN'T CALL, YOU CAN NOW TEXT 9-1-1!!!
PIMA COUNTY EMERGENCY RESPONDERS HAVE JOINED IN THE "TEXT 9-1-1" SYSTEM TO HELP YOU WHEN YOU CAN'T MAKE A VOICE PHONE CALL. WATCH THE VIDEO WITH KEVIN ADGER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS VALUABLE FEATURE TO GET YOU THE HELP YOU NEED.
What if you were hurt, lost, or came up on a vehicle accident.
You call 9-1-1, but you do not know where you where?
Do you know “what3words” that would get help coming your way
or help you find your location?!?
Click on the picture to find out more “what3words” could save a life!
"911 - What is your emergency?"
" "what3words" has divided the world into 3m squares
and given each square a unique three word identifier.
Use a "what3words" address to find the exact location
to help us dispatch help to where it is needed, fast.
To learn more about this amazing app, check out what3words to learn more!
and given each square a unique three word identifier.
Use a "what3words" address to find the exact location
to help us dispatch help to where it is needed, fast.
To learn more about this amazing app, check out what3words to learn more!
Here are some more helpful links to keep you informed
National Weather Service
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Citizen Alert Notification Sign Up
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Are you looking for a part-time position? We have PT Communication Specialist positions available!
Go to the top of the page, click on the "EMPLOYMENT" tab under "ABOUT DHFD".
Check it out!
You made it this far, check out what is happening regionally
A Regional Partnership collaborating to lead Pima County's Emergency Services
The Pima Fire Chiefs Association is made up of members, associate members, and regional partners who are working collaboratively to lead Pima County’s emergency services.
Following a recently completed strategic outline, the Association is focused on stronger leadership, increased engagement, better defined mission and purpose, increased collaboration amongst its membership, and improved mentoring opportunities within the Association.
Following a recently completed strategic outline, the Association is focused on stronger leadership, increased engagement, better defined mission and purpose, increased collaboration amongst its membership, and improved mentoring opportunities within the Association.
