FireFighters volunteering at Jolly Holiday Lights Tues & Sunday
#YourDesMoinesFireFighters will be volunteering at the 2019 Jolly Holiday Lights for the Make-A-Wish Foundation In Altoona.
Dec 17, 2019 (Tuesday) & Dec. 22, 2019 (Sunday)
We look forward to see you.
Make-A-Wish® Iowa grants a wish every other day – each one a life-affirming testament to hope, inspiration, and resilience. Wishes strengthen wish kids and their families, rally communities together, and change the lives of everyone involved. Experience the stories of those who know firsthand the power of a wish-come-true.
Jolly Holiday Lights - Make a Wish website
Des Moines Fire Fighters volunteer at Ronald McDonald House
#YourDesMoinesFireFighters volunteered at Ronald McDonald House in Des Moines.
Thanks so much to everyone that came out!
This organization(the Ronald McDonald House) means a great deal to several of your brothers in Des Moines Professional Fire Fighters - Local #4.
Enclosed is Ronald McDonald House web site so your can volunteer too.
Volunteer for Ronald McDonald House
Fire Fighters make donation to MercyONE Katzman Breast Care
October is Breast Cancer Awareness!!!!
Des Moines and Urbandale Firefighters donated $1000 toward MercyOne Katzmann Breast Care providing additional support to patients and families beyond what the hospital is able to provide.
Many of the great people who made this happen gathered this morning for a quick photo-op.
Pictured here is Tessa Creglow and members of the MercyOne Katzmann Breast Care Team alongside representatives from Local 4 and iWork&Play.
Thanks and congratulations to everyone that made this donation possible!
B. Gray
publicrelations@iaff4.org
New ambulance features to keep medics, patients safer while en route
DES MOINES, Iowa —
In two wrecks involving ambulances carrying patients in Des Moines, no one was hurt. The city's senior medic is praising the city for funding safety upgrades.
Lt. Tony Sposeto, senior fire medic for Des Moines Fire EMS, watches over a fleet of ambulances each costing $300,000.
"People call us on the worst day of their life," Sposeto said.
He claims the ambulances are like tanks, equipped with new safety measures like air bags, seat belts for medics and liquid ride suspension for a smoother ride.
"If we lose a patient, that would be catastrophic," Sposeto said. "We want to make sure not only our personnel are safe, but the people we serve are safe, as well."
The recent upgrades follow years of bad wrecks across the country. Ambulances are top-heavy by nature, meaning they're prone to flip. Sposeto said these new ambulances were designed to absorb that kind of impact.
"It's very structurally sturdy," Sposeto said. "In a rollover situation, that box will stay put."
Sposeto said air bags are not required in all ambulances.
Last December, four people were sent to the hospital after an ambulance flipped at Sixth and Franklin avenues in Des Moines.
Sposeto said the new airbags would have played a critical role in that incident.
"Literally probably saved not only the city, but taxpayers, thousands, if not millions, of dollars," Sposeto said.
KCCI News 8 VIDEO
Medic squad involved in crash, 2 more ambulances respond
DES MOINES, Iowa —
Rescue crews were called to the scene of a crash in Des Moines Tuesday involving a medic squad.
The crash happened around 1:30 Tuesday at MLK and Forest Avenue.
A medic squad ambulance was involved in a crash with an SUV there.
There were injuries involved and two ambulances were sent to the scene to transport patients.
No other details have been released.
Check the KCCI Breaking News and Weather App for updates on this developing story.
KCCI TV 8 new article
City begins demolition of metro motel to build fire station
DES MOINES, Iowa —
Crews began tearing down the former Relax Inn on Wednesday to make way for a new fire station.
Des Moines Fire Station 11 will be built at 4144 Hubbell Avenue.
Design, preparation and construction for the new fire station is estimated to cost $8.3 million. Money raised from Des Moines’ local option sales tax will help fund construction.
"(The station) will cut in half the travel distance to the far northeast corner of the city, especially since the 2009 annexations,” Des Moines Fire Chief John Tekippe said. “And as this area develops, both residentially and commercially, there's a greater need for us to be closer to that border."
Relax Inn closed in 2018. Construction of Fire Station 11 is scheduled for completion by spring 2021.
KCCI NEWS 8 video
Fire Departments Ask for Help in Keeping Fire Hydrants Clear During Snow Storms
JOHNSTON, Iowa -- You clear the snow from your driveway, you clear the snow from your sidewalk ... but there's one thing you may be forgetting to clear.
Metro fire departments are asking you to take a minute to clear the snow from around the fire hydrants on your block. The hydrants are placed close to roads so they are easy for fire trucks to reach. That also makes them susceptible to being buried by snow plows.
You aren't legally responsible to dig out a fire hydrant in front of your house. However if its not clear and a fire breaks out then fire fighters will have to spend their time digging instead of extinguishing flames.
Tristan Johnson with the Johnston Fire Department says if you haven't unburied your fire hydrant yet then now is the time to act. "The more the weather gets cold, we have melting and refreezing, the harder it is to dig out," Johnson says, "The snow kind of gets compacted. The higher the pile gets the heavier it is for us to shovel out."
WHO TV 13 News video
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