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News & Highlights
The latest news and higlights of the SSFD and its members can be reviewed below. More graphical highlights can be seen on our Photos and Video pages. Check back often for the latest happenings of your Sand Springs Fire Department.
SSFD Receives Grant for Needed Equipment - September 2009
Sand Springs Fire Department received a grant to replace and upgrade well worn equipment. The grant totaling $160,626.00 was received on March 27, 2009 from the Federal Assistance to Fire Fighters grant program, with ten percent of the total being matching funds provided by the City of Sand Springs. These much needed funds allowed the department to replace aging breathing air equipment and add specialized Rapid Intervention Equipment for use in the rescue of lost or trapped fire fighters inside structures. The department’s cache of supplied air breathing equipment, used in confined space rescues, was also replaced and new components were added.
The breathing air equipment that was replaced, in most cases, was more than ten years old and well worn. It was beginning to become a real maintenance headache. Some of the equipment was outdated by two different NFPA standard changes. While these standards aren’t required by law it is the department’s practice to try and comply with as many of them as possible for the safety of our firefighters and citizens.
The new equipment includes features that add to fire fighter safety and efficiency. Some of those features include; Voice amplification units, that allow for clearer communications on the fire ground between both individuals and over the radio. Also added were integrated PASS devices that sound when a firefighter is motionless for a short length of time allowing them to be more easily located. The department has used a standalone PASS system in the past, which relied on the specific user to activate it. In the heat of battle this activation was sometimes overlooked
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The major items that were purchased include:
25 Scott AP75 SCBA’s with integrated PASS (personal alert safety system)
50 Scott 4500psi 45minute carbon air cylinders
35 AV3000 Individual face masks
28 Epic voice amplification units
4 Scott SAR escape packs
4 50’ SAR breathing air hoses
1 SAR air cart
1 Scott Simple Air 10hp breathing air compressor
1 Scott Revolve Air fill station
2 RIT Bags with associated equipment
This equipment will help assure that the Sand Springs Fire Department is better equipped to respond when needed for many years to come.
SSFD Named First Response Agency of the Year - July 2008
During the Oklahoma EMT Association’s “Medic Update 2008”, the Sand Springs Fire Department was presented with the “Emergency Medical Response Agency of the Year” award. The award is presented to the agency that has demonstrated a high level of quality and commitment to Emergency Medical response.
Fire Chief Mark Joslin states that, 'three years ago the fire department embarked on a mission to increase the level of our EMS service to the public'. He said that by this fall, the Sand Springs Fire Department will have nine additional EMT-Intermediate firefighters for a total of 22 department-wide. As a result, the citizens of Sand Springs will receive an even higher level of medical care from our First Responders. We believe in value-added service to the citizens who continue to support our mission.
The EMT-Intermediate service is just one area where the firefighters of Sand Springs excel, said Chief Joslin. The majority of our firefighters are certified Hazardous Materials Technicians and operate interlocally as part of the Oklahoma State Regional Response System. Several firefighters are also certified as Rescue Technicians and serve with Oklahoma Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue team.
Read more about this award here.
Fire Engineering Films Training Videos- July 2008
Sand Springs Fire recently helped Penn Well PUblishing's Fire Engineering with training videos. The videos are being created to compliment other instructional resources dealing with fire fighter I and II standards. The National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications, identifies the minimum job performance requirements for both career and volunteer fire fighters.
One particular segment of video shot for the series was the step-by-step process of 'donning' a Self Contained Breathing Apparatus, or SCBA. Once viewed as a cumbersome and trivial piece of equipment, the SCBA has evolved into a vital life safety tool for the fire fighter.
Sand Spring Fire Fighters are all required to be trained to the FF II level, additional training in Haz-Mat, EMS, Technical Rescue, Driver/Operator, and Fire Officer are just a few of the other areas of education that many members also have completed.
Yearly Fire Department Activity Report Published - Apr 2008
The 2007 Sand Springs Fire Department Yearly Activity Report is now available for review. The report highlights several areas of fire department operations, maps area structure fires and major accidents, as well as provides statistical summaries for the year. Also included are pictures of various incidents and training. You can view and download the report here.
Current year monthly activity reports and previous year statistics can be viewed on our Statistics page.
Specialized Haz-Mat Training Benefits SSFD - Mar 27th, 2008
Twelve Haz-Mat Technicians from Sand Springs, along with firefighters from Tulsa, Owasso, and Claremore took part in specialized haz-mat training sponsored by DuPont. The training was held at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Yard, and focused on mitigation of leaks from both pressurized and non-pressure railcars. Members were also given a indepth review of railcar construction and valving configurations.
Firefighers Enter Rotary Chili Cook-Off - Feb 29th, 2008
FF Chad Lytle, Lt. Jeremy Wade, and FF Stephen Brewer showcase their self acclaimed “Prize Winning” chili they entered in the Sand Springs Rotary Chili Cook-off. The success of the fundraiser was evident by the line of hungry patrons extending outside the community center. The trio had to resort to dishing out ½ rations in order to afford a sampling to as many as possible, but still ran out before the luncheon was over. Although there were other good recipes at the cook-off, the completely humble and biased opinion of the remaining SSFD Crew was 1st Place victory without a doubt. ** Update - offical results yield a second place title for SSFD. Their recipe has already been fine tuned for next year.