News from WPFR & our community. This site is not monitored 24/7. All is subject to public disclosure & opinions of visitors do not reflect those of WPFR.
A house fire over the weekend sent a dog to the vet, as when our firefighters found him, he was not breathing. CPR was performed and we are happy to report he’s being discharged today and doing well!
UPDATE: Fire on the south end of Ketron Island is CONTAINED and approx 300’ x 150’. Water supply is a large issue on Ketron, making firefighting difficult. No homes are in this area, just brush. Crews remain on scene to fully extinguish the fire.
Crews are clearing Day Island, where they responded for a service call due to rising tides from Puget Sound. Firefighters went door-to-door checking on residents and fortunately, no one was injured or in need of rescuing.
Read more here:
Please help us congratulate EMS Captain Lynda Henderson, as she wraps up her last day of work and heads into her next chapter: retirement!
She was the first female firefighter hired with UPFD in 1996 and has served our community for nearly 26 years. Congratulations, Lynda!
Today marks 11 years since losing our four fallen
@LakewoodPD
officers, Sgt. Mark Renninger, Officers Ronnie Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards.
The blue stars on our stations is our way of honoring them and their sacrifice. They may be gone, but never forgotten. 💙
We are grateful for training opportunities with our partners, such as the
@USCG
. Training together allows us to streamline rescue efforts on Puget Sound, whenever the call comes in.
A garbage truck driver realized the garbage was on fire. He was close to our station in University Place and stopped in for us to put it out. Luckily, the fire was out quickly and no one was hurt. We don’t see many 9-1-1 calls come to us!
As our law enforcement partners at the
@PierceSheriff
celebrate the life of Deputy Dom Calata today, we stand with them. Thank you to all of our law enforcement partners for all you do to protect our communities every day.
Please help us welcome our newest firefighters! These lateral recruits have made it through their first week and we can't wait for them to serve our community.
Can we show our
#recruits
some love? They finished the week off strong. This week they’re studying HazMat. Like this tweet to wish them luck! Let’s go, Red Knights!
Did you see this box?! Our friends at
@pepsi
heard the story about Pepsi the Lab, who had to be rescued after falling over an embankment last week. They stopped by to deliver a care package and wish him a speedy recovery! Engine 24’s crew will deliver it to the family today. 🐾
We are heading home.
@waDNR_fire
has taken over and our operations are complete. Thank you to all agencies involved in the incident for their hard work.
This morning we attended the raising of the flags at Blue Steele Coffee in honor of our four fallen
@LakewoodPD
heroes, lost on this day in 2009. We will never forget.
On 1/5/22, crews rescued a woman from a house fire using innovative techniques. During today's after action debrief, firefighters were presented with letters of commendation for their hard work which resulted in saving a woman's life. Congratulations and thank you to all!
Sometimes we have patients who are the purrrrfect size to get stuck in a drain pipe.
Neighbors heard meowing & called us this morning to help find this little one. Luckily, crews were able to safely get the kitten out of the pipe, cleaned up & sent to be checked out.
Crews are on scene of a commercial building fire at 9600 block of Gravelly Lake Drive in
@CityofLakewood
. Please avoid the area.
Details will be updated as they become available.
We share unfortunate news tonight that 19 of our personnel are in quarantine after one of our firefighters tested positive for COVID-19. All stations remain staffed, open and operational.
Read more here:
Firefighter/Paramedics Haley Harn (left) and Solveig Waterfall (right) are our first all-female paramedic crew.
Responding out of Lakewood on Medic 20, these two have been serving our community together for six months and we're proud of the work they do each and every day.
Just after midnight, crews responded to a dryer fire at Merrill Creek Apartments in Lakewood. The smoke alarm woke up the occupant and we were able to rescue 7 puppies from inside! No human or canine injuries to report. 🙌🏻 Are YOUR smoke alarms working???
Today we teamed up with
@LakewoodPD
,
@CentralPierce
and
@AMR_Social
for a “thank you” parade at St. Clare Hospital. Thank you to the healthcare workers and all you’re doing! We appreciate you!
We want to recognize our 16 firefighters who are climbing 1,356 steps to the top of the Columbia Tower in the
@LLSusa
Scott
#Firefighter
Stair Climb this morning in
#Seattle
. Congratulations to all participating and thank you for raising money for such a great cause!
Today we stood along the route as
@CentralPierce
escorted their fallen firefighter to Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood today. We mourn with our fire service family as well as all who grieve the loss of Firefighter Garner.
Some of our folks met over at Blue Steele Coffee after seeing the Lakewood 4 Memorial Park was in need of some sprucing up.
Thanks to those who came out to make sure the area dedicated to our
@LakewoodPD
fallen officers was looking great. 💙
Last night, a patient who suffered a gunshot wound earlier this year came to the station to meet the paramedic who held her hand on the way to the hospital. Check out our FB page for video!
Parts of our community near the Puget Sound are experiencing flooding issues. This is Sunset Beach Rd W in the
@cityofup
.
Anywhere waters are high, please do not walk, swim or drive through flood waters. Turn around. Don’t drown!
We've confirmed a Horizon Air Q400 that had an unauthorized takeoff from SeaTac around 8pm has gone down near Ketron Island in Pierce County, WA. We're working to confirm who was on board, we believe there were no guests or crew on board other than the person operating the plane.
Pepsi the lab is home safe! Pepsi and his family were over the embankment and all uninjured. He fell last night and could not walk back up the steep cliff. The family climbed down to him and stayed until we arrived.
Can you help us give a big shout out to our mechanics?!
No matter the situation, they keep our vehicles on the road so we can get where we need to go. We are grateful for the work they do each and every day!
Recently, crews were dispatched to a house fire in Lakewood, only to find heroes working next door.
These tree service workers heard the commotion, grabbed an extinguisher and put out the fire out before our crews arrived. Thank you for your quick, selfless actions!
Cheeseburgers. Lip gloss. Shaving. Cell phones. Children. Head banging to “Bohemian Rhapsody”. All of things have something in common: they can be distracting when behind the wheel!
@wsdot_tacoma
and
@wastatepatrol
, did we miss any? Eyes on the road and arrive alive!
#DriveSafe
It is with incredible sadness that inform you that our deputy has passed away from his injuries. We are with his family now, and we ask that you please keep his family, friends, and our department in your thoughts and prayers.
Zig and Zag are here to tell you: pets and hot cars don’t mix!
Please DO NOT leave your children or pets unattended in a hot car, as the temperature can rise exponentially FAST.
Today we teamed up with
@LakewoodPD
for our Storytime with West Pierce! Our PIO and her husband are reading “Llama Llama Red Pajama” today. Check out the full video on our Facebook and Instagram!
Happy
#FathersDay
! We are excited to introduce our only firefighter father/daughter duo - the Harns!
We are so happy Battalion Chief Mike Harn and his daughter, Firefighter/Paramedic Haley Harn, both decided to do what they love and serve our West Pierce community.
It’s
#ReadAcrossAmerica
! Before we head out to the schools to read to students, we thought we’d brush up on our skills. We chose “K-9 Dan” about
@PierceSheriff
’s very own canine named after fallen Deputy Daniel McCartney. Have you read it?
Please help us in congratulating our newest firefighters to complete probation. They have worked extremely hard since being hired and we are so proud of all they have accomplished...and they're just getting started! Congratulations!
Firefighters are at the scene of a fire at the 100 block of Shore Acres Drive in Lakewood. Country Club Drive has many fire apparatus on it, please avoid the area. There are no injuries and the fire is now under control and under investigation.
Congratulations to our newest firefighters, who graduated last night from the Red Knights Recruit Academy!
Their dedication and hard work has not gone unnoticed and they now begin their careers serving their community. We applaud them for all they've accomplished.
We know everyone has places to be, but PLEASE SLOW DOWN around emergency scenes. 🚨🚒🚑 We’ve had some close calls today 😳 and people seem to want to race through our scenes. 🤦🏻♂️ Trust us, we are trying to get everyone on their way as quickly as we can! 👨🏽🚒👩🏼🚒
Please help us congratulate our newest firefighters who finished probation! Pictured here are from
C Shift - Firefighters Kitchen, Sagdahl, Perez, Lee and Fenn.
Congratulations on your hard work, effort and dedication!
Crews are on scene of a sign collapse on southbound I-5 at Gravelly Lake Drive in Lakewood. It seems a car has hit the support, bringing down the sign. One person is being evaluated for injuries. Please avoid the area and expect long delays.
Chili Cook-Off
FF’s accepted a challenge from Curtis HS Culinary students to see who can make the best chili tomorrow. The students do not realize our Firehouse Three Alarm Chili recipe has already won numerous awards. Cops are judging what could go wrong?
Welcome to our first
#FireFamilyFriday
! We'd like to introduce you to Captain Garret Smith.
Head over to our Instagram and Facebook pages to read all about his career in the fire service.
A big thank you to
@PierceTransit
for bringing a bus to the scene! They are sheltering approximately 10 residents from the cold while it is determined which apartments are affected by smoke and/or water. The fire was contained to the unit where the female patient was found.
Not every 9-1-1 call has a positive outcome. While this is a harsh reality, it is our reality all the same. We strive to ensure our folks are supported in their job, as we know our industry can have an impact on our mental health.
#PTSDawareness
Crews are on scene of a fire with hazardous materials inside at 2310 104th St S in Lakewood. Per
@wspd1pio
, SR512 is shut down in both directions as the smoke is considered toxic. Please avoid the area.
It’s not every day someone is handed their pin marking 35 years of service.
#Congratulations
, Captain Lillie, and thank you for your dedication to our community!
Update: the fire is under control. Crews are focusing on the hazardous materials from firefighting efforts. Expect road closures in the area as crews will be on scene for several hours.
THANK YOU VOTERS for approving our Maintenance & Operations levy on this week’s ballot! We appreciate your support!
This is not a new tax, but a replacement of the current levy, set to expire in 2023, and accounts for 25% of our operating budget.