Contact: Gene Welch                                                                For Immediate Release

Phone: 530-582-7635                                                              Date/Time:

Winter Public Safety and Protection

Location, CA, Date:     What do fire service professionals do during the winter? This is a question many citizens ask because it’s hard to imagine a forest fire when there’s five feet of snow on the ground.  You may be surprised to learn that the winter is as active, if not more so, than other seasons of the year.

Here in the Truckee Fire Protection District we deal with much more than just fire. The volume of emergency calls increases during the winter months because of the influx of visitors and part time homeowners to the region as well as the extreme travel conditions (icy and snowy roads).   Just within the town limits of Truckee, the full time population is around 14,000 residents.  On weekends and holidays, this population increases to close to 50,000.  

Truckee Fire is proud to serve the community as the emergency medical transporting agency.  If a patient is in need of urgent care, we are responsible for taking them to the nearest hospital, Tahoe Forest Hospital. Patients that have suffered severe trauma may be diverted directly to the nearest trauma center in Reno, or may be transferred to the trauma center after being stabilized at Tahoe Forest Hospital. Our firefighters have a minimum basic life support (BLS) certification of Emergency Medical Technician-1 (EMT-1) while all the full time firefighters have advanced life support (ALS) certification as Emergency Medical Technician-P, Paramedic (EMT-P).

Other non-emergent activities that Truckee Fire personnel perform during the winter are commercial inspections, defensible space education, snow removal around fire hydrants, and snow removal in front of and around our stations.  Snow needs to be removed to provide safe access for the constituents of our community that come to our stations as well as to provide access for our vehicles and employees in and out of the stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Installing snow chains on our emergency vehicles whenever conditions may require their use is also common (When the roads are closed due to extreme conditions, we still respond), as well as, washing our vehicles that have been exposed to the sand and salt on the roads, to prolong the life of our equipment. Continuing education also keeps us busy maintaining the certification for our EMT’s, Dive Rescue Team members, Hazardous Material Technicians, Swift Water Rescue Technicians, and Rescue Team just to name a few.  We also provide cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes to the public, along with Automatic Electronic Defibrillation (AED) training. 

The Truckee Fire Protection District provides fire protection for 116 square miles of property. It may be cold outside, but that does not mean work ends. Our business is the protection of life and property through the provision of fire rescue and emergency medical services regardless of the season. The continued growth and expansion of the Truckee area creates new challenges everyday. We have to provide increasing service while supporting the overall region. We are proud and dedicated to protecting and servicing our community 24 hours a day, snow, rain or shine.

While we are training and responding to emergency calls during these winter months we encourage everyone take advantage of the snow to get a jump on their defensible space work.  Now is a great time to remove dead and unwanted live limbs from the trees around our homes and buildings.  It is possible to reach higher branches on the trees without the use of a ladder by walking out onto the firm snow that nature has so generously provided for us.  Cutting live limbs this time of year while the tree is dormant is healthier for the tree.  It is a good time to remove the midrange ladder fuels that would allow a ground fire to climb up into the crown of the trees.  Just cut the limbs and leave them until spring when the snow has melted.  At that time you can drag the limbs to the curbside stacking them with the butt end of the branch pointing towards the road.  When that is done call our District office, 582-7850, and arrange to have our chipping crew chip your branches onsite for free.  We can also provide consultations on defensible space at your residence.  For more information on defensible space check out our website, www.truckeefire.org.

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