fire department

Every year, South Lake Tahoe fire agencies prepare to fight fires around the basin but they rarely get to practice evacuations of residents.

That opportunity came on Monday when the Tahoe Douglas Fire District and Skyland Fire Adapted Community executed an inter-agency wildfire evacuation drill in the Skyland neighborhood.

The drill simulated a real evacuation event to give residents the opportunity to practice evacuating from their homes and getting to the designated safe zone.

Retiring South Tahoe Middle School Principal thought it was an assembly to honor the school's staff who are retiring. Words were said and plaques were given at the Wednesday morning ceremony. Then, the fire alarm sounded and hundreds of students and staff moved out onto the soccer field.

In honor of National Emergency Medical Services Week, the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department invites the community to an “Open House” on Saturday, May 23rd from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fire Station #3 located at 2101 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

There will be CPR demonstrations, food and information about the EMS Services the City provides.

The Tahoe Douglas Fire Department is holding a blood drive in honor of Fresno Fire Department Captain Pete Dern who was burned over 70% of his body while responding to an house fire in March.

Not only will donations show support for first responders who put their lives on the line to aid and protect us, donors also earn a chance at winning one of two $750 Southwest Airlines gift cards.

A large oven fire at MontBleu Resort Wednesday afternoon caused the evacuation of 200 people from the casino and sent two people to the hospital with smoke related complaints.

Just after 3 p.m., Tahoe Douglas Fire received a call about a fire at the South Shore casino. The fire department responded with a full structure fire team according to Fire Marshal Eric Guevin.

"When we got there we found significant amount of fire and smoke," Guevin told South Tahoe Now. "Casino staff had tried to extinguish the fire with three extinguishers."

Brenen Davis was promoted to Fire Engineer/Paramedic for the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department.

Davis, who started his career with SLTFD in 2002 as a Reserve Firefighter, then became an employee in 2004.

His list of accomplishments include being a field training officer, experience fighting the Deerfield Lodge Fire, the Long Valley Fire and the Angora Fire. Davis has received multiple letters of appreciation from both the public and from the City.

Brenen has been married to his wife, Liz, for three years, and they have two dog named Kula and Sol.

In a scene from 1992’s “The Bodyguard,” Kevin Costner‘s character, hired to protect the music star played by Whitney Houston, runs down a snowy wooden pier and dives into the water to rescue a boy from a boat just before it explodes. (Cue a Houston ballad.)

Off the silver screen, that same 76-foot-long pier and the property attached to it are known in real life as Tallac House, which just listed for $7,995,000 in South Lake Tahoe, CA.

The insanely ornate, all-wood, 3,000-square-foot house has had its Hollywood close-up. Twice. More on that in a moment.

Tahoe Douglas Rotary has been a part of the South Shore community since 1962, and, as are the other 1.2 million Rotarians in the world, are bound by a commong purpose, Service Above Self. The club felt it was an ideal fit to recognize police and fire professionals in the community who make sacrifies every day to serve and protect.

For the next six days, South Tahoe Now will highlight each of this year's winners of the inagural First Responder Community Hero Award.

The South Shore community members have big hearts! I wanted to send my congratulations to the organizers and participants at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation fund raiser on Friday, February 27th at the Ice Arena in South Lake Tahoe. What a fantastic event for a foundation with the goal to “Conquer Childhood Cancers.” Thank you!

4:40 p.m. update: A South Lake Tahoe home is a complete loss after a Thursday night fire which displace six residents and hospitalized two.

A South Lake Tahoe firefighter suffered from smoke inhalation and was transported to Barton where they were treated and released. The resident, a male, was at first sent to Barton but later transferred Code 3 to the U.C. Davis Burn Center with burns to his head and hands.

Jumping into the lake in the dead of winter is normally a very chilly task but this year's participants in the Third Annual Tahoe Keys Association Polar Bear Plunge will have sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60's.

Spectators and participants will be at the Tahoe Keys Pavilion on Sunday, February 15. Sign-ups will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and the plunge starts at high noon.

South Lake Tahoe Fire Chief Jeff Meston gave a detailed explanation of the 14-year old California Tahoe Emergency Services Operations Authority (Cal Tahoe) during Tuesday's City Council meeting. At the end of it one message was clear: El Dorado County needs to pay up.

It was another packed house meeting on Thursday night for the Tahoe Paradise Resort Improvement District.

The last few meetings have been full of anger, dysfunction, arguing and mis-information. Many came to this board meeting hoping to have answers and a clear understanding of what the future holds for the Tahoe Paradise Park, which the board oversees.

It was clear early on that this meeting was going to be more of the same.

A home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at a fire in the 3600 block of Shawnee Drive in Northern Douglas County on Saturday night.

Sixteen units from the East Fork Fire and Paramedic District were on scene with additional units from the Carson City Fire Department.

When they arrived at approximately 6:45 p.m., 80% of the structure was already involved in fire according to Sgt. Pat Brooks of the Douglas County Sheriff's Deparment.

Nobody was home when the fire broke out. Tbe Red Cross is helping the family.

Mark A. Novak, the current assistant chief for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, has been named to head the Vail Fire Department.

Novak, 48, will begin full-time employment with the town on Feb. 2. He was selected from a field of 105 candidates during a national search process which included six finalists.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department hosted their first annual open house on October 11th in recognition of National Fire Prevention week. Visitors toured all three fire stations and learned about the importance of having and checking smoke detectors, hands only CPR, using a fire extinguisher and also completed a passport card for entry into a grand prize drawing for of a dinner for four prepared by the firefighters. The Gower family of Eric, Jamie, Rowen, and Abby were the winners of the Open House dinner.

Happy holidays from Lake Valley FPD! Here is the schedule for our Christmas engine to drive through our community neighborhoods. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us!

December 11 – Echo View Estates, Tahoe Mountain Road, Mule Deer Circle

December 12 – Lake Tahoe Blvd from Boulder Mountain Drive to Grizzly Mountain Drive

December 13 – West side of North Upper Truckee from Zuni Street Highway 50, Chiapa Drive

December 14 – East side of North Upper Truckee from Grizzly Mountain to West San Bernardino Ave.

The EL Dorado County Food Bank will be in South Lake Tahoe on Friday to give away turkeys to families selected by local agencies.

In partnership with Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Rotarians, SLT Fire Department, Tahoe Sierra Kiwanis Club and the SLT Police Department, the Food Bank will give away 150 turkeys.

Families were signed up to receive the turkeys by St. Theresa’s Bread & Broth and the Family Resource Center of South Lake Tahoe. They will get the gift on Friday, November 21 at the American Legion.

This is Sallie of the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department with a Halloween safety Announcement.

The 2014 Fall Aging & Caregiver Series will be given for the next six weeks in South Lake Tahoe. This six week series of classes are designed to provide instruction and support for caregivers who are, or are planning to, care for a family member or friend age 60 or older.

All classes are held at the Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel (formerly Embassy Suites) from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Participants must register by calling 530-621-6369 or 800-510-2020. Free in-Home respite is available to qualified caregivers. Pre-authorization is required for respite services.

A South Lake Tahoe woman is recovering in the hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a stab wound to the neck Wednesday night.

Thomas Payne, 36, also of South Lake Tahoe, was arrested Thursday afternoon for attempted murder after the victim identified him as the perpetrator of the domestic violence.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will lift fire restrictions on National Forest System lands beginning Friday, October 3, 2014.

“Although fire restrictions will be lifted on Friday, remember campfires are never allowed in the Desolation Wilderness,” said Forest Service fire management officer Kit Bailey.

Inventories of some blood types have taken a dip in recent weeks and are needed in the community. United Blood Services watches their inventories closely to ensure they have the necessary blood products on the shelf for people in our community in need of a blood transfusion for elective and trauma surgeries and other serious medical conditions.

They are holding a blood drive at the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department at 193 Elks Point R on Thursday, September 25 from noon to 5 p.m. to help fill those shelves with blood.

The Lake Valley Fire Department was given a $26,000 grant to clear brush and hazard trees from a 6.5 acre parcel in Meyers. The grant was given by the Forest Service to help reduce the risk of wildfire in Meyers.

The parcel is owned by the California Tahoe Conservancy across from the Tahoe Pine Campground.