south lake tahoe fire

The following are incidents the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue department responded to from March 17 to April 13, 2016.

3/17 - 11 calls: 5 EMS, 1 interfacility psych transfer, 1 building fire, 1 wildland fire, 1 call to assist invalid, 2 canceled en route.

3/18 - 6 calls: 2 EMS, 1 system malfunction, 1 excessive heat and scorch burns with no fire, 1 assist invalid, 1 canceled en route.

3/19 - 13 calls: 9 EMS, 1 canceled en route, 1 false alarm, 1 smoke detector malfunction, 1 invalid assist.

In the mix you have El Dorado County, the City of South Lake Tahoe, Lake Valley Fire Protection and the Cal Tahoe JPA. More importantly, and most likely the reason for the passionate responses from all involved, the mix also contains the safety of the public.

On March 15, 2016, the City of South Lake Tahoe sent a letter to the JPA, stating their intent to pull out of the agency that was created in 2001 to supply ambulance service to the City and the County and a portion of Alpine County.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Code has changed, much to the appreciation of both homeowners and contractors who had to deal with different codes, depending on the location of the home, City or in the County.

The council voted to remove restrictions on the fire sprinkler code (Chapter 5.20) to be more in line with Lake Valley Fire District. The City's stricter code confused contractors who build houses in the city, and in the county, and it was also found to be cost prohibitive for homeowners wishing to remodel.

South Lake Tahoe citizens who graduated from the most recent South Tahoe Action Team (STAT) training sessions were honored during Tuesday's city council meeting.

The STAT program is designed to incorporate trained citizens in the field with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and other first responders during times of crisis. This is the first program of its kind in the Tahoe Basin.

"Our disaster preparedness capability is much better because of this class," said Fire Chief Jeff Meston.

Chief Jeff Meston and South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) held their annual awards ceremony on Friday January 29, 2016 to celebrate the department's teams members and accomplishments for the past year.

During the ceremony, the following people were honored:

Firefighter of the Year – Mike Mileski
Paramedic of the Year – Sophie Tetlow
Dispatcher of the Year – Linda Clark
STAT Volunteer of the Year – Leonard Smith

Fire Chief’s Meritorious Awards were presented to Marty Creel, Kim George, Jody Benavidez, and Brenen Davis for their work on special projects.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from December 21, 2015 to January 6, 2016.

December 21: 10 calls: 4 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 hazardous condition (other), 1 assist police call, 1 malfunctioning alarm, 1 call canceled en route, 1 carbon monoxide incident

December 22: 13 calls: 6 EMS, 1 interfacility transfer, 2 calls canceled en route, 1 no incident found upon arrival, 1 alarm system sounded with no incident, 1 passenger vehicle fire, 1 public assistance call

Are you prepared for an emergency? The City of South Lake Tahoe has developed a 12 month emergency preparedness tool to help you prepare.

As part of the City's continued initiative to increase communications, we will be offering a 12 part monthly series throughout the year highlighting emergency preparedness. Use these tools to prepare yourself for an emergency. More information is available in the City’s website at www.cityofslt.us/emergency

Emergency Preparedness—Month 1 - CREATE A FAMILY DISASTER PLAN

South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue is happy to be hosting both a blood drive and a coat drive in South Lake Tahoe. The goal is to help the community by providing vital blood as a resource within our community and also provide coats to children in need. We encounter children on calls often who could benefit from a coat donation and hope to make a difference with this.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department is accepting applications for the 2016 Winter session of STAT: South Tahoe Action Teams.

This program is designed to incorporate trained citizens in the field with the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department and other first responders during times of crisis.

Select a fresh tree with good color and firm, flexible needles that do not easily pull from the branches.

Place the tree in plain water immediately after re-cutting the trunk at least ½” above the old cut. The container you use for your tree should hold 2 to 4 quarts of water. The longer you wait to place your tree in water, the greater the chances are that it will lose the required moisture content to keep it fresh through the holiday season. NEVER place your tree on a wooden stand.

The annual Light Up Lake Tahoe parade led people through town Saturday night on their way to light the Christmas tree at the Y. Carolers kept the crowd entertained, as did cocoa and cookies, as they waited for Santa to arrive via fire truck.

With temperatures sitting at 30 degrees, bundled up children and their parents, and local community members counted down the flipping of the switch for the tree which will stay lit through the holidays.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department has released the schedule for their 2015 decorated Christmas engine. All of the fun runs nightly from December 10 to 24 barring any weather issues or emergencies.

The truck leaves Fire Station 2 at 5:00 p.m. nightly.

Thursday, December 10.....Keys/Venice
Friday, December 11.......Glenwood
Saturday, December 12.....Keys Blvd / State Sts
Sunday, December 13.......South Y /Tata
Monday, December 14.......Barton / Tahoe Island
Tuesday, December 15......Al Tahoe Blvd

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from November 1 to November 23, 2015.

November 1, 2015: 3 calls: 2 EMS calls, 1 alarm system malfunction.

November 2, 2015: 15 calls: 4 EMS calls, 1 EMS psych transfer, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 water or steam leak, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 motor accident with no injuries, 1 accident without injuries, 1 fire alarm activated with no fire, 1 electrical wiring problem, 1 dispatch canceled enroute, 1 unauthorized burning, 1 no incident found

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from October 22 to October 31, 2015.

October 22, 2015: 4 calls: 2 EMS calls, 1 false alarm, 1 call for smoke detector activation.

October 23, 2015: 4 calls: 1 EMS call, 1 vehicle accident with injuries, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 malicious false alarm for multiple alarm system.

October 24, 2015: 5 calls: 1 EMS call, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 unauthorized burning, 1 call for public assistance, 1 "no incident found."

October 25, 2015: 8 calls: 7 EMS calls, 1 "no incident found."

Some have jobs. Some have families. Some are recent high school graduates. Some are retired military. Some are college graduates. They are all future firefighters.

One month into the new school year, 33 men and women are part of the tenth class of firefighters being trained at the Lake Tahoe Community College's program, the Lake Tahoe Basin Fire Academy. This year's class started with 36 students, but some find out early on how physically demanding the program is and they find it isn't for them.

A fire in the air handling unit at Montbleu Resort in South Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of all casino and convention center patrons on Friday evening.

According to Eric Guevin, Fire Marshal for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District, the motor of the air handling unit caught on fire, forcing smoke into the hallway between the convention center and the casino floor.

One ambulance and fire engine from South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue responded along with four engines from Tahoe Douglas.

The following is a list of all 911 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) from October 1 to October 7, 2015.

October 1, 2015: 5 calls: 3 EMS calls, 1 call for unauthorized burning, 1 call for CO2 detector being activated due to malfunction.

October 2, 2015: 8 calls: 5 EMS calls, 1 call for natural gas leak, 1 call canceled en route, 1 interfacility transfer.

October 3, 2015: 11 calls: 7 EMS calls, 1 false alarm, 1 canceled en route, 1 service call "other," 1 unauthorized burning.

This is a new feature on South Tahoe Now. We will be posting the calls received each week by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue. If an incident is serious we will continue to write a story as it happens.

September 23, 2015: 13 calls received by South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue: 8 EMS calls, 1 interfacility transfer, 1 no incident found, 1 malicious false alarm, 1 cooking fire confined to container, 1 forest/woods/wildland fire in 3700 block of Lucinda Ct.

September 24, 2015: 10 calls: 9 EMS calls, 1 no incident found upon arrival.

Though long awaited precipitation decided to fall in South Lake Tahoe Thursday, the Neighborhood Evacuation Drill still went ahead as planned.

"The drill went very well," said SLT Fire Chief Jeff Meston. "Overall a success with lessons learned.

He said there was great interagency cooperation with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Search and Rescue, El Dorado County STAR and South Lake Tahoe Action teams, Public Works department, and the Red Cross all joining the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department in the drill.

A South Lake Tahoe man is facing a slew of charges after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend after telling her they were going to die, setting his apartment on fire with gasoline, and burning a police officer.

A 911 call came into the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) on Wednesday, September 9 at 2:00 p.m. from a woman who said her boyfriend was pouring gasoline inside his apartment after physically assaulting her. As the girlfriend was on the phone with police dispatch she told them the apartment was then on fire.

July 25, 2015 will always be known as the day Jacob "Jake" Callanan saved a life.

The 24-year-old South Lake Tahoe man was working at Ski Run Marina as a boat deck hand when he responded to a woman screaming from the lake. He waded out, found a submerged woman and carried her to shore.

"Although he was off duty, Deputy Carlos Francies died doing what he was sworn to do: putting himself in harm's way to protect the life of another." Those were the words of Robin Bender as she spoke to the crowd gathered at El Dorado Beach and Lakeview Commons to remember Francies who drowned in Lake Tahoe on August 13.

Bender, the CFO of South Tahoe Stand Up Paddle, along with owner Chris Brackett, spoke, and Sammantha Bender sang as people with their paddle boards headed off shore to have a paddle-out, the surfing tradition that honors the life of a fallen comrade.

The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department installed Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in all city staffed buildings this week including the airport, Parks and Recreation Swim Complex, Motor Pool, Senior Center, Transit Center, Services Center and at the Police Department.

Fire pits. The outdoor means to a perfect s'more and good conversation around a fire on a cool summer evening. But, in the midst of a drought are they safe? Are they legal when fire restrictions are in place?

There are three fire district jurisdictions just in South Lake Tahoe, along with the U.S. Forest Service, and they all have different rules concerning the backyard fire pit. One thing they all do share is for residents and visitors to be smart about fire and to not be careless.