Snohomish County Fire District 1

Snohomish County Fire District 1 honored those who have been promoted and achieved other career milestones in the past year during a ceremony May 6 at Headquarters. Those honored were:

Successful completion of their introductory period as firefighters: Deanna Carter, Tanner Friebel, Josh Stadler, Jesse McCormick, Scott Schmitz, Melissa Reimer and Bryce NcCorchuk.

Successful completion of their first year in the volunteer program:  Jon Dickson, Aaron Keller and Robert Pomper.

Promotion to Captain: Gene Smith and Dave Ruddell.

Retirees: Jeff Larmore and Capt. Bruce Krause.

An early morning fire caused more than $100,000 damage to an apartment north of Lynnwood on May 1.

Neighbors reported smoke coming from a ground-floor unit in a three-story building at an apartment complex in the 2700 block of Lincoln Way at 5:30 a.m.

“The apartment was charged with smoke when firefighters arrived,” said Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1.

Firefighters from Fire Districts 1 and 7, Lynnwood and Edmonds responded to the call and quickly brought the fire under control. There were no injuries.

The tenant was away on a trip at the time of the fire. His apartment was heavily damaged and is uninhabitable. It was unknown whether he has renter’s insurance.

The Snohomish County Fire Marshal’s office investigated the fire and determined the cause was electrical.

###

Kids can learn about bicycle safety, meet firefighters and tour fire engines at Snohomish County Fire District 1’s Ready to Roll Bike Safety Open House on Saturday, May 10.

This free event will take place at five fire stations in south Snohomish County:

From 10 a.m. to noon at:

• Lake Serene Fire Station, 4323 Serene Way, Lynnwood.
• Mariner Fire Station (next to Mariner High School stadium), 12310 Meridian Avenue, Everett.

From 1 to 3 p.m. at:

• Mountlake Terrace Fire Station 18 (just east of QFC), 3900 228th St. SW, Mountlake Terrace.
• Silver Firs Fire Station, 13611 Puget Park Drive, Everett.
  

Children are encouraged to bring their bicycles and helmets to ride through the Ready to Roll safety skills course. Low-cost bicycle helmets ($7) and multi-sport helmets ($10) custom-fit by firefighters will be available. Children who sign the Ready to Roll bicycle safety pledge and promise to wear a helmet every time they ride will receive free bike reflectors.

Firefighters will also lead tours of the fire engine and medic unit, and talking about the tools and gear they use. Refreshments and information about a variety of safety topics will be available during the open house.

“Making low-cost helmets available to the community and promoting bicycle safety is part of Fire District 1’s commitment to reducing injuries. Our firefighters are always ready to respond around the clock, but we’d all prefer to prevent an emergency before it happens,” said Fire District 1 Chief Ed Widdis.

Studies have shown that wearing a helmet can prevent about 85 percent of head injuries from bicycle crashes.

Safe Kids USA, an organization committed to childhood injury convention, also found:

• Children are more likely to be injured while riding on residential streets close to home. The typical bicycle/motor vehicle crash occurs within 1 mile of the bicyclist’s home.
• Nearly 60 percent of all childhood bicycle-related deaths occur on minor roads.
• Children age 4 and under are more likely than older children to be injured around the home (driveway, garage, yard).
• Children are four times more likely to be injured when riding in low light (nighttime, dawn or dusk) than in daylight.

Nine citizens graduated from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training in Snohomish County Fire District 1 recently.

Karolyn Baker, Steve Chittenden, Karl Kohagen, A. Danielle Kean, Lorelei R. LaMaire, Richard Pilspanen, Ann Plunkett, Toni Reading and Arnie Williams completed the eight-session CERT course to learn how they can help their community in a major disaster.

Class topics included readiness, basic disaster first aid, search and rescue operations, how to put out small fires and the psychological effect of disasters.
 
Fire District 1’s next CERT class will be offered in the fall. The class is free; however, students need to create (or purchase) a home disaster kit and purchase personal safety equipment to participate in some class activities. For more information or to register for the class, contact Kristen Thorstenson at (425) 551-1250.

###