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On Friday morning, Aug. 8, at 2:44 A.M., Santa Clara County Fire paged FSCV to a second-alarm fire in Los Gatos. Located at 14 E. Main Street, the fire was at the rear of Capelli Salon -- a beauty parlor. Responding in Support Unit 2 was John Whiteside. He was met by Jerry Haag and John Whitaker, who were already on scene.
Fire crews reported that flames were "blowing out the back of the structure" when they arrived. The firefighting efforts were hampered by a Life Safety Alert for wires down on the "Charile" side of the single-story building. FASCV set up at the rehab site located on the Main Street bridge -- directly over Hwy 17. The ususal sevices (water, coffee, etc.) were provided along with gormet cookies that were left over from the FASCV August monthly meeting that had been held only hours before the call. Support Unit 2 was released by the IC at approximatly 5:30 A.M.
More photos can be viewed at: Capelli Salon - Los Gatos
Sunday Morning, Aug. 3, at 7:20 A.M., Palo Alto Fire Dispatch was contacted by the resident of 841 Melville to advise that there were flames coming from the dishwasher. The first-due engine (E3) was about 5 blocks away and, upon arrival, advised of a single-family dwelling "fully involved". The structure was about 3,000 sq. ft.
Larry Carr responded with FSU #4 and was assisted by Bob Gundrum and visitor, Ron Green. FSU #4 was released and back in "quarters" by 10:00 A.M.
-- Information provided by FASCV member Bob Gundrum
Fire Associates needs to replace Support Unit #2. This old rig handles the bulk of our rehab responses and is on its last legs. The Rig Acquisition Committee has set a fund-raising goal of $35,000.
To help, please send a check to:
Fire Associates New Rig Fund
455 S. Mathilda Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-7605
FASCV is a non-profit, tax-deductible organization per Federal Tax Code, Section 501(c)4. All donations are greatly needed so we may continue providing rehab support Santa Clara County’s 12 fire departments in the manner we have done for the past 39 years.
A status of the current total can be viewed at: "The Embers" - August
On Saturday night, August 2, at 9:56 P.M., FASCV was paged by Santa Clara County Fire to a grass fire in the Redwood Estates village off Highway 17. Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains off La Verne Drive, the fire was down at the base of a very steep ravine near a tree house. Responding for FASCV was John Whiteside in Support Unit 2 who was met at the scene by John Whitaker.
Thank goodness for GPS!!!
The roads in this area resemble driveways more than streets and finding one's way in the darkness without an exact address proved to be a challenge. Once located, vehicle access was limited with atleast 10 fire rigs parked nose-to-tail in the darkness. The incident was declared a "high dispatch" fire because of the limited access and the fire's potential to race up the hillside. Although technically only a single alarm, a special request was made for Fire Associates' service.
Gatorade, water and Cliff Bars were walked into the fire command area to refresh very tired fire crews. One firefighter was transported by AMR ambulance due to exhaustion. FASCV was asked to leave the provisions on scene and then back out our vehicles to allow access for the AMR rig. The Support Unit was returned to quarters around midnight.
On Tuesday morning, July 8, at 3:32 A.M., FASCV was paged by the Milpitas Fire Department to a grass fire. The second-alarm fire was located at 2122 Old Calaveras Road in the hills above the city. Jerry Haag answered the call in Support Unit 1.
Other agencies responding to the early-morning call were Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Dept., Cal Fire, East Bay Regional Parks District Fire Dept. and the Santa Clara County Fire Dept. It must have been quite a "party"!
A newspaper story can be viewed at: Milpitas Post
-- Information provided by FASCV member Jerry Haag.
Fire Associates needs to replace Support Unit #2. This old rig handles the bulk of our rehab responses and is on its last legs. It is 18 years old, has over 130,000 miles and has become a mechanical liability. Unfortunately, a new vehicle that meets our needs costs approximately $70K-$100K.
However, a one-time opportunity is now sitting at North Bay Ford in Santa Cruz County. A Ford F550 utility truck was painted and prepared for a fire agency that backed out of the deal and it is being priced for us at substantially below retail value.
But, we need to act fast! We are currently trying to raise an immediate quantity of cash to take advantage of this situation.
If you can help, please send a tax-deductible check to:
Fire Associates
New Rig Fund
455 S. Mathilda Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086-7605
All donations would be greatly appreciated so we may continue serving Santa Clara County fire departments in the manner we have done for the last 39 years. We will provide updates on this fund-raising effort monthly in "The Embers" and here on our blog site.
The July issue of "The Embers" is now available on line. Check out: July Embers
At approximately 8:00 P.M. on the longest day of the year, FASCV was paged by the San Jose Fire Department to a 3-alarm house fire near the intersection of Curtner and Meridian. Located at 2417 and 2425 Westpark Drive, the fire actually involved 2 houses. Apparently starting in the yard between the two structures, the fire spread to the fences and then got under the eaves of both buildings. Not helping the firefighting effort was the heavy shake roof of one of the houses.
Although reporterd to be a 2-alarm fire, because of the very hot weather, a third alarm was called so Engine 17 could provide downwind "bran patrol". With the day's temperature down just a little from the triple-digit high, firefighters were glad to have some of FASCV's lemonade on hand. Bottles and bottles of water were also consumed. On hand for FASCV were members Don Gilbert (who brought Support Unit 2), Fred Oehm, George Hoyt and your "Blog Master", John Whitaker. After extensive overhaul, FASCV was released shortly after 10:30 P.M.
News stories can be read at: KTVU News and CBS5 News
John Whitaker's photos are at: SJS - Westpark Drive Fire
At the June meeting, it was decided by the FASCV membership that the monthly meeting for July should be canceled. Concerns were raised about the date's (Thurs., July 3) close proximity to the Fourth of July Holiday. The next monthly meeting will be held on Thurs., August 7. Watch this blog for details.
On Wednesday evening, May 21, Fire Associates was paged by San Jose Fire to a tier-3 grass fire. Located near the intersection of East Capital Expwy. and Tuers Road. Responding to the 5:20 P.M. page were Don Gilbert and John Whiteside in Support Unit 2. Also on scene were FASCV members George Hoyt, Mike Chappell and John Whitaker. The fire burned an area south of Capital Expressway and was spread quickly by strong winds. San Jose Fire, with the help of Cal Fire and Copter 106 had the fire under control within two hours. Fire Associates helped with the ordering, pick-up and delivery of pizzas to hungry firefighters that responded to the dinner-hour event.
To see John Whitaker's photos, go to this link: Tier-3 Grass Fire
