Our firefighters begin their 24-hour shifts at 7:00 a.m. each morning. And while the morning is spent preparing for the tour by checking equipment and engaging in training, we never know what that tour of duty will bring.
The tour that began yesterday on that first day of February grew so busy that it included requesting mutual aid for a short time period.
The Toledo Fire & Rescue Department responds to approximately 150 to 160 incidents during any given 24-hour tour of duty and that translates into an excess of 110,000 responses by years end. These incidents include fire, rescue and E.M.S. service to our city.
At one point around 1:00 p.m. on February 1, 2016, the run volume and the challenge of a second-alarm incident on Bennett Road followed in minutes by a “regular alarm” dispatch for a residential fire on Greenwood in east Toledo necessitated the call for mutual aid.
For short time on February 1, 2016, T.F.R.D. received mutual aid assistance from Sylvania Township, Springfield Township, Rossford, Oregon and Maumee fire departments. Thanks to these departments for “filing in” and helping us cover the city. While things returned to “normal” almost as quickly as it started, T.F.R.D is appreciative of the assistance from these departments and their quick response. Fortunately mutual aid is not often needed, but it is available through agreements among the departments in our area.
Great job by our firefighters and kudos to our personnel in Fire Communications for their efforts in responding to the challenge and the work involved with monitoring all the incidents and dealing with the mutual aid process.
We would also like you to know that a smoke alarm was instrumental in alerting the occupant on Greenwood to the fire in his home. Unfortunately the home was heavily damaged by the fire, but, no one was injured as a result.