Monday, December 24, 2018

Things You May, or May-Not, Have Missed


Rapid City, S.D. - Over the last two weeks, we decided to take a little social media break.  Here's some of what you may (or may not) have missed.


-With the help of the City Council, we presented Jim McLendon and Gene Wittkowske with Civilian Lifesaving Citations. As you may have heard, the pair rescued Patricia Maki during a November 9, 2018 fire on Cherry Avenue. Ms. Maki was on hand to present the pair with their citations.


-Through donations and some fundraising, Firefighter/Medic Jamil Abourezk was able to purchase just under 200 toys for children in the Rapid City area. All of the toys were wrapped by Jamil and several Rapid City Firefighters and their families. Since he's assigned to Station 3, Abourezk distributed all of the toys to children in the Station 3 area. This included the Seventh Day Adventist School and the Churchill Apartments.







-We had the opportunity to present to 7th Graders at South Middle School about PulsePoint. We were invided in to present to two classes that just completed CPR training. In addition to learning about the PulsePoint Respond app, students learned how to use the companion app, PulsePoint AED. In fact, South Middle School has two public access AED's that were not previously registered on the app. The students had the opportunity to add these important devices so that others in the community will know where to find them.


-Staff at Main Street Square just recently completed CPR and First Aid certification. They invited us in to share the PulsePoint Respond and PulsePoint AED apps with them. Two previously unregistered public access AED's are now registered and their staff now has both apps downloaded to help bring an extra layer of safety to visitors to the Square.

-The Rapid City Fire Department was again proud to be an Angel Tree location. This year, our tree was adorned with 30 tags. We are proud to report that all 30 tags were taken and toys for each tag were returned.

-On Tuesday December 18, a fire broke out in the 1500 block of Concourse Drive. During mop-up and overhaul operations, we were paid a visit by London and Zoey. The girls live with their family just down the road for the fire. They were most grateful for the work of our firefighters so they stopped by with delicious donuts as a way to say "thank-you". We really appreciate the generosity and thank these two young ladies for thinking of us. In the spirit of giving, we also offered to share our donuts with our friends at the Rapid City Police Department who were on scene assisting us.

-Also on Tuesday, we responded to a vehicle fire in the 500 block of East North Street near the gas pumps at the Maverick gas station. No one was injured and there was no damage to the nearby gas pumps or a nearby building. Truck 1 had the fire knocked down quickly upon arrival.

-Last Thursday, members of the RCFD joined our friends from the Rapid City Police Department and Ellsworth Air Force Base to deliver Christmas cheer to Canyon Lake Elementary students. Every year, Don and Linda Rydstrom bring presents to each child at the school. Rapid City Firefighters were proud to be elves for Santa and the Rydstroms and share in the laughter and smiles that the day always brings.



-For three days last week, Lt. Neill Goodart conducted ventilation training for all of our on-duty crews. Controlling the flow path (the movement of heat and smoke from higher pressure areas toward lower pressure areas) is very important. Through classroom presentations and then a hands-on demonstration at Station 2, crews will be better able to understand what is needed to control the flow path.


-Rapid City Firefighters that organized the No Shave November activities presented a check for $1,182 to Feeding South Dakota for the Backpack Program. The backpack program provides less fortunate children with easy to prepare foods during the weekends and holidays during the school year. Each week during the school year, around 1,800 children are given food at 34 different schools in the Black Hills. Our thanks to all that donated and helped us support this amazing program.


No comments:

Post a Comment