Eight Begin Careers as Rapid City Firefighters

The new recruits will be assigned to Medic Units until completion of a 2018 Fire Academy.

Pictured, top row, L to R: Cory Eberle, Ryan Nelson, Brandon Lliteras, Karl Bodensteiner

Pictured, bottom row, L to R: Steven Gilbert, Randy Albright, James Swango, David Rohlf

Rapid City, S.D. - Today, eight individuals will begin their careers as Rapid City Firefighters. The eight employees have completed initial training to be able to work on RCFD ambulances. The eight will be assigned strictly to Medic Units until completion of a longer, more formal academy- which will include fire and rescue training- sometime in 2018.

Randy Albright- Randy is originally from Minnesota. Recruit Albright has eight seasons of experience as a wildland firefighter with the United States Forest Service, with seven of those seasons spent in the Black Hills. Randy has prior Emergency Medical Services (EMS) experience as a member of the Piedmont Ambulance Service.

Karl Bodensteiner- Karl is a life-long resident of Rapid City. Recruit Bodensteiner is certified as an Advanced EMT and has worked for the Rosebud Ambulance Service for six years. Karl is currently enrolled in Paramedic school at Western Dakota Technical Institute. Karl and his wife have eight children and live on a small hobby farm near Rapid City.

Cory Eberle- Recruit Eberle was born and raised in Sioux Falls and obtained a bachelors degree in Exercise Science from the University of Sioux Falls. He is recently married and enjoys mountain biking and running during his free time.

Steven Gilbert- Recruit Gilbert is a 2010 graduate of Rapid City Stevens High School and a graduate of Minnesota State University with a degree in Biology. Steven has prior experience in emergency medicine as a Technician in the Emergency Department in a Mankato, MN area hospital. In his spare time, Steven enjoys rock climbing and outdoors activities.

Brandon Lliteras- Brandon was born and raised in Chadron, Nebraska and has been a member of the Chadron Volunteer Fire Department since 2004. Recruit Lliteras obtained a degree in Fire Science from Casper College in 2006 and his Paramedic certification in 2012. Since 2012, Brandon has been a Paramedic with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Ambulance Service.

Ryan Nelson- Recruit Nelson is a 2012 graduate of Rapid City Stevens High School. Ryan has previous experience in Emergency Services as both an EMT with the Keystone Ambulance Service and as a Firefighter with the Black Hawk Fire Department. Ryan enjoys outdoors activities in his spare time. He and his wife are expecting their first child in November.

David Rohlf- David was raised in Belle Fourche, S.D. and is a 2014 graduate of Belle Fourche High School. Recruit Rohlf has been active in Emergency Services since 2014 as a member of the Belle Fourche Fire Department and as a member of the Rapid Valley Fire Department since 2015. In 2017, David graduated from Western Dakota Tech with a degree in Paramedicine. 

James Swango- Recruit Swango was born and raised in Livingston, Montana and moved to Rapid City in 1999. Because of his small town upbringing, he has a love for wide-open spaces and enjoys fly-fishing and backpacking with his children and wife. Since 2015, James has been a member of the Piedmont Ambulance Service and a member of the Piedmont Fire Department since 2016.

Congratulations and welcome to these eight fine individuals. We are pleased to welcome them to the Rapid City Fire Department Family. 

For media inquiries, questions or comment related to this release, please contact the Rapid City Fire Department at (605)-394-4180.

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Fire Damages Residence on Southwest Side

Firefighters quickly knock down kitchen fire

Rapid City, S.D- On Saturday evening, Rapid City Firefighters responded to a kitchen fire that temporarily displaced a family and caused smoke damage to a home. At 9:44 pm on October 21, Rapid City Firefighters were dispatched to a report of a kitchen fire at 2609 Minnetonka Drive on the southwest side of the city. When crews arrived, smoke was coming from the front door of the home.

When firefighters entered the structure, they found a fire in the kitchen of the residence. They were able to quickly put out the fire. A thorough check of the home found that no fire had extended into the walls or ceiling of the home. Moderate smoke damage was sustained throughout the home.

Video from the fire taken by the Rapid City Fire Department can be found here.

The occupants of the home were able to quickly evacuate and call 9-1-1. None of the occupants at home during the fire were injured. The American Red Cross, serving Central and Western South Dakota, arrived on scene to assist the occupants of the home with immediate needs.

The cause of the fire was determined to have been accidental and remains under investigation. 

The Rapid City Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to remind citizens that fires grow quickly. Because of modern furnishings and modern construction, the amount of time that you have to escape a burning home is less than ever before. Know two ways out of every room in your home. In addition to having two ways out, make sure smoke alarms are installed outside of each sleeping area, test your smoke alarms monthly, and practice your home fire escape plan. Your escape plan should include a meeting place in front of the home. For more information on smoke alarms and exit planning, please contact the Rapid City Fire Departments Fire and Life Safety Division at (605)-394-5233. 

For media inquiries, questions or comments related to this release, please contact the Rapid City Fire Department Fire at (605)-394-4180.

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Afternoon Fire Heavily Damages Southwest Rapid City Home

Rapid City, S.D. - Just before 4:20 pm, multiple companies from the Rapid City Fire Department as well as the Whispering Pines Fire Department were dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 6835 Sahalee Dr. At the time of dispatch, Pennington County 9-1-1 had received multiple calls reporting the fire. In addition to the numerous 9-1-1 calls, Rapid City Fire Headquarters also received a flurry of calls reporting the fire. A very large, dark column of smoke was clearly visible from all areas of Rapid City.

When crews from Fire Station 6 arrived on scene, they reported a single family dwelling that was heavily involved in fire. The fire was threatening an adjacent structure. Crews were able to quickly begin applying water to the fire  in the building of origin and protecting the adjacent structure simultaneously. Fire Engine 5 arrived shortly after Engine 6 and was able to obtain a water supply from a nearby hydrant.

The main fire was knocked down by 5 pm. Crews were able to locate and extinguish many hot spots by about 7:30 pm. A Rapid City Fire Department crew will remain on scene well into the night to ensure no additional hot spots flare up. An adjacent structure sustained minor damage as a result of radiant heat from the building of origin.

No one was home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries to civilians. A number of family pets did not survive the fire and a number of others are unaccounted for at the time of this release. One firefighter was treated for heat related illness.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Rapid City Fire Department Fire and Life Safety Division. The American Red Cross serving Central and Western South Dakota was on scene to provide assistance to the displaced occupants.

The RCFD would like to thank Pennington County Fire, the Whispering Pines Fire Department, the North Haines Fire Department, Montana Dakota Utilities, Black Hills Energy, and the Rapid City Police Department and Pennington County 9-1-1 Communications for their prompt, professional assistance with today's fire.

The RCFD would like to take the opportunity to remind the public that unnecessary traffic in the area of an emergency scene can create difficulty for responders. While we understand that many times there is a good deal of public interest in incidents such as a building fire, that interest can hinder emergency response. In the event of such an emergency, please choose an alternate route if possible or avoid the area until the response is completed to allow responders to easily navigate the area around the scene.

An update regarding this incident is not anticipated at this time. Please contact Lt. Jim Bussell, Public Information Officer with the Rapid City Fire Department, at (605)-394-4180 for questions or comment related to this release.

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Update on Crash Involving RCFD Ambulance

Drivers reminded to yield to emergency vehicles

Rapid City, S.D. – The crash that occurred yesterday at 5^th and Omaha Streets involving a Rapid City Fire Department ambulance was investigated by the Rapid City Police Department. According to the RCPD:

The ambulance was westbound on Omaha Street with its emergency lights and sirens activated. As the ambulance approached the intersection with 5^th street, it encountered several vehicles stopped at the intersection in the through lanes of traffic. In order to make its way through the intersection, it stopped in the left-hand turn lanes, made sure traffic was clear of the intersection, and proceeded with a right turn to go north on 5^th street. As it did so, a passenger vehicle in one of the westbound through lanes on Omaha Street attempted to continue straight through the intersection. The passenger vehicle struck the passenger side of the ambulance. The driver of this vehicle was cited for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle.

Both Rapid City Fire Department Paramedics involved in the crash were transported to Rapid City Regional Hospital. They were evaluated and released.

As a reminder, the Rapid City Fire Department will take this opportunity to remind the public to come to a complete stop when encountering emergency vehicles with their lights and siren activated. Where reasonably possible, pull to the right and stop when you see flashing emergency lights or hear a siren. Come to a complete stop and wait until the emergency vehicle has passed. 

For questions related to this release, please contact the Rapid City Fire Department Public Information Officer at (605)-394-4180.

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RCFD Ambulance Involved in Crash

Rapid City, S.D. – Just before 11 am this morning a Rapid City Fire Department ambulance was responding to a medical emergency in north Rapid City when it was involved in a crash. The ambulance and crew, whose call sign is Medic 1, was traveling west on Omaha Street toward 5^th St. The ambulance and crew were in the inside westbound lane and had come to a stop in preparation to make a right hand turn to go north on 5^th St. A vehicle traveling west collided with the ambulance in the intersection. The ambulance was impacted in the front passenger door. The impact temporarily trapped the Paramedic in the passenger seat.

The crew, despite the collision, remained calm and immediately requested that an ambulance respond to the initial 9-1-1 call for service. Units responding to the crash scene were quickly able to access both medics and begin treatment as well as attend to the occupant of the other vehicle. Three individuals were transported to a local hospital including both crew members of Medic 1. All three individuals sustained non-life threatening injuries.

The Rapid City Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash. The specific details are not available at this time. A reserve ambulance from the RCFD fleet has already been brought in and is staffed with an Advanced Life Support Crew.

The Rapid City Fire Department would like to take this opportunity to remind the public to come to a complete stop when encountering emergency vehicles with their lights and siren activated. Where reasonably possible, pull to the right and stop when you see flashing emergency lights or hear a siren. Come to a complete stop and wait until the emergency vehicle has passed.

For questions or comment related to this release, please contact Lt. Jim Bussell, Public Information Officer for the Rapid City Fire Department, at 605-394-4180.

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Ode to a Fire Engine, or Something Like That

by Lt. Jim Bussell, Public Information Officer

"I can think of no more stirring symbol of man's humanity to man than a fire truck."

-Kurt Vonnegut

In the fire service retirements are a big deal. They should be. A fire service retirement is generally significant but never more so than when a member of the department retires after a long and distinguished career. Because of the nature of the job, the arduous physical demands placed on the member, and the exposure to a litany of hazards, a long career is an achievement to be celebrated. These celebrated retirements are not exclusive to firefighters but to fire apparatus as well. In fact, there are occasions in which the retirement of an apparatus may be far more poignant and emotional than that of a firefighter. That is certainly how I feel about the retirement of Engine 3.

It is my humble opinion that Vonnegut's observation regarding the emotions evoked when one sees a fire engine is accurate. I think this is especially the case for the firefighter. I believe that there are very few, if any, things in this world that stimulate the wide range of feelings and emotions that I experience when I see a fire apparatus rolling down the street. After sixteen years in the fire service and thirteen years with the Rapid City Fire Department, I still swell with pride when I see one of our engines or trucks with her lights flashing and siren wailing. "My" truck and "my" firefighters, doing something I've seen and participated in thousands of times, still, and to this day, will stop me in my tracks. For anyone who has never experienced the fire service from our side, what I just attempted to convey may not make sense.

So, it is for the reasons I pointed out a moment ago, that the retirement of a fire apparatus is a big deal. For many firefighters, as it was the case for me, the fire service is by-and-large responsible for maturation and growth sufficient to truly deliver one into adulthood. The fire engine is central to that delivery. The fire engine carries us to many of the experiences that help to cultivate growth and maturation. When those stories are recounted later on, they almost invariably begin with, "I was on Engine (insert number here)". While the people and human relationships and interactions are so very important to the fire service, it's the fire engine that is the focal point.

  

I was hired by the Rapid City Fire Department in 2004. My first station and shift assignment was Station 3 on C Shift. 

Above: Station 3, C Shift crew, December 2004

Pictured, L to R: Firefighter/Paramedic Casey Warren (Ret.), Firefighter/Medic Bill Reishus (Ret.), Lt. Joe Gilles (currently the Captain at Fire Station 8), Firefighter/Medic Mark Raderschadt (currently the C Shift Lieutenant at Station 1), and myself.

Our fire engine at Station 3 was the oldest one in the fleet. It reminded me of a line from the AC/DC song Whole Lotta Rosie; "She ain't exactly pretty. Ain't exactly small". Engine 3 was a 1987 Pierce Arrow and, in 2004, was already 17 years old. It was easily identifiable because of its color, bright yellow. Back in the 1980's, many fire departments went to yellow as a primary color for fire engines because they felt it added a measure of visibility. The Rapid City Fire Department also adopted this idea and went to yellow fire engines until around 1993 when our organization again went back to purchasing traditional red fire engines. When I hit the floor in 2004, Engine 3 and a reserve engine at Station 1 were the last remaining yellow engines in the RCFD fleet.

I had a love/hate relationship with our engine. I was profoundly grateful for the chance to ride in a fire engine that said "Rapid City" on the side. It had an open cab back and only a seat-belt and safety bar separated the rear-facing firefighter from the pavement. During the summer I loved the open cab. During the winter I hated it. There wasn't a lot of storage room in Engine 3. Medical gear was stored in an outside compartment. If you were in the back seat, there was no room for turnout gear when you weren't wearing them. It was loud and fairly uncomfortable. But, man, that engine could pump water. 

A huge part of a driver/operators job is to operate the pump. Learning to operate the pump often proves to be a difficult topic for many firefighters. The ability to proficiently pump water on a fire is truly one that could mean the difference between saving a building or losing a building. That skill is also one that could be the difference between life and death. One thing was always for certain: If water wasn't coming out of Engine 3, it had to be operator error. There was no two-ways about it. The water pump on Engine 3 was about as reliable as you would ever find on a fire engine. It never failed a pump test in 30 years of service. Any operator who learned how to proficiently pump water from that particular engine would certainly be able to proficiently pump water out of any other apparatus that we had.

Engine 3 could also go just about anywhere we needed it to go. It had good clearance, was dependable in the snow and ice, and maneuvered around the hills and streets of West Rapid City without issues. No one that rode in it ever had to wonder if they could get where they needed to go or if the engine could perform once we got there. It wasn't flashy or shiny. It was effective and dependable and it served the citizens of Rapid City well. 

Since 1987, that yellow Pierce Arrow known as Engine 3 has been serving the citizens of the Rapid City area which makes it our second longest tenured "member". In early 2006, it was replaced with a brand new Quint. With the arrival of Quint 3 and its new state-of-the-art technology, Engine 3 was pushed into reserve status. When I think back to the innumerable incidents that it's been part of, several things strike me. The importance of this vehicle to the organization, the firefighters that rode on it, and the community really hit home. Incidents that may not necessarily stand out to our firefighters are sentinel moments in the lives of the people whose emergencies it responded to. Since 1987, water from the pump of Engine 3 was sprayed on many of the biggest fires our city has seen. Engine 3 was on scene at the Sweeney and Federal Beef fires and provided protection for countless structures in and around Rapid City for a number of significant wildland fires just to name a very few. This particular engine was in service during the 1988 Westberry Trails Fire. Time has forgotten more fires that Engine 3 responded to than most of our newest members will ever see.

Earlier this month, the Rapid City Fire Department welcomed a new engine to the fleet which will be housed and run out of Station 7. The new engine has increased storage, a larger motor, and the capability to carry gear to respond to a variety of technical rescue situations. The engine previously housed at Station 7 will move to Station 5 and take the place of a 2001 Pierce that is nearing the end of its service life. With the 2001 engine moving into a reserve role, Old Engine 3 will be forced into retirement. What will become of it, no one is sure at this point. 

Above: The new Engine 7 as during a ceremony to put it in-service. The new Rescue/Pumper will be housed at Station 7 in North Rapid.

To firefighters, the retirement of a fire engine is not generally something that is viewed as simply replacing one vehicle with another. For a select few of us a fire engine becomes more about who we are as people than what we do as firefighters. There is a reason that some cities devote a good deal of space and funding to museums built to memorialize these apparatus. Not everyone shares our sentiments. To some people in the community replacing a fire engine is a necessary evil. It represents an expenditure that they don't necessarily understand. Although Engine 3 has much sentimental value to many of us, the fact remains that it simply became time to replace it.

Parallels can continue to be drawn between firefighters and the fire engines that they ride on. After extended use, abuse and wear and tear, both can become obsolete. In some cases, the career of either may outlast their usefulness. In only a couple short decades, the mission of both the fire service as a whole and the Rapid City Fire Department has changed greatly. Versatility and the ability to respond to any emergency, any place and at any time are key. When Engine 3 was designed and built, firefighters only responded to fires. Response to medical emergencies, hazardous materials events and technical rescues did not come until later on and, certainly for our organization, not in earnest until 1994. Response to these incidents requires more equipment, more versatility and more capabilities than Engine 3 was designed for.

When a member, be they a firefighter or a fire apparatus, becomes unable to function in a versatile role, it becomes time to reevaluate the role the member will play in the organization. Inevitably, the time will come for every firefighter and every fire apparatus to retire and be replaced with a newer, more capable model. In my opinion, the thing that is most impressive is that it took 3 three decades to finally find a replacement suitable for Engine 3. 

For questions related to this post, please contact Lt. Jim Bussell at (605)-394-4180.

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RCFD Offers Safety Reminder For Bicyclists, Drivers

Three bicycle vs car crashes in 24 hours prompts reminder

Rapid City, S.D. - Between the hours of 2:00 pm Monday and 7:00 am Tuesday, the Rapid City Police and Rapid City Fire Departments have responded to three bicycle vs vehicle crashes that have resulted in injury. Fortunately, none of the injuries sustained by bicyclists have been serious.

The Rapid City Fire Department would like to take the opportunity to remind motorists and bicyclists that safety is a two way street. Both bicyclists and motorists must remain attentive and alert.

Some safety tips for bicyclists include:

-Bicyclists should be prepared before they hit the road. Wear clothing and equipment to make themselves more visible to others. 

-Bicyclists should always wear a bike helmet. 

-Ride defensively, focused and alert. Anticipate what others may do before they do it. Ride with the flow, in the same direction as traffic. Always assume the other person doesn't see you.

-Bicyclists are required by state law to stop before entering the road. Accidents often happen when cyclists enter the street without stopping. Teach your children to always stop and look for cars before entering the street.

Some safety tips for motorists include:

-Yield to bicyclists the same as you would to other motorists and do not underestimate their speed. This will help avoid turning in front of a bicyclist.

-In parking lots, at stop signs, when backing up, or when parking, search your surroundings for other vehicles, including bicycles.

-Give cyclists room. Do not pass too closely. Pass bicyclists as you would and other vehicle- when it's safe to move over into an adjacent lane.

As school for the 2017-2018 school year gets underway, now is a good time to review these simple steps to safely share the road. For more information on bicyclist and motorist safety, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website by clicking here.

For questions related to this release, please contact the Rapid City Fire Department Public Information Officer at (605)-394-4180.

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