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West Valley Firefighters

Quarterly Newsletter

1st Quarter of 2012

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Support Services Division

Support Services Division

The Support Services Division is responsible for all physical needs of the West Fire Department. To accomplish this task the division is divided into the several programs:

Facilities Program

This program provides preventative maintenance and upkeep to the Maintenance Shop, Administrative Building, and four fire stations. Some examples of work include; managing maintenance; installing new roofs (bidding, project management); seal coating parking lots; electrical repairs; painting; and general remodeling.

 Equipment Program

This program purchases and maintains all equipment used by the West Valley Fire Department.

The responsibilities include but are not limited too maintaining and fabricating the following equipment:

  • All emergency response and staff vehicles and their associated equipment

  • 55 Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA's) requiring annual flow testing
  • 110 air bottles
  • Approximately 550 lengths of various size hose (over 5 miles) with annual testing
  • 15 ladders of various size, also requiring annual testing
  • 70 firefighting nozzles
  • Air compressors and certification testing
  • 8 Automatic External Defibrillators (AED)
  • 14 oxygen resuscitators           

                  

Other responsibilities include purchasing and inventorying equipment and parts for the maintenance of the above listed equipment; acting as liaison and scheduling work with outside agencies and private shops; and responding to emergencies to support operations with fuel, power, air, communications, rehabilitation and trouble shooting.

Quartermaster Program

The Division also serves as the Department's Quartermaster providing the following:

  • Uniforms
  • Protective clothing
  • Small emergency response tools and equipment
  • Foam
  • Medical response equipment
  • Household supplies and equipment
  • Office supplies and equipment
  • Yard tools
  • Over 700 different items are stocked
Apparatus Specification Program

This program is responsible for; organizing committees to create specifications for vehicles and all specialized apparatus; overseeing the bidding process; making recommendations for purchases; taking delivery; and putting the vehicles and apparatus in service.

Fire Hydrant Program

There are over 50 fire hydrants in West Valley Fire Department's jurisdiction, this programs responsibilities include:

      • Managing tests on newly installed hydrants
      • Inspecting and maintaining every hydrant semi-annually
      • Flow testing hydrants annually
      • Coordinating the repair of damaged and malfunctioning hydrants


Communications Program

This program works closely with the Yakima Fire Department's City Radio Shop to repair, assess and upgrade needs of the following equipment:

  • 6 cell phones 
  • 110 pagers
  • 40 portable radios
  • 20 mobile radios