Santa Claus is coming to town. A holiday tradition since 1995, the volunteers at South Whidbey Fire/EMS will be visiting South Whidbey communities on three evenings December 17, 19 and 21. Listen for the music and sirens and see Santa’s sleigh in these neighborhoods starting at 6 p.m. each night. All of the times for stops throughout the communities and at the grocery store parking lots are…

South Whidbey Fire/EMS and Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue welcomed a total of six new volunteer firefighters at a special evening graduation event on November 3 in Freeland. The event recognized the graduates who recently completed a combined fire academy.

The public is invited to kick-off Fire Prevention Week in a big way this Sunday, October 7 from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. at the Langley fire station at 820 Camano Avenue. The team at South Whidbey Fire/EMS have put together a family friendly fire safety fair.

Every Tuesday night the team at South Whidbey Fire/EMS trains to keep skills sharp and to adopt new requirements and techniques for first responders. Recently the focus was on organizing and running a multiple casualty incident (MCI) with Incident Command System, SALT triage and communication training.

ISLAND COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL NEWS RELEASE

Under smoky skies, nearly 50 Whidbey Island residents, dignitaries, and fire department staff and volunteers gathered on August 20 to celebrate the groundbreaking at the site where the new Bayview station will be constructed. Although work had just begun, the machinery was quieted for a few moving words, as well as the moving of a few shovelfuls of dirt.

***Notice from the Island County Sheriff’s Office

YOU’RE INVITED!!

In response to the growing need for volunteer firefighters and EMTs, South Whidbey Fire/EMS launched a new program last year to recruit volunteers from outside of the district. So far this year, six Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) out of district volunteers have joined the department. They include: Sage Cowles, Aron Nolte, and Kiel Rasp, who all live in Seattle; plus Elizabeth Ratterman in Oak…

Anticipation is growing at South Whidbey Fire/EMS as groundbreaking for the long-awaited fire station is rapidly approaching.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS board of commissioners recently selected Valdez Construction of Oak Harbor to build its new fire station in Bayview. The company will serve as the general contractor. Their bid of $5.7 million came just under the estimated project cost of $5.8 million.

Joint EMS academy graduation was recently held at the Freeland station, with recruits from all three island departments: South Whidbey, Central Whidbey, and North Whidbey. Just a few short weeks later, some of these graduates are already involved with answering calls as EMTs to local emergencies.

How ready are you really to handle an emergency? On July 28, 2018, from 9 am to 3 pm at the North Whidbey Middle School, the Island County Department of Emergency Management and the US Navy Fleet & Family Support Center will join forces to present a summit of emergency management experts and first responders.

TYPE I BURN BAN IN EFFECT AS OF 12:00 PM JULY 13TH

As we near the 4th of July Celebration time period, I wanted to remind everyone of the regulations within Island County that affect times in which Legally Approved Consumer Fireworks can be discharged (depending on where you live).

FIREWORKS ARE ALLOWED ONLY ON THESE DATES:

South Whidbey Fire/EMS has launched into a new strategic planning process in order to update the most recent plan which was developed over 10 years ago.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS honored volunteer fire fighters , Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), and their families, at its annual awards dinner on Saturday, March 10 at Useless Bay Golf and Country Club. The event opened with a presentation of the colors by the Navy Sea Cadets Honor Guard, accompanied by Snohomish County Firefighters Pipes and Drums.

South Whidbey Fire/EMS recently welcomed 6 members of the local community into the 2018 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Academy. This is a joint academy with recruits from South Whidbey Central Whidbey, and North Whidbey.

FREELAND, Wash. – Earlier this month, South Whidbey Fire/EMS successfully passed an audit of its 2015 and 2016 financial records by the State Auditor’s Office. The state routinely audits fire departments throughout Washington State every two years. The audit included more than three weeks of scrutiny over financial statements and accountability functions to ensure that local, state and federal…

Adrienne Hawley began a six year term as a Fire Commissioner for South Whidbey Fire/EMS in January 2018. She replaces retiring Commissioner Robert Elliot whose term expired in 2017.