| The members of IAFF Local 830 are always on duty to answer emergency calls in the City of Norwalk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. With Winter Storm Fern dropping over a foot of snow throughout the City. The City of Norwalk Fire Department Command Staff worked in partnership with local 830 to have certain previsions in place to ensure quick and efficient responses to emergencies throughout the storm. Some of these include:
* All NFD apparatus were equipped with snow chains to help apparatus navigate deep snow on local and state roadways.
* Additional staffing: NFD Command staff in conjunction with Local 830, placed additional personnel on duty for the duration of the storm. This includes a 5th NFD Local 830 Firefighter on Engine Co. 1, Engine Co. 2 & Engine Co. 4. Depending on assignment at a fire, this allowed for a fifth member to assist with hose line placement, establishing positive water supply, or as RIT as normal firefighting operations become more labor intensive in heavy snow.
(Please note: All NFD Fire suppression companies are normally staffed with 4 NFD Local 830 members, Tac 1 is cross-staffed by the crew of Rescue Co. 2)
Additionally, Engine Co. 6 with 4 Norwalk Professional Firefighters was placed in service for the storm to operate out of our Apparatus Maintenance Garage on Fairfield Ave. This allowed for additional resources to be available to respond to manpower-intensive incidents within any district in the City, or be re-assigned to areas experiencing heavy call volume. Under the assumption that mutual aid resources may not be available to respond due to the storm.
A second deputy chief/ safety officer was staffed during the afternoon/ overnight hours to provide extra assistance for incident command at a major incident or if multiple significant incidents occurred simultaneously.
This brought the total on-duty staffing during the storm to 42 Norwalk Professional Firefighters! (normal daily staffing is 34 NFD Local 830 Firefighters). We’d like to thank the NFD Command Staff, City of Norwalk Administration and NFD Local 830 leadership for the collaborative and proactive planning to ensure the safety of both our firefighters and the public during winter storm fern.
Please remember to help us by ensuring any hydrants near your residence are kept snow free so we can access them in the event of a fire! |
