Department News

Norman Fire Department Sponsored Events and Activities

Fire Department Fills Positions
(The Norman Transcript)

May 1, 2008 - It takes hard work and dedication to be promoted in the Norman Fire Department, according to fire officials. "The driver-engineer position is the most competitive in the department," said Fire Chief James Fullingim. "It's the hardest job to get, and takes a lot of hard work and determination."

The fire chief's comments came during promotion ceremonies Tuesday at Fire Station Seven in north Norman.
With parents, wife and son in attendance, Jason Bradford was promoted from firefighter to driver/engineer.
"It's easy to stay motivated with this group of guys," Bradford said, referring to the fellow firefighters who filled Station Seven's training room to witness the event.

Bradford also credited his wife, Cordy, who worked full-time while pursuing a degree at Oklahoma City Community College, he said. The couple's son, Holden, 3, proudly carried his father's helmet while also keeping clutch on a cookie at the event.

Other recent promotions within the department include: Travis King, driver to captain (last Friday); Mark Castell, driver to captain (last Saturday); and Brian Edwards, firefighter to driver-engineer (last Saturday).

Chad Roney will be promoted from firefighter to driver-engineer today. Jason Rogers will be promoted from Driver/Engineer to Captain Friday, the fire chief said.

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Department Retires Damaged Fire Truck
(The Norman Transcript)

April 18, 2008 - With repair estimates greater than the value of the vehicle, Norman fire officials have decided to retire a fire engine that tipped over on 156th Avenue March 18. "We just received a new fire engine in the past month," said Fire Chief James Fullingim. "The fire engine that was scheduled to be removed from the fleet will stay in the fleet, and we'll retire the damaged truck."

Fullingim said repair estimates ranged from $97,000 to $107,000. "The estimated value of that engine in good condition is $89,000," Fullingim said.

Two firefighters were responding to a single-vehicle rollover accident on Nelson Road in east Norman when the fire engine turned on its side. Gerald Croslin and Neal Reese were treated at Norman Regional Hospital and released. Croslin, acting in the capacity of relief driver, and Reese were the only occupants of the fire engine at the time of the accident.

The fire engine tipped over on 156th Avenue, about one-half mile north of Highway 9, during a heavy downpour. The fire truck's right side tires left the roadway and went into the mud. While Croslin was trying to bring the truck back on the roadway, the engine tipped over on its passenger side. The two men extricated themselves by removing the fire engine's windshield. The engine had "extensive body damage," Fullingim said.

The fire engine that was damaged was purchased in 1997 for $185,000. The fleet's newest fire engine cost $352,000, Fullingim said. The new engine will be kept at Station No. 1. It is the second red fire engine to be purchased by the fire department. The first was purchased in September and is housed at Fire Station No. 3 on East Constitution Street, Fullingim said.

The color of Norman fire trucks went from red to yellow in the 1970s. Last fall, firefighters voted overwhelmingly in favor of returning to red. Going red saves the Norman Fire Department $1,500 per truck, officials said.

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Library Lot is Site for Story Time by Firefighters & Police Officers for Kids
 
April 18, 2008 - Representatives from the Norman Police and Fire Departments will be present during a Community Helpers Story Time in the north parking lot of the Norman Public Library, 225 N. Webster in downtown Norman, at 11:45 a.m. immediately following the 89er Day Parade on Saturday, April 19.
 
Children and their families are invited to gather around a 1949 vintage fire truck  for stories about community helpers told by Norman children’s librarians Ms Kim and Ms Susan.
 
Representatives of Norman’s Fraternal Order of Police led by Steve Lucas and representatives from Norman’s International Association of Fire Fighters led by Butch Crawford will join the children in listening to the stories. “Police officers and fire fighters are real-life heroes in the eyes of our children, and in my eyes, too, for that matter,” says Norman children’s librarian Basha Hartley. “Getting to be with them for an outdoor story time is a real treat for the little ones and an honor for the rest of us.”
 
According to Hartley, the library will provide carpet squares, or sit-upons, for the little ones to use in the parking lot. “We may even have a few police officer or fire fighter laps available, too,” Hartley says.
 
Following the 20-minute story time, families are invited into the library where they can be the first in town to get a copy of the 2008 Summer Reading Program calendar of events for the Norman Public Library.
 
For more information about this event or any of the programs and services for children, teens, and adults offered at the Norman Public Library, call 701-2600, visit, or log on to www.justsoyouknow.us.
 
The Norman Public Library is one of nine hometown public libraries operated by the Pioneer Library System in Cleveland, McClain, and Pottawatomie counties.

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Annual Christmas Store Chili Supper

February 9, 2008 - The members of the Norman Fire Department & Norman Police Department were able to raise $6225 for the Christmas Store this year through our fund raising efforts at the Chili Supper! A huge thanks to all of you that pitched in and helped make this yet another successful year. We would especially like to thank "A" Crew " for all of their hard work the day of the Chili Supper, although not all stations were able to participate due to geographical location and needed response coverage, I know they were willing to "step up" if asked. Also, we could not have pulled this off if it had not been for the help we received from Zena and her kids in the Career Exploration Education program at Moore Norman Technology Center. Zena and about 12 of her students came out in support of the fire departments efforts to raise money for the Christmas Store; providing staff for the dine-in serving line, distributing cookies & crackers, serving drinks, and busing tables, not to mention the help they provided in cleaning up after all was said and done. So the next time you see Zena or any of her students please take moment to thank them for all of their time spent volunteering to help with this event.

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New Recruits to Begin the Academy

January 24, 2008 - On March 3, 2008 eight new recruits will begin their first day in the Norman Fire Department Training Academy.

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Public Safety Awards Banquet

January 11, 2008 - The Public Safety Awards Banquet will be held on January 17, 2008 from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. The location of the banquet this year is at the Journey Church, 3801 Journey Parkway at I-35 & Tecumseh Rd. Tickets for the banquet may be purchased from Chief Fullingim at the Admin building at $12.50 per person. The Fire Departments selection committee as met to select this year’s “Firefighter of the Year” recipient.

Chief Fullingim was therefore pleased to announce that Eric Spor has been selected as the 2007 Firefighter of the Year. The committee struggled with the decision as there were other worthy nominations submitted. The Fire Chief has expressed pride in our Department and will use this opportunity to thank each member for the work accomplished as it takes the contributions of everyone to enjoy our level of success.

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Fire Department Sees Another Rise in Call Volumes in 2007

December 24, 2007 - The Norman Fire Department again this past year will have experienced another marketable increase in call volume for 2007. The the addition of new business, shopping, and residential building construction, along with a continued population growth in the 196 square miles making up the City of Norman, there is little in anticipation of this rise in call volume to level out.

 

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2007 NFD Retiree Breakfast a Great Success

October 28, 2007 - Once again, the annual 'Retiree Pancake Breakfast' to honor all retired members of the Norman Fire Department was held with great success yesterday. This year’s breakfast was held at the new Fire Station #3. The retirees got a great opportunity to view the new station & catch up with one another all while being served an often missed, typical firefighters breakfast. We're sure they have been greatly burdened with the misfortune of having been instructed to each more than their share of oat-bran recently. The food was good, the coffee hot, and the company pleasant! (Breakfast Photo Gallery...)

Every autumn since 1992, the Norman Fire Department hosts a pancake breakfast to honor all of its retired members. Along with reuniting with fellow firefighters, retired members can catch up with current NFD activities and receive updates from the Firefighters Pension and Retirement System.

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NFD WINS AWARD - "Jim Clark Memorial Emergency Response Agency award for 2007"
Special Rescue Recognized

August 8, 2007 - Norman Fire Department received recognition as a premier Emergency Medical Response Agency during Medic Update, the annual Oklahoma EMS Educational Conference, which occurred in Enid July 19-21.

The Oklahoma Emergency Medical Technicians’ Association (OEMTA) presents the annual conference, where Emergency Medical Responders, EMTs, Paramedics, EMS educators and Administrators gather to learn the newest in best practices and view new vehicles, equipment and training aids on display via the more than 30 vendors who participate in the conference. This year was a special one for the OEMTA, as the organization celebrated its 25th anniversary of providing education and service to Oklahoma’s EMS providers.

Throughout the year, OEMTA accepts a number of nominations for individuals and services that have demonstrated outstanding performance, and awards are presented to those agencies and individuals during Medic Update. Representatives from Norman Fire Department attended the Awards Luncheon on Friday, July 20, where they were presented with the Jim Clark Memorial Emergency Response Agency award for 2007.

Multiple nominations for Norman Fire Department were received, including one from Dr. Robert Franz, Director of Norman Regional Health System’s Emergency Department. All nominations described a special rescue situation that occurred on September 12, 2006, involving a victim trapped beneath the bed of an unstable dump truck. Although the victim was conscious, his arm was crushed between the bed of the truck and the frame, and was positioned in such a way that ANY untoward movement of the truck or its dump bed could easily have severed the individual’s arm or wounded him fatally. Norman Fire Department, responding along with EMSStat (and ultimately Dr. Frantz and a crew from NRHS Emergency Department), weighed carefully all options…..and at one point were told there was a possibility that the victim’s arm would be amputated ON SITE (while the victim remained beneath the truck.) In the words of Dr. Frantz, the NFD incident commander, Mike Wilson, “was calm and cool and possessed an amazing grasp of the difficulties and potential complications at every step of the rescue”. Wilson’s leadership, combined with deliberate and careful actions by all NFD employees on scene, allowed the dump truck to be completely stabilized and eventually lifted from the patient without further damage. The patient is alive today due to the skill and professionalism of the Norman Fire Department, and the OEMTA was proud to recognize the department as the Emergency Medical Response Agency of 2007!

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2006 Firefighter of the Year Announced

January 8, 2006 - Fire Chief James Fullingim is pleased to announce that Jason Brown as been selected as Norman Fire Department 2006 Firefighter of the year. Jason will be honored at the 2007 Crime Stoppers Public Safety Awards Banquet on January 17, 2007. Please contact Jim bailey for tickets if you plan to attend the banquet.

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January 1, 2007 - The Norman Fire Department has estimated 9,326 calls were made by the Department in 2006. An increase in 9.4% over last year.