Seminole County Fire Department

🚒✂️✏️ T-Minus 1 week till the Back to School Bash! ✏️✂️🚒

Seminole County Fire Department & The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida are hosting their annual Back to School Bash! More than 150 backpacks with school supplies will be given away, free haircuts, lunch, and games!

Presenting Sponsor:
❤️ FAIRWINDS Credit Union

and a big thank you to our other sponsors & supporters:
❤️ Ace Of Fades Fl
❤️ Seminole County Firefighters Benevolent Association
❤️ Action Church
❤️ Jeremiah's Italian Ice
❤️ Embrace Families
❤️ UCF Softball
❤️ Adidas

Seminole County FL

🐴🚒❤Another "tail" to tell: This morning at 7:06 a.m. on W Osceola Rd. in Geneva: Toby the horse rescue – Engine 42 and Battalion 4. Toby’s leg was caught in a guy wire, which supports electrical power poles, and he had been there overnight. The crew was able to remove his legs from the dirt using hydraulic spreaders, and then dig out the hole so he was able to stand on his own. The vet has examined Toby and he is thankfully doing well.

We are hiring Emergency Communications Dispatchers 🎧💛

Come be a part of the SCFD family, and to also work in an air-conditioned work environment! The job posting will be open until August 9th!

Job Opportunities | Job Opportunities Welcome! We are glad you are interested in pursuing employment with Seminole County Government, Board of County Commissioners (BCC). We strive for Seminole County Government to be the employer of choice in the Central Florida area through competitive pay, benefits, and a positive working environment...

This past Saturday, Quint 34 and Seminole County Fire Department Car Seat Technicians attended Kinder Care’s Lake Mary Open House.

Several car seats were made safer & the families loved seeing the Quint! Shout out to
City of Lake Mary Municipality Fire Department & Senior Fire Inspector Walker for also helping out!

Thank you to Emergency Communications Supervisor Beth Dann for her 20 years of dedicated service to the residents and visitors of Seminole County!! 🎧🚒

Thank you to Lt. Alan Ward and the B Shift Station 12 crew for showcasing SCFD's use of HAAS Alert. The alert gives a heads up on accidents so drivers can slow down, steep clear, and keep first responders and others safe. Sierra Wireless
See story from Spectrum News 13

Seminole County Fire using new alert system to mitigate response delays Seminole County fire rescue is joining more than 100 other Florida emergency responders who use a system called HAAS alert.

FF Greene and FF Knoppe doing their Emergency Communications Center rotation during their probationary year 🎧

Happy World Emoji Day 🌎🔥🚒👨‍🚒👩‍🚒🧯🙂

Thank you for your years of dedicated
service to the residents and visitors of Seminole
County!!

A Shift
✅LT Shane Rogers - 15 years
✅FF Marc Bishop - 20 years

Congratulations to the AdventHealth Altamonte EMT & Paramedic of the Quarter, FF Wes Gonzalez & FF/PM Brett Thompson 🏥🚒

Some future firefighters visiting Station 11 in Altamonte Springs 🚒🔥

Be prepared this hurricane season 🌀

Learn about flood preparations and how SCFD has its new Acela (Acela Truck Company) high-water vehicles. Thank you Samara Cokinos News 6 at WKMG.

More info www.PrepareSeminole.org

Hidden threats: What to know about potential dangers after a storm, hurricane As the winds die down and the rain subsides, it’s tempting to think the worst is over once a storm has passed. However, the reality is often quite different.

🚒🙌Congratulations to Firefighter Steve Thompson on his retirement after 31 years of service!
From Lt. John Bennett on behalf of SCFD:

Following a four-year tour in the Marine Corps and previous time spent in brutal hard labor in Florida summer heat, Steve Thompson decided on a less physically demanding career: He started his fire service career with Seminole County on January 25, 1993.

A city boy of Altamonte, he spent most of his career in the northeast rural districts with good stretches of city firefighter life. Starting at Station 41, he moved to 23, 42, and then to the department’s only tower truck at 27. After more than 12 years at 27 and watching it evolve—including the addition of ASFD’s tower in our department, staffing E27 with a lieutenant, and the addition of special hazards at 27—he finally moved to Station 42 in 2012 where he’s thrived for the remainder of his career.

While some might think Steve is a quiet firefighter, those who have spent a career with him have a lot of memories of his activity, stories, and liveliness. Looking back over his career, the stories keep rolling. Highlighting just a few of Steve’s memories as he looks back:

✅“November 9, 1993, Fire Crew of the Year Award for the K**b Hill Apartment Fire in Orange County that was published in Fire Chief Magazine. Not only was Squad (Rescue) 23 first on scene of the apartment fire in Orange County, and not only did they pull the first line from the rescue, but E64 laid a supply line to 23! After their control of the fire apartment, the story tops off with Steve and his partner Pete Zell finding a vacant k**b at the exposure apartment the fire had extended into. So of course, they played again! And then—they left!

✅“February 23, 1998 is remembered for some of the most tragic tornados to hit Central Florida. Then assigned to his first stint at 42, Steve was heavily involved in the rescue and recovery operations of most heavily hit areas by an F3 tornado that spawned in Sanford. He specifically remembers a gnarly story working with SCSO Airboat Operations to help recover a guy named “Lucky” who was missing. Lucky was found in the St John’s… and that’s only part of the story.

✅“The brush fires of ’98” throughout Florida still tell stories that our practices are built on today. Steve was an involved part of that well-known combat.

✅“He carried his reach all the way through his career, including in 2018 when he deployed to assist in the rescue and recovery operation for the category 5 hurricane Michael devastation in the panhandle.

Steve’s seen a lot of change, and as the most meticulous apparatus and equipment evaluator, (still following his checklists to the very last), he’s been around the apparatus through serious generational changes. He drove apparatus that were still around from the 70’s. He was the operator of specialty apparatus from early to late generations, like the old E-One Tower 27 through our first “new” purchase, and the original 6,000-gallon manual transmission tractor trailer, Fire Hawk, and new tenders.

Affectionately known to many of us as Tommy Boy (even my own kids!), Steve’s definitely an original.
• Original 4x4 Rescue driver
• Original founding SC Fire Calendar model
• Original Air Pack Service Center Member
• Original Drone Team Member
• Original Airboat Team Member
He was even a member of the High Angle Rescue Team before we had a manual!

To think, this was all done before incentives were even a thing. That’s the kind of generation he comes from, the kind of belief he has in good work.

Steve credits a lot of his career survival and success to LT Gary Hires and LT Jim “Bink” Binkley, great mentors to him as a young firefighter that all of us would echo. He doesn’t hesitate to say that they each “greatly impacted my career” and are responsible for much of his mentality in work ethic, priorities, and longevity.

He’s always up for good humor, loves practical jokes (especially when someone else can take the rap), was an early eBay-er before it became popular, still has an AOL email address, and is absolutely inseparable from his wonderful mom who made the best cornbread and monkeybread in the fire department. Thank goodness for Mom or we’d never eat when it was his turn to cook. And he’s a damn good friend to everyone. If Steve had his choice, he wouldn’t just tell you stories, you’d hear all about the people and friends in those stories—guys who are here, guys who are elsewhere, guys who are retired, guys who are no longer with us. A random few with some SERIOUS stories—Louie “Sweet Lou” Sierra (MDFD), Sean McCracken (FDNY ret), Jeff Patterson (OFD), Brian Grzanich (ret), Shane Degler, and the late amazing Alan Arthur. Friends to this day, all from being together here.

Steve, thanks for giving us 31 years and 4 months of you. Enjoy what you and Debbie have definitely earned.

Congratulations on behalf of everyone at SCFD.

NFPA Donates 500 Comfort Bears to Orange, Seminole County Fire Departments The comfort bears, designed for both children and adults, to the fire departments in Orange and Seminole counties during the annual NFPA conference.

Thank you WFTV Channel 9 for spotlighting this rescue ❤🚒🐴

‘She was exhausted’: Seminole County firefighters share details after horse rescued from muddy pond Some Seminole County firefighters are speaking out after an unusual rescue.

Have your car seat checked by a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician at Seminole County Fire Station 27 - 5280 Red Bug Lake Road on Thursday, July 18 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM. Text or call 407-607-4202 to reserve your spot!

Engine 35 stopping by Kidz Rock Early Learning Center camp for some summer fun 😎🚒



📸 Christian F Thebaud

ICYMI: Horse Rescue in Geneva. SCFD units responded to a horse in distress last night. The 26 year old horse (15 hands) slipped from the mud into a pond with a steep drop off. The horse was in the pond for several hours before SCFD’s arrival. Crews were able to safely extricate the horse utilizing a front end loader, winch, and a ramp. Of course manpower and horsepower were also used! We are happy to report that Natoma was up and feeding this morning.

Units responded: C Shift E42, R43, E43, E35, S2, TECH1, BC4
Firehouse.com

Congratulations to Emergency Communications Dispatcher Laura Simpson for being named SCFD’s Employee of the Month! 🎧🔥

Laura was nominated by Emergency Communications Dispatcher Angela Bass. Laura was nominated for her positive attitude, team morale boosting and her patience and encouragement in training others. Laura is pictured with Angela and Emergency Communications Program Manager Keri Miller.

Looking for opportunities?
In 2023, Seminole County Fire Department promoted 66 employees including 4 Assistant Chiefs, 4 Battalion Chiefs, 19 Lieutenants, 37 Engineers, and 2 Dispatchers.

Work and Train with the Best: SCFD is now hiring Firefighter and Firefighter/Paramedic positions. Job posting closes July 31.

Apply today:
https://tinyurl.com/yc3ux6nu

Battalion 3 B Shift responded to this garage fire late last night.

Used fireworks sitting in garage spark smoky Seminole County house fire Officials say there were no reports of injuries to any of the occupants or firefighters.

Congratulations to FF/PM Luis Santiago on his recent promotion to Engineer🚒

Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸 💥🚒
Engine 14
📸Firefighter Tad Borgiet

At Red Hot & Boom at the City of Altamonte. Come visit SCFD!

This is a great safety guide for children swimming in lakes and swimming pools. The color of the bathing suit can make it easier or more difficult to see children while they are swimming. This is a good reminder to always have adult supervision when children are swimming. (Thanks to Praire Lakes Healthcare System.)

Quint 24, C-Shift, training on different techniques to deploy a hoseline on a multistory building in Winter Springs

City of Winter Springs