The month of April marks the return of the annual pugilistic extravaganza known as 'Guns 'n' Hoses,' as the firefighters take on the police in the 12th annual edition of this fun and exciting event. Action kicks off at the Memorial Arena on Saturday, April 17th, beginning at 7 p.m.
As anticipated, the early stages of spring have brought about the first significant woods/brush fire of what is threatening to become a very active season for the aforementioned. On Sunday, April 11, units were dispatched to a nearly 90 acre blaze close to Jones Road and Garden Street near Pickettville. Coupled with extremely windy conditions, a blown transformer served as the culprit that sparked a massive response of nearly 120 firefighters and three Department of Forestry crews to handle the threatening, voracious flames. Although no homes were damaged and no evacuations ordered throughout the ordeal that began after 1 p.m. and lasted approximately six hours, several 'close calls' were reported from the scene; one, in particular, involved a home where flames crept up as close as 30 feet to the structure before firefighters could subdue the encroaching threat. In spite of these heroic actions some exposures, such as a shed and a barn located on property near Cisco Gardens Road North, were unfortunately lost in the sizeable blaze. As no reports of injuries were made from the scene, however, the entire response and corresponding actions performed that afternoon can certainly be viewed as nothing short of a resounding success.
On Thursday, April 29, the JFRD will officially 'receive the keys' to Fire Station 27 and, correspondingly, assume the ownership of that station: courtesy of the generosity of the Arlington Volunteer Fire Department.
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