On Friday, April 27, 2012 at 6:08 p.m. the Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to 2507 Cedar Street for a Water Flow Alarm. Utilizing the installed Knox Box system the FD gained access to an apartment that had water coming from under the door. No heat was detected on the door and heavy smoke poured from the door when it was opened. A second alarm was requested by Incident Command which the West Des Moines Fire Department responded to. It was determined that the sprinkler system worked as expected and saved one building in the $5 million complex after boxes sitting on the stove had ignited after the control knob was bumped while a new tenant was moving in. It is estimated that it took one hour and twenty minutes for the fire to start after the stove was turned on. Damage is estimated at $15,000. No one was hurt and only the apartment involved was damaged due to the sprinkler system activation. This also serves as a reminder not to set things on stoves/ovens. The new tenant has another place to stay and hopes to be back in the apartment in a couple of weeks.

Westcom Emergency Communications Center is implementing needed equipment for Next Generation Wireless 911 services. Norwalk Police & Fire Departments will be moving our dispatching services to Westcom in the fall of this year. We are excited for these new and cutting edge programs that we will be able to offer our citizens. PRESS RELEASE West Des Moines, Iowa—On Wednesday, April 18th, 2012, the Westcom Emergency Communications Center will be upgrading the wireless 911 network in the cities of Clive, Urbandale and West Des Moines, Iowa. For over thirty years, the network that has delivered 911 calls to the dispatch center has relied upon analog telephone circuits. This simple architecture has proven very reliable, but not very robust. Beginning next week, 911 calls made from mobile devices will be delivered to Westcom via a digital IP-based “Next Generation 911” network. The new Next Generation 911 network will eventually be capable of many advanced features that would not have been capable on old analog 911 trunks. For more information about Next Generation 911, visit the National Emergency Number Association’s (NENA) NG-911 Project web site at www.nena.org/?NG911_Project. While we have taken every precaution to ensure that there will be no interruption to 911 service during this upgrade, we would like to remind all citizens of Westcom’s 10-digit telephone number. If callers attempting to call 911 in Clive, Urbandale or West Des Moines receive a fast busy signal or otherwise cannot connect to a dispatcher, please hang-up and dial 515-222-3321 to request police, fire or emergency medical services. The Westcom Emergency Communications Center has for over a decade been a model for inter-governmental cooperation and efficiencies, serving as the emergency communication center for the communities of Clive, Urbandale and West Des Moines, Iowa. For more information regarding Westcom contact Assistant Chief Rob Dehnert at rob.dehnert@wdm.iowa.gov,

Ambulance 244 and Rescue Co 816 responded to the interchange of IA Hwy 28 & IA 5 on a report of a crash into a pond. The patient, who initially was reported unconscious, was awake and had self extricated from the vehicle and was sitting on the roof upon NFD arrival. Rescue Co 816 arrived and deployed the Rescue Alive boat. Firefighters in dry suits were able to secure the patient to a long back board and retrieve her from the vehicle in a timely fashion. Norwalk FD Paramedics quickly removed the patient from the boat and transported her to a local Trauma Center. Norwalk FD was assisted by the Norwalk and Des Moines Police Departments.

Norwalk FD's cold water/ice rescue team assisted Winterset FD, Madison Co EMS, and the Madison Co Sheriff's Dept with an apparent double drowning. For more information, see: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120131/NEWS/301310033/Pair-drown-while-ice-fishing-Madison-County?odyssey=obinsite http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120201/NEWS/302010047/After-drownings-officials-say-fishing-on-ice-unsafe-scary-

CONGRATULATIONS to the West Des Moines Fire Training Academy recruits who graduated today!!! What an accomplishment for everyone.....you should all be proud!!! Norwalk FD Recruits Don Sleeth, Tyler Dahms, Shane Card, Robert Nichols, Jason Powell, Tom Westhoff, & Branden Kuhns each received a number of awards in addition to their Firefighter I, Firefighter II, and Hazardous Materials certifications.

On Saturday, January 21, 2012, members of the Norwalk Fire Department conducted an ice rescue drill. For more pictures, go to the Photo Gallery.

SCBA drills were conducted for the January fire training. For pictures, go to the photo gallery.

Today, at 7:30 AM, the Norwalk Fire Department was dispatched to Highway 28 & Dubuque Trail for a motor vehicle crash with injuries. One patient was extricated by Fire Department staff and was transported to a Des Moines Trauma Center by air ambulance. A second victim sustained minor injuries and was released at the scene. None of the injuries appear to be life threatening. The Norwalk Fire Department was assisted by West Des Moines EMS and Mercy One helicopter. The Warren County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the cause of the crash. Please click photo for more images.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety, State Fire Marshal Division reports 2011 ended with 186 people saved from fire death or injury by working smoke alarms. Most of the fires from which the citizens escaped, occurred in the evening when the occupants were sleeping. The simple sound of a fire alarm saved their lives. The two most common causes of these fires were improperly discarded smoking materials or careless smoking, and unattended cooking or stove fires. “As Iowans are trying to pinch pennies, people are staying home to eat instead of dining out. Inexperienced cooks are trying to make fast foods at home and it’s resulted in a large spike in kitchen fires,” says Special Agent Supervisor Kyle Gorsh. While the 186 lives saved by smoke alarms is a positive increase from the 146 lives saved in 2010, it should not overshadow the fact 46 people died from fires in 2011. That is an increase of thirteen deaths compared to the 33 fire deaths from 2010. State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds says, “We occasionally hear news stories in which a person wakes up on their own and alerts other family members to a fire. These instances are pure luck. While we’re always happy to hear of lives saved from fire, we hope your fire prevention plan doesn’t rely on luck alone.” The State Fire Marshal Division offers these important fire safety tips to prevent fires in your home as well as prepare your family to respond if a fire does occur: Never leave cooking materials unattended and assure you have shut the burner off when walking away from the stove; even for a minute. If you smoke, consider smoking outside your home and place cigarette butts in a metal can filled with sand. Be sure cigarettes are completely extinguished before discarding. We also recommend you consider the health benefits of not smoking. Creating a healthier you and a decreased risk of fire is a win-win! Practice exit drills with your family to make sure everyone knows how to escape a fire and where to meet once outside the home. Install smoke alarms on all levels of the house and in every bedroom and hallway. If using battery smoke alarms, consider using lithium batteries for extended life. Sometimes small fires can be extinguished with a ten pound, ABC rated fire extinguisher. Fires grow rapidly so never over commit to extinguishing a fire. Know how, and when to retreat out of your home if you are using a fire extinguisher.