EFFECTIVE 12-3-2012

 The City of Norwalk has been working to seamlessly transition its Emergency Dispatching Services to the Westcom Emergency Communications Center. This allows Norwalk to comply with federally mandated narrow band communication requirements by January 1, 2013.
Westcom is a state of the art 911 communications center located in West Des Moines that has actively addressed Federal narrow banding requirements and is taking full advantage of available technology. Westcom is a consolidated dispatch center serving the cities of Clive, West Des Moines, Urbandale and now Norwalk.
What does this mean for Norwalk residents?
What doesn’t change – You will still dial 911 in the case of an emergency to reach police and fire.
What does change – For your non-emergency issues/questions, you will now call 515-222-3321 to reach a multi-discipline trained dispatcher.
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The transition to the Westcom Emergency Communications Center ensures the residents of Norwalk are provided:

• With an efficiency in service delivery
• Quality assistance
• Emergency medical dispatching, and
• Emergency fire dispatching

Questions? For additional information, please contact Captain Doug Richardson by phone at 515-981-4316 or email at drichardson@norwalkpublicsafety.org or Major Kirk Westvold by phone at 515-981-0666 or by email at kwestvold@norwalkpublicsafety.org.

This transition is effective 12-03-2012!!!!!!



 

Members of the Norwalk Firefighter's Association will host a Chili Supper Tuesday, November 6th, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the firehouse. Please stop by after voting for a bowl of chili. Free will donations accepted.

Pictures from the Fire Prevention Week Open House can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pugamu/sets/72157631722859525/

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.

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.