More local fire personnel and equipment headed to North Bay

Fire Agencies from throughout San Mateo County have stepped up to send any available additional personnel and apparatus to fires in the North Bay and northern California.

Early Thursday morning, four more Engines from Belmont and Central County Fire Departments along with the Menlo Park and Woodside Fire Protection Districts combined with a Fire Crew from Piedmont assembled a combined Type 1 Municipal Strike Team consisting of 22 personnel, five Fire Engines (four per unit) and a Command Vehicle (with two commanders), were deployed.

A total of 19 municipal Type 1 Municipal Fire Engines with 84 personnel have now been deployed from within San Mateo County with still even more personnel serving on Management Teams, OES Units and in other positions like Fire Line Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and Paramedics bring that number over 100 personnel from within San Mateo County Fire Community, which is somewhat unprecedented.

“Every local fire agency is contributing absolutely everything they can to our neighbors in the North,” said Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman. “We have two Fire Engines with eight personnel with an additional two Fire Line Medics in staff vehicles and members of our National Urban Search Rescue Team, specifically Human Remains Search Dog Teams. Basically, any way that we can help, or contribute, we try to fill the need.

“It’s hard not to find some one who hasn’t been directly or indirectly affected by what’s going on…So many people have had their lives turned upside down, and there’s so much left to do to just get the fires out, let alone to start the recovery process, which will take years.”

Photo courtesy Menlo Fire