East Pierce Firefighters

06/17/2026

Halfway through Firefighter Safety Stand Down Week!

Safety Stand Down is an important week where, every year, firefighters pause non emergency activities to focus on training and education centered around firefighter health and safety. Each year brings a different focus, and this year’s theme is firefighter fitness.

A big thank you to the Local 3520 Wellness Committee for organizing a week of training and education focused on fitness in all its forms. They organized a jam packed week of functional fitness, recovery, nutrition, and sleep.

Enjoy some photos of your East Pierce Firefighters taking advantage of these resources and investing in their health, wellness, and longevity.

Special thanks also to Omayra Hoon, Dimitri Melnyk, and Sarah Henderson for spending their time teaching us how to care for our bodies this week.

06/12/2026

As temperatures rise, your East Pierce Fire Fighters are preparing for wildfire season. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been completing wildland refresher training covering hose deployments, fire shelter deployments, brush truck operations, scene size-up, and structure protection tactics.

Community members can help prepare as well! You can create defensible space around your homes by removing dead vegetation and debris, keep your grass mowed, clean roofs and gutters, and ensure driveways are clear and address numbers are easily visible for responding emergency personnel. Taking these steps can help reduce wildfire risk and improve firefighter access during an emergency.

What are you doing to prepare for wildfire season? Let us know in the comments.

06/09/2026

Welcome your newest Local 3520 firefighter, Jose Hernandez of Buckley Fire Department!

Jose was recently hired as a full-time career firefighter after serving nearly three years as a volunteer firefighter with Buckley. During that time he served as the Community Outreach Team Coordinator, Peer Support Team Coordinator, and an instructor for Buckley’s volunteer academy.

Congratulations, Jose! We’re proud to have you as part of Local 3520.

Did you know? NFPA 1710, the national standard for career fire departments, recommends a minimum of four firefighters on a first-arriving company and a response time of four minutes from receipt of a 911 call.

Today, Buckley Fire Department staffs one career firefighter on duty at a time. As Buckley’s fifth career firefighter, Jose’s hiring is an important step toward growing the department’s career staffing levels.

Local 3520 is committed to advocating for the staffing and resources needed to meet these nationally recognized standards. We look forward to continuing to work with community members and local leaders to ensure Buckley firefighters have the support they need to serve the community safely and effectively.

06/07/2026

Our fellow firefighters in eastern Washington are already battling dry, warmer weather, resulting in active wildland fires. This is happening now in Chelan County with active Level 1 and Level 2 evacuations in place.

We hope the best for our friends and neighbors across the Cascade crest.

The Incident Map is up to date regarding the current fire effecting Chelan Falls, Hawk Ridge, Hawks Meadow and Downey Canyon.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/634880e739884cf2a4d39771e86d5ac9

06/06/2026

82 years ago today began a campaign to end World War II. Operation Overlord, or now mostly known as D-Day.

It has been said that those who forget history are bound to repeat it. So we share this remembrance as a historical and educational perspective.

In Dec of 1941, the US, who had previously remained "neutral" was thrust into WWII by the attack on the US military, at Pearl Harbor, in the US territory of Hawaii. That action led to our US Congress declaring war on Japan, and within days, also declaring war against Japan's allied war partners, Germany and Italy.

June 6, 1944 (D-Day) marked the beginning of Operation Overlord, the massive Allied amphibious and airborne invasion of Normandy, France. Its primary goal was to establish a major second front to liberate Nazi-occupied Western Europe. This effort came at a great cost, with an estimated 10,300+ US and Allied casualties and deaths on that day alone. But that high risk and historical effort paid off, by establishing a path to US and Allied Forces victory in Europe.

With each passing year, fewer of these heroes remain among us who gave so much in service to this country and the cause of freedom. Many have lived long lives shaped by duty, sacrifice, and service, and they deserve to rest in peace knowing their efforts helped carry forward the unfinished, imperfect, and deeply noble work of forming a more perfect Union.

On this day, your East Pierce Firefighters send our gratitude, love, and appreciation to all who wore the uniform, to those who served in support at home or in civilian roles, and to the families of those who gave everything.

We remember their service. We honor their sacrifice. And we say thank you, again and again.

06/05/2026

Last week, East Pierce Firefighters responded to a serious single vehicle collision requiring a patient to be extricated from the car. Crews arrived quickly and worked together to remove the passenger side and roof of the vehicle, as well as perform a dash lift to safely free the patient.

This incident also involved a rendezvous with Airlift Northwest. Air medical transport helps connect critically injured patients with specialized trauma care as quickly as possible when distance or transport times could delay access to definitive care. By bringing advanced critical care providers directly to the patient and rapidly transporting them to the most appropriate facility, air medical resources can play a vital role in improving patient outcomes.

We are proud of the skill, teamwork, and dedication our members bring to every emergency response and their training behind the scenes that makes these outcomes possible.

06/04/2026

A coordinated response is sometimes necessary for us with our law enforcement partners. We often times have no idea what to expect upon arrival on ANY of our 911 calls.

Stay safe and call us if you need us.

06/01/2026

Please join us in congratulating your five new Professional Firefighters who have officially completed their one-year probationary period at East Pierce!

After successfully graduating the recruit fire academy and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school, probationary firefighters continue a rigorous year of on-shift learning, training, evaluations, and mentorship alongside crews. Completing probation is a major milestone and reflects a year of hard work and dedication.

Congratulations FF Brittain, FF Calderwood, FF Jacobowitz, FF Lawrence, and FF Walker. We are proud of your hard work and look forward to your long and safe careers!

Also, a huge thank you to the company officers, crews, and mentors who helped guide these firefighters through the year.

05/30/2026

Sending our thoughts, care, and prayers to the family and friends of Everett Fire Department Master Mechanic Tom Lyons who died unexpectedly yesterday.

Our Fire Mechanics work tirelessly to ensure that the vehicles we use to respond to emergencies are always ready to go. They are a critical part of our team and the loss of any one of those team members impact us all.