Captain Tyler Tomlinson, public information officer for the Grass Valley Fire Department, updated the City Council on recent department activity and equipment changes. He said the department received a $113,500 grant from the Office of Traffic Safety to buy battery-powered vehicle extrication tools that will let crews “arrive on scene, jump out, grab the tools, and immediately get to work.”

Tomlinson reviewed this year’s out-of-county deployments, including the Palisades and Eaton incidents and a Border 2 deployment on the California–Mexico border. He described roles city staff filled on those incidents, from operational section chief duties to public information work, and said the experience strengthened local training and response capability.

Tomlinson also explained apparatus types the city sends on mutual-aid assignments — an OES Type 1 engine for structural firefighting and mixed responses, a Type 3 brush engine for wildland incidents, and a smaller Type 6 utility engine for narrow roads and scouting. He described vertical ventilation tactics used at structure fires — sending a roof team to make a 4-by-4 or 4-by-8 opening to expel smoke and improve interior crew visibility — and showed photos from three recent structure fires within or near city limits.

Council members and attendees thanked department personnel for their service. Tomlinson said one of the most important lessons from large incidents was transparent, factual public information: "there was just genuine honesty about what's happening down there," he told the council.

The presentation closed with council praise and no action items tied to the update.