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Grass Valley Fire Department reports $113,500 grant, recent mutual‑aid deployments and roof operations on local structure fires
Summary
The Grass Valley Fire Department told the City Council it received a $113,500 Office of Traffic Safety grant for battery‑powered vehicle extrication tools, described state mutual‑aid deployments (Palisades, Eaton, Border 2) and explained recent roof operations and 'vertical ventilation' tactics used on three local structure fires.
The Grass Valley Fire Department updated the City Council on mutual‑aid deployments and new equipment on Tuesday night. Fire Chief Mark Butchart introduced Captain Tyler Tomlinson, the department's public information officer, who said the department "just recently received a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety for $113,500 for new vehicle extrication tools." Tomlinson said the new battery‑powered "e‑tools" will make extrication responses faster and less labor‑intensive than the current pump‑and‑hose systems.
Tomlinson recounted recent state deployments involving Grass Valley personnel, including the Palisades and Eaton fires and the Border 2 incident. He described the role of an operational section chief and said Battalion Chief James Drummond served as an operational leader on a large incident that at its peak involved roughly 2,300 personnel and many resource types.
The captain also reviewed the department's in‑city work: he showed photos from three structure fires within the last month and explained why crews perform vertical ventilation (roof cutting) to improve visibility for interior attack and search teams. "We send a crew to the roof," Tomlinson said, describing how a 4‑by‑4 or 4‑by‑8 opening releases smoke and helps interior crews work more efficiently.
Council members thanked department staff for mutual‑aid work and local responses; several members praised the department's public information work and community engagement on large incidents. The presentation included images of personnel and described routine engine types Grass Valley staffs for state deployments (type 1/OES, brush/type 3, and type 6 engines and portable tanks for drafting and helicopter water drops).
The department answered questions about applying lessons from statewide deployments to local operations and emphasized that experience gained on mutual‑aid incidents is used in local training. No formal action was required.
