Fire Suppression

Structure & Wildfire Suppression

Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue engages in structure and wildfire suppression management in a multitude of roles.

Initial Attack (IA) – The primary objective of TMFPD’s initial attack resources are public and fire fighter safety, property loss minimization, and the expedient extinguishment of initial attack fires. The District currently staffs the following resources:

Type III Wildland Fire Engines Four wheel drive capable and typically carrying 500+ gallons of water, these trucks are designed to get into remote places and carry three fire fighters.

Water Tenders
Water trucks with multiple thousands of gallons of water respond to fires to provide consistent water supply to other fire engines and aircraft. They can respond with one or two fire fighters.

Type 1 Structure Engine
Used for structure protection, a Type 1 Engine has a 750 gallon tank capacity and is capable of pumping 1500 gallons per minute. The engine carries up to 4 personnel and is equipped with 1 ¾ inch hose, 2 ½ inch hose, 3 inch hose, 5 inch hose and ladders as well as other EMS and extrication equipment.

Type V Engine
This engine is small and more versatile in where it can respond. It carries four firefighters and 400 gallons of water. The crew that staffs the type V engine is frequently used as a small hand crew and overlaps as the “fuels module”.

Fire Dozer
One typically staged in the southern part of the district and one in the north. Used to construct a fire line among other tasks to slow or stop the spread of a wildfire.

Ladder Truck
The truck has a 100-foot aerial platform used for fighting large scale fires. It can carry 250 gallons of water capable of pumping 2,000 gallons per minute.

TMFPD also provides multiple engines and training to local volunteer departments. Those stations are not staffed 24/7, but can be called upon to augment initial attack resources.

Local cooperators – No department in the world has enough resources to handle large wildfires or structure fires on their own when they occur in their district. This fact is well-known in the fire industry and TMFR has proactive agreements with numerous local, state and federal agencies to ensure needed resources cross jurisdictional boundaries and fire partners help each other when needed so we can attack a large fire or emergency and maintain readiness should other incidents occur simultaneously.

United States Forest Service

Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Indian Affairs

Nevada Division of Forestry

City of Reno

City of Sparks

North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District

Numerous others in Western Nevada and Eastern California

Incident Management Teams – Just as no department is self-sufficient with initial attack resources during large local fires, departments typically lack enough overhead positions in the Incident Command System (ICS) to field effective overhead structures during large incidents. Across the country there are pre-designated “management teams”. These teams work and train together throughout the year. Individuals come from states and communities across the country to participate in these organizations. TMFPD both utilizes these teams on large fires, and contributes staffing to those teams in roles such as:

Incident Commander

Line Medic

Medical Unit Leader

Air Operations

Logistics

Division Supervisor

Operations Section Chief