The following is a listing of some of the local calls for service involving the Modesto Fire Department, which staffs Stations 27, 28, 29 and 30 in Oakdale, Knights Ferry and Valley Home as part of Battalion 5; and the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Department, covering the Riverbank area, as part of Battalion 2.
Calls were logged during the time period of Tuesday, July 2 through Monday, July 8. Days not listed had no reports of significant incidents in this area.
MONDAY, JULY 8
Battalion 2: Stanislaus crews met with the Fire Warden’s Office to become oriented on a new water source out on Tim Bell Road at the Hayes Ranch.
Battalion 5: Battalion 5 units conducted their weekly apparatus checks and station yard work and apparatus bay cleaning.
SUNDAY, JULY 7
Battalion 2: Battalion 2 and Brush 24 returned from their cover assignment in Tuolumne County.
Quint 22 and Engine 26 trained on rope rescue scenarios.
Battalion 5: Battalion 5 crews conducted apparatus checks and station maintenance.
9:43 p.m. – Engine 7, Squad 11, Engine 5, Engine 6, Engine 26, Truck 5, Medic 1, FIU and Battalions 1 and 5 responded to a residential working structure fire in the 4200 block of Antiquity. Engine 7 reported a two-story residence with light smoke showing. While assignments were being relayed, fire vented from the second-floor bedroom window. Once 2-out was established, crews made entry and the incident was quickly mitigated. The damage was confined to one room and crews salvaged the downstairs room. Two kittens were rescued and reunited with their owners. Assistance was provided by Red Cross.
SATURDAY, JULY 6
Battalion 2: 12:21 p.m. – Water Rescue 24 and Engine 23 responded to Modesto Reservoir for a possible drowning. Before arrival, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department personnel located the subject and performed CPR. Fire crews continued with High-Performance CPR. The patient regained pulses and was transported to a local hospital.
Battalion 5: 12:28 p.m. – Grass/Water Tender 21, Brush 28, Grass 29, and BC5 responded to assist CalFire TCU with a vegetation fire at Yosemite Boulevard and Lake Road. Crews were able to contain the fire at four acres.
2:24 p.m. – Water Rescue 18, Engine 27, Water Rescue 29, and BC2 responded to a water rescue on the Stanislaus River in Knights Ferry for missing rafters. Crews were able to locate the rafters near Horseshoe Recreation area and ensure they were safe.
11:49 p.m. – Brush 28 and BC5 responded to a vegetation fire along with Cal Fire TCU in Station 30’s FMA on 28-Mile Road near Woodward Reservoir. Brush 28 located a 50’x100’ roadside grass fire and extinguished the fire. The responding balance was cancelled, and one CalFire engine continued to report information.
FRIDAY, JULY 5
Crews checked on several fires that took place on the July 4th holiday.
Battalion 2: 8:44 a.m. – Brush 24 and Water Tender 21 assisted CalFire with a vegetation fire in the 22000 block of Yosemite Boulevard. Brush 24 was the first to arrive and reported a two-acre fire with a slow rate of spread. They were able to quickly attack the fire and kept it contained to 2.3 acres. They spent the next several hours mopping up. The cause is under investigation.
Battalion 5: 8:35 a.m. – Modesto Engine 27, Engine 29, Stanislaus Quint 22, and BC5 responded to a potential structure fire in the 800 block of Vista Verano Court in Oakdale. Upon arrival there was nothing showing from a single-story house. Crews investigated to find an area on a tile roof that had burned, so they checked for extension and found negative extension into the attic.
THURSDAY, JULY 4
This synopsis of July 4 calls was provided by Modesto Fire Department Public Information Officer Jim Black, detailing the variety of incidents throughout the county.
The Modesto Fire Department and its surrounding partner agencies Stanislaus Consolidated Fire District and Turlock City Fire (MST) worked tirelessly through the night, battling multiple structure and dozens of vegetation fires. We utilized our resource sharing agreement to provide coverage and service across all agencies with the help of the surrounding volunteer departments.
A total of 316 calls were dispatched to MST resources by the Stanislaus Regional 911 and Turlock 911 dispatch centers between 7 a.m. July 4 and 7 a.m. July 5. The 24-hour period ended with the biggest incident - a four-alarm fire just after 5 a.m. on July 5 in Modesto.
A total of four alarms were dispatched due to workload on scene, temperatures, and workload from calls in the previous 24 hours. The third and fourth alarms brought firefighters from as far as Oakdale and Turlock.
Engine 4 arrived at the 500 block of Terminal Avenue in Modesto and found heavy fire from a house under construction near the Virginia Corridor Trail. The fire was spreading to three additional nearby houses that were occupied, including a triplex. Additional firefighters were requested to control the fires. The three houses are uninhabitable. The house under construction was destroyed.
Two occupants were medically evaluated on scene, but refused transportation to a local hospital. A total of nine people were displaced. The American Red Cross is assisting some of the displaced residents. No firefighters were injured.
The fire is still under investigation by the Stanislaus Regional Fire Investigation Unit. The estimated loss is $1.4 million dollars.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 3
Battalion 2: Battalion 2 Companies met with Deputy Chief Avila at Station 22 in the morning for an MST Operations briefing and question/answer session.
Battalion 5: 11:03 a.m. – Brush 28, Brush 23, Brush 24, Grass 27, Water Tender 27, Water Tender 23, and BC5 responded for a vegetation fire at Rice Road and the Oakdale-Waterford Highway. Crews arrived to find a large pile of wood chips from a removed orchard on fire at a dairy with a small grass fire that was threatening a pig barn and other piles of commodities. The grass fires were quickly contained and mitigated the threat to other parts of the property. Crews stayed on scene for the next three hours cooling the pile so that the landowner could pull it apart.
TUESDAY, JULY 2
MST chief officers attended a monthly meeting held at MFD Fire Admin.
Battalion 2: Battalion 2 Companies met with Deputy Chief Avila at Station 22 in the morning to be briefed on MST operations and answer questions.
Battalion 5: The fuel reduction project in the community of Knights Ferry has been completed. The project was funded through the 2021-22 CalFire Wildfire Prevention CCI (California Climate Investment) Grant Program and coordinated through the East Stanislaus Fire Safe Council, CalFire TCU and Modesto Fire. Fuel reduction work focused on brushing, thinning and chipping hazardous fuels adjacent to several key roadways near the Knights Ferry Elementary School, Sonora Road and Cemetery Road. Fuel reduction work began in May of 2023 with the final work completed in early June of 2024. This is the first fuel reduction project completed in the community of Knights Ferry with crews completing approximately eight acres of fuel reduction work. The project is located within the State Responsibility Area (SRA) of the CalFire Tuolumne/Calaveras Unit and Oakdale Fire Protection District.
Medic 1 provided training for Engine 27, Engine 28 and Engine 29 on ALS/BLS medical protocol updates.
10:26 a.m. – Engine 28, Engine 27, Medic 1 and BC5 responded to a motor vehicle accident on Albers Road. Medic 1 arrived to find two vehicles involved with one minor injury.
12:39 p.m. – Engine 27, Engine 28 and BC5 responded to a potential structure fire in the 2300 block of Mendocino Way. Engine 27 arrived on scene and began to investigate. Engine 27 isolated the issue to the stove in the kitchen. The balance was canceled.
5:26 p.m. – Engine 27, Engine 28 and BC5 responded to a reported motor vehicle accident on Claribel Road. Engine 27 arrived to find two vehicles involved with two minor injuries.
9:11 p.m. – Engine 28, Engine 27 and BC5 responded to a vegetation fire near Sierra and Stearns Road. Crews arrived to find a quarter of an acre of grass with a slow rate of spread. The fire was quickly contained and Engine 29 provided coverage during the incident.
