Springfield fire chief reflects on busy holiday weekend, triumphs of 2022

Aside from the typical holiday craze, last weekend was especially busy for the Springfield Fire Department, which responded to nearly 300 calls, with 90 occurring on Christmas Eve.

Between Thursday, Dec. 22 and Monday, Dec. 26, the fire department responded to 290 incidents, including medical emergencies and water line ruptures due to below-freezing temperatures. Six of these incidents were working fires: five houses and one apartment.

A fire at the El Chaparral complex on East Elm Street began around 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 23. Fire Chief David Pennington said at the time of the fire, the windshield was 23 degrees below zero.

After being evacuated from the complex, residents were guided onto a bus provided by City Utilities to keep warm. Pennington said the bus also provided a warm space for firefighters to rehab in.

The five house fires occurred in the 2600 block of North Weller Avenue, 2000 block of West Nichols Street, 2000 block of South Mayfair Avenue and 1300 block of West Livingston Street. All but one of the house fires were deemed accidental. A vacant house located in the 1000 block of East Commercial was deemed a total loss, and the incident is under investigation, Pennington said.

Throughout the weekend, the department's fire marshals also helped inspect the addition of crisis cold weather shelters, Pennington said.

More:7 more churches opened their doors as overnight shelters during holiday weekend

This year, there are eight permanent crisis cold weather shelters. Over the weekend, at least seven more churches opened their doors as overnight shelters. Each had to be inspected prior to allowing folks in.

"Given the severity of (the weekend's weather), Community Partnership of the Ozarks, the cold weather shelter committee and faith organizations really worked hard to get more locations ... my fire marshals were inspecting those as late as Christmas Eve," Pennington said.

With the temperatures dipping as low as they did, Pennington said the department remained aware of the potential for freezing fire pumps, hose lines and self-contained breathing apparatuses.

"Steps were taken to prevent this ... with the biggest impact being to our (self-contained breathing apparatuses) and regulators, which continued to freeze up," Pennington said. "Our air technicians did a wonderful job in ensuring backup equipment was ready, and in working with fire crews to get frozen packs back in service."

Looking back at a year of 'tremendous opportunity'

Pennington commented on how "extremely proud" he is of his department's efforts in a Tweet posted on Tuesday night, which he echoed about the entire year.

"My firefighters and officers are just exemplary," Pennington said. "They continue to work hard every day, no matter the conditions."

Pennington said 2022 has been a "year of tremendous opportunity" for the fire department. He noted the rebuilding of Fire Station 4, located at 2423 N. Delaware Ave. and the near completed construction of Fire Station 13 at 1900 W. College St.

Looking to the new year, the department is going to bid for the reconstruction of Fire Station 7, located on East Sunshine Street.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield fire chief reflects on influx of incidents over holidays