Finally, after lots of work (and infinite patience!) our station is completed. All department operations, administration and training are now located at the new building and we have never been happier. We think the most happy are the firefighters, due to the fact that this is the first fire station in the history of JVFD that wasn’t build entirely by the members. Feel free to come by anytime and take a tour or our new home.

Michael Belohlavy, Commissioner Lisa Birkman, Mack Sherrod, Kenny Schnell, Adam Bryant, Darryl Phillips, Assistant Chief Brian Quinlan (watching) and Fire Chief John Kiracofe at the groundbreaking for the expansion of Fire Station No. 1 in September.

Now that station, Fire Station No. 1, located near the intersection of Pond Springs Road and Anderson Mill Road, is ready to grow again.

“Both the stations we operate out of were never intended to be full-service, live-in stations,” Jollyville Fire Chief John Kiracofe said of the department’s volunteer heritage. “We’ve just had to make do. Now, with this expansion, we’ll have living quarters.”

The Jollyville Fire Department, Williamson County and Emergency Services District No. 1 broke ground on the station expansion project mid-September. The expanded station will house the Jollyville Fire Department and the Williamson County Emergency Medical Services, said Lisa Birkman, Williamson County commissioner for Precinct 1.

Fire Station No. 1 serves the area surrounding the station in southern Williamson County, including the Springwoods and North Austin No. 1 municipal utility districts, Milwood, Hunters Chase, Rattan Creek and Forest North neighborhoods and adjoining county areas. The expansion to the station includes new living quarters for the EMS and fire personnel, a classroom, new offices and new bays to house fire trucks and ambulances.

The existing space will also be renovated to create living quarters for Williamson County EMS Medic 22, which shares the station with the firefighters.

“They don’t have any living quarters or educational spaces now,” said Connie Watson, public affairs manager for Williamson County.

She said the ESD and the county jointly funded the expansion and renovation. The project costs just under $1 million. Construction is projected to take five months for completion.

While the county provides the facilities, the JFD provides the manpower, Kiracofe said.

According to JFD’s website, the station expansion was made necessary since the City of Austin annexed Anderson Mill MUD, where the former EMS station was located. That annexation took effect Jan. 1. The expansion is also in response to high growth and additional demand for services in the area, Watson said.

Kiracofe said the officials were hoping to have the expansion completed before the annexation.

“But it’s been a longer process than I thought it would be,” he said. “We’re just so excited it’s finally happening.”

A fire Friday afternoon damaged a children’s consignment store called “Once Upon A Child” in a strip shopping center at 13376 U.S. 183 North just north of Spicewood Springs Road, according to the Austin Fire Department.

There were no injuries, officials said. The fire started in a pile of clothes at the back of the store, but it is not clear what caused the blaze, Capt. Rob Bredahl of the fire department said.

Firefighters were notified at 5:33 p.m. and had the fire under control about 20 minutes after they arrived, Bredahl said.

The fire caused a lot of smoke damage in the store and light smoke damage in adjacent stores, Bredahl said.

From
Statesman.com

Units from Jollyville, Sam Bass, Cedar Park, and Austin fire departments were dispatched, but the fire was contained using crews from the first two arriving Jollyville engines. Crews remained on scene for approximately 45 minutes conducting salvage and overhaul, and entertaining kids in the complex who came to enjoy the excitement.

Firefighters were called out to the Polo Club Apartments in the 8500 block of Cahill Drive around 1 a.m. Saturday, said Williamson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Det. John Foster. When they arrived, they found two apartment units in flames.

After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered the body of 20-year-old Raymond Waterman Jr. inside his apartment, Foster said. No one else was injured.

The fire is believed to have been caused by smoking materials inside Waterman’s apartment, Foster said. A preliminary autopsy reports that Waterman died of smoke inhalation, Foster said.

The apartment complex sustained more than $1 million in estimated damage.

The new patch combines many traditional elements from around the fire service, while providing a contemporary look to the uniform. The patch project was also designed to end up with a very unique looking patch. We feel like we have met that goal, and are very happy with the new patch.

Aside from the new department patch, many firefighters will be wearing the Texas Department of State Health Services designated patch for their level of training. While this is common to many area departments, Jollyville has traditionally worn the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association patch.

The firefighters will also be sporting different t-shirts and a return to the ‘polo’ type shirt depending on the event they are attending. Jollyville firefighters were still issued the polo type shirt up to and including recently, but the majority of the crews wore the regular t-shirt. The new patch lit an interest in a redesign for the polo, and the new one will include some embroidery that helps identify the firefighter, their rank, and their level of EMS certification.

We should have some photos of the new uniform as the different elements are delivered and placed into service. We will post those photos here as time allows. Please take the time to tell us what you think when you see us out and about; we appreciate your feedback!

Officials said 20 homes in the Pecan Branch sub-division and 40 houses near County Road 233 were being evacuated. The fire continued to move as of 6 p.m. Thursday, as Texas Forest Service and Star Flight conducted water drops.

Air tankers out of Abilene dropped fire retardant and suppression gel.

Fire crews from Florence, Jollyville, Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Jarrel, Liberty Hill, Leander and Weir were called to duty.

See Photos Here

It took 20 firefighters, from Jollyville, Austin, Cedar Park, and Sam Bass, to bring the fire under control. It was brought under control at 10 p.m., Thompson said.

Nine families have been placed in other apartments in the same complex or in an adjacent complex, according to Elaine Acker, a spokeswoman for the Central Texas Red Cross, which is helping resettle the families. Other families were out of town at the time of the fire, she said.

…taken from the Austin American Statesman

The Cedar Park Fire Department was called to a large structure fire one block east of the U.S. Highway 183 and New Hope Road intersection, near the Block House Creek subdivision at approximately 2:55 p.m.

Cedar Park Fire Chief Chris Connealy said the the call came in as an explosion and “we arrived to heavy fire.”

All four Cedar Park units and backup help from Leander, Jollyville and Sam Bass departments were able to get contain the fire in the west side of the building. “We were going to make an internal attack, but there was too much of a fire hazard,” said Connealy.

Connealy sent crews into the east side of the building to put out any hot spots, but the “west side was declared defensive,” meaning the area was too unsafe to allow crews in the building.

The fire was extinguished in about 25 minutes and the fire departments were “trying to get to all the hot spots,” said Connealy.

The west side of the building was taped off because the outer wall had shifted and Connealy said there was “a concern that the wall might collapse.”

Connealy said the east side of the building, where Guaranteed Screenprinting & More is located, only suffered smoke damage, but there is “significant fire damage on the west.”

The building’s owner, Joe Zsebenyi, said the building is leased to Oscar Renda Contracting, who is doing the construction on New Hope Road.

Jimmy Wood, foreman for Oscar Renda, said the space was being used as a storage facility and a field office. The fire is believed to have started in the storage facility where pipes, tools and other equipment are stored.

The Oscar Renda crews were working near Bagdad Road at the time of the fire and no one was in the building, said Wood.

Ryan Hitchcock, general manager at Lawton Commercial Services, which is located two doors down from the facility, said he heard a loud noise, like a “board falling off a shelf,” but didn’t think much about it. About 45 minutes later he heard a louder sound like an explosion. That’s when Hitchcock went out of his office and saw smoke coming from the building.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but the fire will be investigated.

Read Friday’s Weekender edition of the Hill Country News for more details and photos from this fire.

E-mail: jennifer@hillcountrynews.com

Auto aid companies from Cedar Park, Sam Bass, and Austin all assisted at the scene. The fire was brought under control in approximately 25 minutes.