Operations
The Rice Lake Fire Department (RLFD) provides a number of services to the area it covers. These services include:
Fire Suppression
The RLFD provides a quality level of service in a number of fire suppression disciplines. Career and POC personnel receive in-depth training on a regular basis. The department also has and maintains state-of-the-art equipment and apparatus to meet the challenges of differing types of fires.
When a fire alarm is received, the department will initiate an efficient response with its on-duty personnel; at the same time, both POC and off-duty career personnel can be recalled either by our in-house paging system or by telephone, depending on the type of incident reported. This type of call back provides an effective supplemental force for any operation.
The RLFD is trained and has experience in fighting numerous varieties of fires. The fact that we are a small department allows all personnel to receive experience working at all types of fires.
Structural Fire Fighting
By far, this is our main reason for existing - to protect and extinguish structural fires - including residential fires, large industry fires, small business fires, and any fire that is contained in or close to a building.
Wild Land Fire Fighting
The RLFD also engages in wild land firefighting. Our fire district covers many acres of grassland, open fields, and wooded land. These types of fires, even though somewhat small in nature, can be one of the most dangerous for firefighters.
Other Fires
This encompasses many smaller categories. Examples include vehicle fires, farm implement fires, dumpster fires, and chimney fires.
Emergency Medical Services
The RLFD participates in cooperation with Marshfield Medical Center to provide extra medical assistance when needed. Any call for emergency medical assistance is immediately responded to and handled by the department's career staff. All responding fire department personnel are certified to a minimum level of Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, and one member is currently certified at the Paramedic level.
Technical Rescue Services
The RLFD has the expertise and equipment to handle a number of different types of technical rescue situations. This includes experience and training in vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, technical rope rescue, ice and water rescue, and grain bin rescue.
Hazardous Materials
The RLFD has been designated by the State of Wisconsin as the Barron County Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT). The HMRT provides assistance in hazardous material emergencies. For more information on the HMRT, see Barron County Hazardous Materials Response Team. In addition, The RLFD has been contracted as a Type III Hazardous Materials Response Team, see Type III Hazardous Materials Response Team.
Fire Cause Determination
The RLFD conducts investigations of all fire incidents it responds to, the purpose of which is to determine the point of origin and cause. A team of department personnel are available at all times for this purpose.