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Hampton Inn Fire
At 9:34 AM on Saturday November 7, all companies from Destin were dispatched to a fire at the Hampton Inn. The crews found one of the rooms on the first floor of the hotel fully involved. The fire was extinguished shortly after arrival on scene. The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical in nature. |
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Car in pond
On March 31, a local driver missed the curve near a local golf course and ended up in a pond. The golf course superintendent, who witnessed the accident, swam to the car and pulled to driver to safety, saving her life. |
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Landing Gear Probem
On March 30, a Cessna 182 with the aircraft owner and a flight instructor were in the air over Destin when the right side rear landing gear jammed before it could lock in place. While they were flying over the Gulf for burn off fuel, the aircraft owner was able to lower a rope out his window and get a slip knot around the landing gear. He was able to pull the landing into a locked position, allowing the plane to land safely. |
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Tuffy Dixon Retires March 31, 2009
March 31, 2009 marks the official retirement of Tuffy Dixon after 33 years of distinguished service to the Destin Fire Control District. |
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High Rise Rescue
On Friday, March 13, the crews from Destin Fire Control District responded to the scene of a man hanging from a rope off the side of the building. Upon arrival on sene, the firefighters and paramedics found a man stuck between the 8th and 9th floors, after falling (a controlled descent) over 100'. The man was rescued by the fire crews, using the 105' ladder on Ladder 9. He was flown to the Trauma Center at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. |
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Jetty Rescue
On January 19, 2008, two young men from Destin were spending their day off from Destin Middle School fishing on the end of the west jetty. After they had bagged their limit of two red fish, they found themselves unable to get off the jetty because of the high surf conditions that had developed. These conditions rendered the section of the jetty near the shore impassable as the surf brook over the top of the rocks. A crew from the Destin Fire Control District, including rescue swimmer Felix Romero, rescued the young men from the end of the jetty with the aid of the Coast Guard and their rescue boat. |
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2009 Polar Bear Swim
On New Years Day the Destin Fire Rescue Foundation held its 2nd annual Polar Bear Swim. Almost 70 brave souls took the plunge. |
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Thanksgiving Fire
At approximately 0530 on Thanksgiving morning, the crews from the Destin Fire Control District, along with an engine from Okaloosa Island Fire, responded to a report of smoke and flames showing at a single family residence in the Indian Bayou subdivision. Upon arrival on scene, the firefighters found the rear rood section of the home to be fully involved. The Destin firefighters made an interior attack on the structure and had the fire extinguished with 20 minutes of arrival. |
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10/27/2008 Motorcycle Accident
In the afternoon of 10/27/2008, a motorcycle crashed into the side of a passenger vehicle on Emerald Coast Parkway, just east of Crystal Beach Drive. The young driver of the motorcycle was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in critical condition. The two occupants of the vehicle were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with minor injuries. |
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Destin Fire Historical Pictures
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2008 Fire Rescue East
After a successful 2007 ALS competition, the team is preparing for the competition held in Jacksonville, FL on January 25th & 26th. This year Mark Baugh has moved to the position of Team Captain and will serve as the team's alternate. Mark Hutchinson and TJ Buchanan will return this year as team members. They will be joined by Trey Ward as the team's newest member. |
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Employment Practical Test
The Destin Fire Control District has some of the strictest hiring standards in Northwest Florida. Applicants are put through a full day of written testing, followed by the most physically demanding practical test in this part of Florida. The top candidates following the day of testing are asked to return for interviews and final new employee selection. |
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Sandalwood Drive Fire
On October 20, 2008, the fire crews from Station 9 and Station 10 responded to a report of smoke and flames showing at a multi-unit residential structure on Sandalwood Drive. The fire appears to have started outside the structure, near the front door. The fire worked its way up an outside wall, eventually making its way into the structure through an eave. From the eave, the fire made its way into a wall, into the floor joist between the floors, as well as into the attic. |
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Apparatus Training
During January of 2008 the Destin Fire Control District is conducting the Fire Service Apparatus class for its firefighters, as well as firefighters from other local departments. It is important for those running pump operations at a fire scene to be able to draft from a water source such as a pond, river or lake when a fire hydrant system is not available through a municipal water supply. While Destin Fire Control District has adequate fire hydrant coverage, the ability to draft is important in contingency planning. An important component of the Fire Service Apparatus class is the in-depth training on the technique of drafting. |
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2007 02/04 Rollover
On February 4, 2007 the crews from Ladder 10 and Ladder 9, along with their firefighters and paramedics, responded to a rollover motor vehicle accident on Emerald Coast Parkway. After some extrication, including removing the windshield, both patients were removed from the vehicle and fully immobilized for transport to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in stable condition. |
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2007 01/06 Mid Bay MVA
On January 6, 2007 at 7:58 PM, Ladder 10 was dispatched to a head-on motor vehicle accident on the south side of the Mid Bay bridge, with an entrapped patient. Gulf Flight One was immediately dispatched, along with Ladder 9 to set up the landing zone. Also responding to the call were 2 ambulances from Okaloosa County EMS, the EMS Shift Captain, DFCD Battalion 9, and the DFCD Medical Division Chief.
Captain Johnny Wykoff and his crew from Ladder 10 did an amazing job of extricating the severely pinned patient from one of the vehicles, using the Hurst Tool and other extrication equipment.
The patient was flown to Ft. Walton Beach Medical Center, where he recovered from his injuries. |
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Search & Rescue Training
Training is a critical part of the fire service. Firefighters regularly train to keep their skills sharp, preparing them for the the difficult tasks they face during real emergencies. And search and rescue is one of the most important skills for firefighters. The DFCD recently held search and rescue training in a local commercial building slated for demolition. Smoke generating machines provide real-life scenarios for this important training session. |
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Gulf Terrace Fire
The Destin Fire Control District responded to a fire in an apartment complex on December 22, 2007. The fire was a contents fire contained to a bedroom in the apartment. The firefighters of C shift made an offensive attack, extinguishing the fire within minutes of entering the structure. All of the contents of the apartment sustained substantial smoke damage, with little damage sustained to the structure itself. The origin of the fire was determined to be faulty wiring of a lamp. |
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Destin CERT Training
Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)
Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
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GULFlight 1
GULFlight 1 is the closest helicopter service to the Destin Fire Control District, stationed at Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville. Once called, the helicopter can be on the ground in Destin in a matter of minutes. |
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Air Heart
The Destin Fire Control District's paramedics make extensive use of the helicopter services provided by 3 local organizations - Gulf Flight, Baptist Flight and AirHeart. This important service is used for severely injured trauma patients that require transport to a trauma center and for pediatric patients that required specialized care at a pediatric hospital. They are also used for any patient requiring specialized care at facilities outside the local area. When a helicopter is used, the paramedics provide Advanced Life Support care until such time as the patient is turned over to the highly trained helicopter crews. The DFCD also provides landing zone fire protection during these operations. |
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Engine 9
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Ladder 9
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Engine 10
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Ladder 10
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Battalion 9
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Boat 9
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