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News | Dec. 21, 2017

DSCR Fire, Emergency Services leads the way

By Kimberly Fritz DLA Aviation Public Affairs Office

Defense Logistics Agency Installation Operations at Richmond’s Fire and Emergency Services on Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia, is on a roll after winning DLA Fire Department of the Year for the second year running and earning the title of Fire Prevention Program of the Year.

Blazing a trail and with a reputation for excellent community service, the F&EMS team led the way in setting a higher response time, besting the Department of Defense standard with a new benchmark of six minutes or less on 90 percent of responses.

During the previous fiscal year, the department responded to numerous structure fires via an automated agreement with Chesterfield County, most notably a mutual aid response to a local chemical processing plant fire reducing the impact to the environment.

“Our contribution throughout the community is always present,” said Fire Chief, Robert Cross. “We’ve received the annual Commander-in-Chief’s Award for Installation Excellence by providing superior service to installation employees more than once.”

Part of their annual contribution included administering more than 630 flu shots to employees on the installation.

The department assisted in more than 125 worldwide callers on the DoD Hazardous Materials hotline, providing pertinent information for chemical emergencies and other information.

In addition to their everyday duties, the department hosted the first Hazardous Materials Regional Expo attended by six jurisdictional partners, and supported the Wounded Warrior Program by aiding the McGuire Veteran Affairs Medical Center with assessing a soldier’s cognitive skill for returning back into the community. They also hosted four Fort Lee Advanced Individual Training soldiers at the Fire Station for Thanksgiving.

The department earned the title of DLA Fire Prevention Program of the Year for its work reducing the installation’s life safety hazards, overseeing inspections of approximately $200 million dollars of hazardous materials storage, reviewing 74 facility projects valued at $54.3 million and accepting three major fire protection systems valued at more than $27 million in facility and mission assets.  Having a strong community and public education program, Cross said the fire prevention office developed and delivered a comprehensive Fire Warden Training Program, taught 25 fire safety classes reaching 1,100 installation employees, and provided staff training as part of the installation Child Development Center’s accreditation to operate.