12/9/2010 THANK YOU!!! The Northwood Fire and Rescue Company wishes to thank you for your donation to our fall fund drive. Your donation makes it possible for us to provide you with fire protection and rescue services 24 hours a day - 7 days a week - 365 days a year. It is possible that we may have missed you when we were at your door, or you may have already went south for the winter, or maybe you live out of the area and have property that we protect or family that may need rescue help. If we did miss you, please feel free to mail us your 2010 fall fund drive donation and we will gladly enter your name in our record books as a donation for this years fund drive. You can also donate online by going to ourDonations web page. Once again thank you very much for your donation!! The members and families of the Northwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company wish you and yours all the best this Holiday Season!!! 12/3/2010 Each year fires occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400 people, injure 1,650 more, and cause over $990 million in damage. Keep in mind the following seasonal tips from the US Fire Administration to ensure you and your family are safe! 11/5/2010Caring for Your Tree Do not place your tree close to a heat source, including a fireplace or heat vent. The heat will dry out the tree, causing it to be more easily ignited by heat, flame or sparks. Be careful not to drop or flick cigarette ashes near a tree. Do not put your live tree up too early or leave it up for longer than two weeks. Keep the tree stand filled with water at all times. Maintain Your Holiday Lights Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, gaps in the insulation, broken or cracked sockets, and excessive kinking or wear before putting them up. Use only lighting listed by an approved testing laboratory Do Not Overload Electrical Outlets Do not link more than three light strands, unless the directions indicate it is safe. Connect strings of lights to an extension cord before plugging the cord into the outlet. Make sure to periodically check the wires - they should not be warm to the touch. Use Only Nonflammable Decorations All decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents. Never Put Wrapping Paper in a Fireplace It can result in a very large fire, throwing off dangerous sparks and embers and may result in a chimney fire. Avoid Using Lit Candles If you do use them, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning. Finally, as in every season, have working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home, test them monthly and keep them clean and equipped with fresh batteries at all times. Know when and how to call for help. And remember to practice your home escape plan. Daylight savings time ends this weekend. We want you to use that as a fire safety reminder. When you turn your clocks back an hour, replace the batteries in your smoke detectors, too. Across the U.S. last year, 2,500 people were killed in fires. Eighty three percent of those deaths came in house fires. If all homes had working smoke detectors, more than half of those people may have survived. As the temps cool off, heaters heat up! Common sense can prevent a heater fire. All heating systems can start fires if not used and maintained properly. Heating your home during the colder months of the year can prove dangerous, if you do not follow a few simple safety precautions. Check baseboard heaters often to remove objects that have fallen on top of or near the heater. Remember that any time objects like newspapers, furniture or blankets are close to heaters, a fire can start. Portable heaters heat up rapidly and, like baseboard heaters, they can easily ignite any flammable item left nearby. Always turn portable heaters off if you leave the room or are going to fall asleep. When you use your fireplace or wood stove to heat your home, keep the door and or fire screen shut to protect your home from sparks. Only burn dry seasoned wood, never rubbish. Garbage and green wood can cause a chimney fire. Remember to have your chimney inspected and serviced before each heating season and change the batteries in your smoke alarms too. Happy Thanksgiving!! 10/18/2010 A few reminders. The annual fall fund drive is in full swing and you can expect to see department members knocking at your door. Any donation is greatly appreciated. If we happen to miss you, please contact us or donate online by clicking on the "Donations" link. Harvest is progressing at a rapid rate due to the great weather. Please be cautious and slow down while approaching machinery and equipment on the road. Keep an eye out for trick or treaters on October 31st! Wishing everyone a safe and fun Halloween! 9/7/2010 Over the next 2 months members of the NVFC will be knocking on your door as they have begun their annual fall fund drive. Anything that you can spare is greatly appreciated and will go towards taking care of you and or your property in the time of need. If you are not contacted and would like to send in a tax deductible donation, please do so by clicking on the "Donations" link. Thanks in advance!! It looks as though it will be an early harvest. Be careful when approaching harvest equipment on the roads. Equipment operators cannot always see your vehicle and they travel slow so you will come upon them quicker than you think. Slow down, be cautious and pass safely! Wishing everyone a safe, bountiful harvest! 8/6/2010 Wednesday August 18th is the first day of school for the students of Northwood-Kensett. Please be careful and watch out for students travelling to and from our schools. Make it a safe school year!! Saturday August 14th is the NVFC golf tournament at the Northwood Country Club. Registration begins at 8am. Please come out and enjoy a round of golf. All proceeds will benefit the fire departments operating expenses. Thanks in advance! 7/9/2010 We hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July celebration! The results of the raffle tickets can be accessed HERE. Thanks to everyone that participated and to everyone who contributed prizes. It is greatly appreciated! Have a great summer! Tickets are on sale!! We have started selling tickets for the 4th of July raffle. Check out this years GRAND PRIZE!! If you are interested in raffle tickets, please contact a fire company member or look for us during the 4th of July parade! Tickets are $1 each or a book of 12 for $10. $4,600.00 in prizes to be given away! Drawing will be held July 8th. Need not be present to win. 6/19/2010 Severe storms and tornadoes ripped through the area on the evening of 6/17/2010. NVFC personnel were out storm spotting throughout the evening. While Northwood escaped the brunt of the storms, those just north of us in Freeborn County Minnesota were not so fortunate as multiple tornado's destroyed homes, buildings and landscape. The largest tornado was an EF4 that was up to 1/2 mile wide and was on the ground for 21 miles. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those cleaning up and rebuilding after this devastation.  | 2010 Alarms Fire / Rescue January: 0 / 24 February: 1 / 28 March: 6 / 29 April: 7 / 25 May: 6 / 22 June: 4 / 31 July: 4 / 19 August: 6 / 26 September: 2 / 20 October: 5 / 17 November: 1 / 16 December: 3 / 27 2010 Year to Date 45 / 284 329 Total Calls 3508 Total Volunteer Hours  |