Sterling Volunteer Fire Company

§ 46.2-829. Approach of law-enforcement or fire-fighting vehicles, rescue vehicles, or ambulances; violation as failure to yield right-of-way.

Upon the approach of any emergency vehicle as defined in § 46.2-920 giving audible signal by siren, exhaust whistle, or air horn designed to give automatically intermittent signals, and displaying a flashing, blinking, or alternating emergency light or lights as provided in §§ 46.2-1022 through 46.2-1024, the driver of every other vehicle shall, as quickly as traffic and other highway conditions permit, drive to the nearest edge of the roadway, clear of any intersection of highways, and stop and remain there, unless otherwise directed by a law-enforcement officer, until the emergency vehicle has passed. This provision shall not relieve the driver of any such vehicle to which the right-of-way is to be yielded of the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor shall it protect the driver of any such vehicle from the consequences of an arbitrary exercise of such right-of-way.

Violation of this section shall constitute failure to yield the right-of-way; however, any violation of this section that involves overtaking or passing a moving emergency vehicle giving an audible signal and displaying activated warning lights as provided for in this section shall constitute reckless driving, punishable as provided in § 46.2-868.

For your safety and ours when you are aware of us approaching please pull over and stop as soon as it is safe to do so. If you continue to move, even if it’s until we “get a little closer”, we have no choice but to slow down and keep our attention focused on you. This slows our response and brings unnecessary risk to everybody.

At 4:46pm on Sunday, after a morning of hose testing, Engine and Truck 611, Tanker 618, and Captain 611 from Sterling, along with Engine 623 and TowerLadder 606 (from Ashburn VFR), Engine 404 (from Fairfax), Ambulance 615 (from Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad), and a Battalion Chief, EMS Battalion and Safety Officer from Loudoun County, were alerted for a house fire in Forest Ridge. Dispatch reported a possible kitchen fire. Engine 611, followed shortly by Truck 611 arrived, to find light smoke from the front door of the residence. Further investigation found that the homeowner had extinguished the fire but had received burn injuries in the process. Command released the units from Ashburn (thanks for letting us by, 623) and Fairfax. SVRS treated the patient while SVFC assisted with smoke removal and awaited the arrival of the fire marshal.

Saturday, June 20: A mid-afternoon call came in for an oven fire. Sterling Fire’s Crew 3 responded with the help of crews from Ashburn, Sterling Volunteer Rescue, and Loudoun County. The first arriving units discovered heavy smoke conditions on the interior and an oven that was actively burning. The fire was starting to break out of the oven and move into the walls and kitchen cabinets. The crew from Engine 611 made a quick stop using two water fire extinguishers while the crew from Tanker 618 stood by with a hose line. By getting in close and using the fire extinguishers, the crews were able to put the fire out with a minimum of water damage to the house.

After some short ventilation efforts, the smoke was removed and the home was turned back over to the occupant. Luckily, there were no injuries and the residents were able to stay in their house.

Story and Photo by: Mark Whittington

At approximately 0530 hours on June 12, Quint 618 (at Truck 611) from Station 11 along with units from Fairfax and the Airport Authority were dispatched to a structure fire at Dulles Airport Terminal B. The fire, a grease fire inside one of the in-terminal restaurants, was quickly extinguished by the first arriving engine crew. On arrival at the terminal Q618 was assigned to check the roof and exhaust vents for fire extension. The aerial ladder was extended and Sterling firefighters quickly checked and cleared the roof and were then put back in service by Command.

Just before 3pm on Sunday afternoon, while Engine 611 was responding to a fire alarm call on Elkins Terrace, dispatch called and advised them that they were now getting reports of smoke from the building. The call was upgraded to a Structure Fire, alerting Tanker 618, Engines 303 (Dulles Airport), and 439 (Fairfax County), Towers 611 and 606 (Ashburn), Rescue Squad 439 (Fairfax County), Ambulance 615 (Sterling Rescue), Battalion 601, Safety Officer 600, EMS Battalion Chief 601 (Loudoun County), and Chief 611. Reserve Engine 623 (Ashburn) cleared a medical call and responded to the assignment replacing Engine 303, and Engine 618 responded as a second unit from Cascades. Engine 611 arrived on scene with nothing evident. Further investigation found smoke in one of the apartments. A small kitchen fire was discovered and extinguished by Engine 611. Other arriving crews searched the apartment of origin and neighboring apartments to make sure that everybody was safe and the fire hadn’t extended beyond the area of origin, secured utilities, and began ventilating smoke. The incident was quickly scaled back and most units were released in about 15 minutes.

The Sterling Volunteer Fire Company wants to help you have a safe and fun Independence Day.

From the National Fire Protection Association’s Consumer Firework Safety Information page:

Each July Fourth, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using consumer fireworks. Despite the dangers of fireworks, few people understand the associated risks – devastating burns, other injuries, fires, and even death. The Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks is a group of health and safety organizations, coordinated by NFPA, that urges the public to avoid the use of consumer fireworks and instead, to enjoy displays of fireworks conducted by trained professionals.

On Saturday morning in Lowes Island the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company hosted the 7th annual 10K Fire Chase and 9-1-1 Fun Run. Once again many folks, members of the SVFC and Sterling Rescue, Loudoun County Fire & Rescue, and the Cascades community, were joined by vendors, runners, and those that just came out to watch. Once again the event was enjoyed by many folks, and the SVFC thanks all those who were involved: planners, organizers, runners, and visitors.

Photo by: Jonathan Hickman

About 7:30pm on Thursday May 22 a structure fire was put out in Leesburg. Due to initial reports a second alarm was requested almost immediately, brining TowerLadder 611 and Tanker 618 from Sterling. (As a side note: Quint 611 was already in Leesburg and responded staffed with LVFC personnel.) Due to the amount and speed of the fire a defensive attack was initiated with ladder pipes and hand lines. While this was going on Engine 611 responded to Leesburg for an investigation call and later filled Ashburn, along with Quint 618. More information can be found here, photos here and a writeup with video here. Almost every suppression company in the county was either on scene or moved to fill another station.