As Sioux Falls grows, officials are well aware that their ability to provide service is truly tested. A recent fire displays the commitment our public servants have to your safety.

Fire was reported at a house which was under construction on 1308 S. Scarlet Oak Trail on Tuesday May 30. This area is a new development on the north side of Willow Run Golf Course which lies between Six Mile Road and the Big Sioux River.

To give you an idea of the logistics of getting to this location, take Arrowhead Parkway going east until you arrive at Six Mile Road. A turn to the north for not quite a half mile then east again at 10th Street for just over a half mile and then a winding trail another 800 meters or so to the south will complete the journey.

Battalion Chief Matt McArevey was gracious enough to provide insight of the duration of how long it took the respective units to arrive and acknowledged the challenge of travel time.

“Our adopted department standards are to have our first unit on scene to a fire within 5 minutes and 12 seconds 90 percent of the time and to have the first fire alarm on scene within 10 minutes and 24 seconds 90 percent of the time. Our first unit arrived on scene in 7 minutes and 16 seconds. There were 4 units and a command vehicle, what we refer to as a first fire alarm, within 10 minutes and 59 seconds.”

According to the SFFR Standards of Response Coverage Manual, the first unit on scene is tasked with controlling the spread of flames and begin rescue procedures if necessary. A fire alarm team will be dispatched once a working fire is confirmed.

Chief McArevey believes a future new station in that part of town will eventually diminish the travel time to that specific area.

“This is certainly an area that is seeing a lot of growth. The city currently has a new east side fire station, Fire Station 12, in the capital improvement plan for 2020. The proposed location for that station is at 41st & Faith. The fire on Scarlet Oak Trail would be in the new territory covered by Station 12 which will decrease our travel times to this area.”

Sioux Falls Fire Rescue
City of Sioux Falls
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Citizens know that seconds count in the race to save life and/or property. The men and women of Sioux Falls Fire Rescue give of themselves every day to come to your aid.

Citizens should also know that the people put in charge of that responsibility are counting the seconds. Though SFFR is currently among the best in the nation, there is a continual pledge to live up to that standard.


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