Triple Digit Heat Added Stress for Busy Fresno Firefighters

It’s been a busy two days for Fresno firefighters working in triple digit heat. Over the past 48 hours, fire crews have worked to battle multiple house fires, vegetation fires, and a three-alarm commercial fire.

Two days in a row, they stopped responding to medical calls temporarily to be able to use all of their resources on the fires around the city.

But now, they’re also having to deal with the added factor of triple-digit heat.

"It’s been nonstop–not only busy like the city normally is, but it’s also with the heat. It takes a big toll on the guys that are working continuously throughout the day," said Fresno firefighter Gabriel Lopez.

Lopez and his crew are on the second day of their 48-hour shift, battling their third house fire of the day.

This one was a Illinois near Chestnut in southeast Fresno that was called in as a two-alarm fire to make extra support available for fire crews working around the clock.

"Throughout the middle of the night we were up on calls, and then this morning we had a couple [vegetation fires]–one we were out at right before here," Lopez said. 

Going on at the same time, firefighters also worked to put a house fire at nearby Belmont and Helm.

Earlier, fire crews worked on another one near West and Clinton. 

It’s exhausting work for crews on the same shift already coming off a busy Sunday, with a three-alarm commercial fire in downtown Fresno.

"These fire crews have been really taxed. Those are all residential, commercial fires. They’ve still been battling medical calls as well as grass fires," said Pete Martinez, public information officer with the Fresno Fire Department. 

For times like these, volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) are also on scene to help fire crews recover.

"We’re trying to make sure that they get enough water in their system, because if they don’t, then they can expire from heat exhaustion," said Cedric Reese, lead trainer with Fresno CERT.

Volunteers provide fire crews with fluids and snacks and make sure they have a shaded area to sit and rest to give them a chance to recover.