The Whitesboro Fire Department (WFD) received a grant from the Texas Forest Service in the amount of $3,000 to be used for the recruitment of volunteer firefighters. This was the first of several moments of pride Fire Chief Steve Pinkston reported at last week’s City Council meeting.
Recently, he said, some Whitesboro firefighters filled in at Fire Station #3 in Sherman. While there, the WFD team finished cooking dinner for the Sherman department, set the table and cleaned up afterward. Additionally, WFD’s EMS staffed an ambulance for Cooke County for a seven-hour period while their crews rested after being up for over 36 hours in response to Cooke County storms.
WFD has also given back to the Whitesboro community. When they learned Your Neighbor’s House food pantry was running critically low on peanut butter, the department donated over 100 jars. They also donated diapers to First United Bank’s United Way diaper drive.
“I’m very proud of our crew,” Pinkston said.
The Whitesboro community also gives back to the department. Brookshire Brothers held a water donation drive for the WFD and were able to collect three pallets of water during the drive. Mayor Dave Blaylock said he appreciated Brookshire Brothers for holding the water drive for the department.
To ensure they continue to provide the best in service and care, WFD has attended several training sessions this season. Division Chief Stephen Wilcox attended a training at The Rock, a training facility for FDNY. Chief Wilcox will also be attending an advanced rescue course with The Colony Fire Department. Whitesboro and Collinsville Firefighters trained over fire hose placement, movement and operations at a class hosted by WFD with outside instructors Captain Chad Gruver and Firefighter/ Paramedic Cliff Askins.
Whitesboro Paramedics Karsten Whyte and Taylor Jeffrey attended the Emergicon EMS Conference in Port Aransas, Texas, where they learned from industry leaders. This month, Chase Stanford attended the National Incident Management System (NIMS) 300 and 400 at Grayson County.
In helping to educate the next generation, the WFD provided a tour of their equipment for the Whitesboro Independent School District (WISD) High School health science classes. In May, the WFD celebrated National EMS Week 2024 with all staff. Many community members and organizations, including Texoma Medical Center (TMC) and AHS Sherman Medical Center, stopped by and dropped off goodies for the WFD crews.
This month, Chief Jeff Patterson, Nathan Jolly and Jonathan Sheffield responded to a baby delivered at approximately 24 weeks gestation. Crews were able to resuscitate the infant upon arrival and get the mother and infant to the hospital. The TMC staff members have stated they are still singing their praises as they saved the baby’s life.
WFD crews responded to a fatality accident on HWY 377 north of Allison Road. WFD Firefighters had to extricate three patients. Then, the WFD responded to a structure fire this month at a residence outside of the city limits. Crews were able to stop the fire. The WFD would like to give a special thanks to the Southmayd Police Department for providing traffic control for their firefighters.
This month, the Whitesboro Office of Emergency Management has monitored multiple storms. According to the agenda, many late-night hours were spent with the National Weather Service.
