Oakland Fire Department

For the next several days, Oakland Fire is participating in the Annual multi-agency Wildland Drill in Tilden Park hosted by the . Participating agencies include: , ,

20 weeks ago, they came in as individuals. Today, Recruit Class 1-26 walked out as family, and represent the bright future of the Oakland Fire Department.

This morning, Fire Chief Damon Covington, the Honorable Mayor Barbara Lee, Oakland Fire Command Staff, leadership from Local 55, city dignitaries, and hundreds of friends and family gathered at the Scottish Rite Center on beautiful Lake Merritt for the swearing-in of 30 new Oakland Firefighters. The newly sworn-in members completed their 20-week academy process this week at the Fire Department Training Tower.

Special thank you to the Fire Training Division and the tremendous 1-26 academy Cadre, led by Academy Director Capt Nestor Flores, which provided tireless instruction, guidance, and support to these recruits over the last 20 weeks, that culminated in the training cadre’s coordination of a phenomenal ceremony today. Amazing work.

The next chapter of the OFD story begins today. Join us in congratulating Oakland’s newest public servants standing ready and prepared to serve this great city. Forever and always, Recruit Class 1-26.

It’s Emergency Medical Services Week! 🚑💙
This EMS Week, we honor all the responders, dispatchers, EMTs, paramedics, and civilian crisis specialists who meet Oaklanders where they are—often in their most vulnerable moments—and provide care, dignity, and lifesaving expertise every day.

📊 Most 911 calls are EMS-related: Last year alone, over 80% of OFD’s calls for service were EMS-related, with dispatchers and first responders managing high-volume, complex incidents around the clock.

💪 Always training: MSD invests heavily in hands-on, scenario-based training to keep skills sharp and ensure responders can provide top-tier care under pressure.

📘 Prepared for every situation: OFD follows a citywide integrated preparedness plan with regular trainings and disaster-readiness exercises to keep Oakland resilient.

🤝 Care-first crisis response: The MACRO program delivers compassionate, civilian-led crisis response, resolving the majority of calls directly on scene and connecting residents to care without enforcement.

From dispatch to field response to community crisis intervention, your dedication keeps Oakland safer, healthier, and more resilient.

Thank you for all you do.

Earlier today, E23 & E29 extinguished fire in deep vegetation along Hegenberger near the Oakland Airport. With hose lines and a deck gun, crews brought the incident under control within 20 minutes.

Concerned about wind gusts in Oakland? reminds residents of the following resources:

- If a tree has fallen on power lines, vehicles, or an occupied building, call 911 immediately.
- If a tree is touching or tangled in high-voltage lines, contact PG&E at (800) 743-5000.
- Report a downed tree or an immediate safety hazard, Dial 311 or call (510) 615-5566.

Oakland Firefighters were honored to meet and visit with some of the amazing pediatric ICU patients at Kaiser-Oakland on . We had fun dressing up and celebrating the incredible strength and bravery of some Kaiser’s youngest patients. Always a pleasure to partner with the team at !

The Oakland Fire Department is proud to support the great work of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland as they seek volunteers 18 years old and above to help in their upcoming playground build from May 11-13!

Click this link to learn more about this valuable opportunity to support a tremendous local organization and, more importantly, help provide a safe place for young people to play in our community.

Help Build A Playground At the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland Project Information Who: A total of approximately 100 volunteers from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland, Sidley Austin and KABOOM! Work is available for volunteers of all levels of skill and ability. **Please note - All youth under the legal working age for this state will be welcome to participat...

The Emergency Management Services Division (EMSD) within the Oakland Fire Department is a key player responsible for the City of Oakland’s response, recovery, and mitigation to any hazard that affects our community. One way we accomplish this is by offering this Personal Emergency Preparedness training.

This week, OFD’s Emergency Management Division hosted another informative and engaging personal emergency preparedness course in partnership with the . Thank you to our interpreters who provided translation services, and to all the attendees who took time out of their busy schedules to join the community this week! The event drew dozens of attendees from across the community, including representatives from .lovelife and several hardworking employees! Special thanks to the young people who joined us for this important training event. It makes a difference!

Last night on April 8 just before 7pm, Oakland Fire crews were dispatched for a vehicle crash close to the location where HYWY 13 separates from I-580 west. A vehicle which had been traveling at a high rate of speed ran off the freeway and struck a tree before landing half way down the embankment between the freeway and a fence line along Mountain Blvd. The vehicle caught fire, and several good samaritans pulled over and were able to successfully extinguish the car fire with personal fire extinguishers prior to the firefighters getting on scene moments later. Once on scene, crews from Rescue 1, E17, E23, E16, Truck 6 and Batallion 4 immediately began providing emergency medical care to the patient who was suffering from traumatic injuries, while others began initiating an extrication of the driver who was alone in the vehicle.

This was a very complex response. Due to the significant damage to the vehicle, challenging location where vehicle landed on the hillside, and considering the obvious critical injuries, the crews had to work carefully and skillfully to extricate the patient — using a range of tools and specialized tactics.

While an emergency medical response was in progress, OFD Crews used hydraulic spreaders, cutters, rams and stabilized the vehicle with ratchet straps securing the vehicle to E23 on the high side along the freeway while crews worked to extricate on the low side amidst the trees in the embankment.

Specialized tactics included making relief cuts to the driver side fender and dash lift off the legs of the patient, taking both driver door and rear driver side doors off, and taking the B post off to gain access and to be able to free the patient before they could be placed on a backboard until they could be placed on the the gurney on Mountain Blvd.

The patient was in critical condition when he was safely removed from the car, but thankfully he was breathing, conscious and able to communicate, and was transported by Falck Ambulance for a a Code 3 trauma activation to a local hospital. This was a true life saving effort by all involved (the Good samaritans, Falck Ambulance crews, CHP, and the Oakland Firefighters).