Asbestos was heavily used in construction products for most of the last century. While asbestos has been banned for most uses since the 1980s, many of those buildings still contain asbestos. An event such as a fire can cause the microscopic fibers that make up asbestos to release into the air where they can be inhaled by firefighters or residents. Exposure to asbestos has proven to result in a wide range of health conditions, including mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, heart or abdomen. Asbestos.com offers a one-stop resource on all asbestos and mesothelioma-related issues ranging from occupational exposure to mesothelioma clinical trials.

Congratulations to Redwater VFD cadets Taylor Luster, Justin Parker, Billy Joe Hurst, and Scott Sutton as being members of the graduating class of 2010 from Redwater High School! Stay focused and good luck in the future to these and all graduates of 2010!

Please visit our Fundraisers and Trainings & Schools pages to view local and distant events that are upcoming. If you have  a local community or non-profit organization fundraiser or know of any local or distant trainings & schools that would be of interest to our communities, please email the information to Merle.Luster@RedwaterVFD.org.

The Cities of Texarkana, Bowie County, and Miller County have instituted the CodeRED Emergency Notification System – an ultra high-speed telephone communication service for emergency notifications. This system allows telephoning of all or the targeted areas of the city or county in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action (such as a boil-water notice, missing child, evacuation notices, & weather warnings) occurs. The system is capable of dialing 60,000 phone numbers per hour and upon contact delivers a recorded message to a live person or an answering machine, making three attempts to connect to any number. You can go to the Texarkana web site and click on the CodeRED icon to sign up.

THIS SYSTEM WILL ONLY BE USED FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES

The Redwater VFD is sorry to announce that this year’s bass tournament will be postponed at this time. Please check back for further information at a later date.

For more information please email us at Info@RedwaterVFD.org

Annually, many types of severe weather affect area residents.  Each year, prior to the spring and fall severe weather seasons, your National Weather Service in Shreveport conducts free classes across our four-state area for anybody who wishes to be better prepared for the possibility of severe weather and better trained in spotting severe weather. During these classes, National Weather Service meteorologists will introduce you to SKYWARN, a voluntary storm spotting program, and the many types of severe weather which can affect the ArkLaTex. Real-time reports of hail size, wind damage, flash flooding, heavy rain, and tornadoes are needed by the National Weather Service during hazardous weather to aid in providing more effective severe weather warnings. Volunteer storm spotters are needed during hazardous weather events to serve as the “eyes and ears” for both the National Weather Service and local emergency management officials. The basic training session is approximately two hours in length and includes basic severe weather meteorology, spotting techniques, and safety rules. It is a completely multimedia presentation which includes numerous videos and regional examples to compliment the provided information.

The Annual Redwater VFD Auction & Dinner was held on Saturday November 14th, 2009 at the Redwater Middle School Cafeteria and was very successful with the help of local businesses and individuals. Dinner was served beginning at 4:30pm and included brisket, chicken, sausage, potato salad, cole slaw, beans, corn, bread, drinks and desserts followed by an exciting and eventful auction starting at 6:00pm. Members of the community, including political officials around the county, showed their good nature and fun spirit in support of our department to raise funds for the Redwater VFD Fire District. A  special “thank you” goes out to the following businesses and individuals who participated with donations and to all those who came out from our community. 

 Business/Individual Acknowledgement List: 

Albertson’s
All In Good Taste
Anytime Fitness
Applebee’s
Barfield’s
Beverly Phares-Redwater City Mayor
Big Jake’s BBQ
Blondie’s Bikes & Leather
Bobby Lockhart-Bowie County District Attorney
Boulevard Kennel
Brenna Thomas @ Style Studio
Brookshire’s
Budget Tire
Cakes By Lady Bug-Valerie Neal
Carl Teel
Chapelwood Florist
Chicken Express
Ci-Ci’s Pizza
College Bowl
Conway Furniture
Cooper Tires Service Center
DeLaughter’s Grocery
Dixie Diner
Doolin’s Harley Davidson
Dwight’s Bikers Dream Shop
Edna Whitehead
El Inca Mexican Restaurant
Express Cuts
Fat Jack’s
Gateway Tire
Golden Corral
Green Line Equipment
Growing Seasons
Hidden Gardens
Hoot Hadaway-Bowie County J.P.
James Prince-Bowie County Sheriff
Jerry Rochelle-Bowie County Distict Attorney’s Office
Luxury Nails
McAllister’s Deli
Mickey’s Nails
Mother Earth Pools & Spas
PaPa Murphy’s Pizza
Paradise Pets
Parks Jewelers
Pop Pop Shop
Quick Lane Oil Change
Randy’s BBQ
Rawl’s Furniture
Reba Ozmy “In Memory of Keith Ozmy”
Redwater Diner
Ruth’s Flowers
Shady Pines Florist
Stacey Sumner
Table Manners
Tamolly’s
Teri Cobb
Texarkana Tractor
The Baker Man
The Bath Junkie
The Coca-Cola Co.
The Learning Center
The Sanctuary Medical Spa
Toy Castle
Tractor Supply
Twitty Nursery
VIP Nails
Wilson’s Landscaping & Irrigation
X-Treme Outfitters

…and many more who we are sure to have left off the list…

“THANK YOU” TO ALL!!

Redwater VFD is proud to announce the addition of three Emergency Medical Responders (a.k.a. First Responders or a.k.a. ECAs) to the Department and District bringing the total for the Redwater Fire District to five. Doug Harmon, Tanya McAnally, and Merle Luster have successfully completed the EMR Classroom and Skills Training taught at Texarkana College EMT Department, passed the National Registry Test, and have been Certified by the State of Texas to be recognized as an official Emergency Medical Responder. In addition, Department members Ryan Durham, George Turner, & Tiffany Page are awaiting completion of the National Registry Test. Congratulations to the Redwater Fire District’s new EMRs!

During the week of July 20th-24th, 2009 seven members of the Redwater VFD were among  hundreds of firefighters and safety personnel who attended the Texas Engineering Extension Service’s Annual Fire School at the Emergency Services Training Institute, part of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has been providing unsurpassed fire training for emergency responders since 1929, when the State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas selected Texas A&M University as the site for a permanent firefighter training school. Today, TEEX trains more than 81,000 emergency responders from all 50 states and 45 countries each year. The Industrial School is one of the few fire fighting schools across the country where emergency responders can obtain the latest industrial fire fighting and hazardous materials control certifications through the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). NFPA standards are recognized internationally for fire fighting and hazardous material control qualifications and are the foremost education standards in emergency response. More than 200 highly qualified guest instructors and speakers from industrial and manufacturing companies train the emergency responders through the extensive classroom and hands-on exercises. Many of these instructors donate their time, services and expenses to ensure that firefighters are adequately prepared to respond to various industrial emergencies.Tanya McAnally, Ryan Durham, and Phillip Burkhalter attended Phase 1 Firefighter, Julie Turner attended Phase 2 Firefighter, Josh Yelvington attended Phase 3 Firefighter, and Chris Poole attended the Instructor class. Congratulations to all who attended and thank you for all the personal time you put into our Department and District.

On Saturday, June 20th, 2009 the Redwater VFD hosted a “Community Appreciation & Safety Awareness Day” in the parking lot of the Redwater High School off Highway 67 to show our gratitude to the community for their support of our Department. Without the community support that we have, the Redwater VFD would surely struggle to survive. Our Department is operational, our members trained, and equipment available due to the generosity of the citizens and businesses who support us. We invited local citizens to come out so that we were able to say “thank you” in person and so that the residents had the opportunity to meet members of their local fire department. In addition, Redwater VFD had other area entities on site for residents to meet, ask questions, receive literature, provides services, etc. including LifeNet EMS,  Spirit of St. Michael’s, Bowie County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety,  Bowie County/Texarkana Office of Emergency Management, Wright Patman Lake Corp. of Engineers, Nash VFD Mobile Smoke House, and others. A special “thank you” also goes out to area insurance agencies and local businesses who donated funds for the purchase of smoke detectors for area residents who were in need of them. Below are the individuals and businesses who helped make the smoke detectors available: