Helicopter Dip Sites

The eastern portion of the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District is remote, with lengthy response times and limited water sources. To increase water accessibility, the District worked with Calpine and South Lake County Fire Protection District to develop a network of helicopter dip sites. There are currently four dip sites (two in the Geysers, and one each in the communities of Middletown and Cobb). A helicopter dip site is a water storage container that firefighting helicopters can pull water from while hovering above. The dip sites each hold 4,000 gallons of water. Having water available for firefighting helicopters allows more water to be delivered to a wildfire in a shorter period of time, helping to slow the spread of fire until fire engines arrive. All dip sites are kept filled with water, ensuring they're always ready to support firefighting efforts. We first used a dip site in November of 2022, and again in October of 2023. Helicopter dip sites are an example of one of the unique ways we serve our rural communities.

Fire Extinguisher Training

Ashlee Romero, our new Administrative Assistant, was recently able to experience hands-on fire extinguisher training. Captain Tovani, Engineer Padilla, and Firefighters Mohar and Robertson lit a small fire behind the station and Ashlee practiced putting it out using different types of extinguishers.

First, Ashlee used a dry chemical Class ABC extinguisher. This is the most common type of fire extinguisher, suitable for Class A, B, and C fires.

• Class A fires are ordinary combustible materials, such as wood, cloth, and paper.
• Class B fires are flammable liquids, gases, and grease.
• Class C fires are electrical equipment, appliances and wiring. 

The second extinguisher Ashlee demonstrated was a Class A water extinguisher, suitable only for ordinary combustibles. 

Ashlee learned how to recognize the type of fire in order to select the appropriate extinguisher. She was then taught how to retrieve and deploy the extinguisher, using the acronym PASS- Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. If you are interested in fire extinguisher training, please contact us.