Battalion Chief Adams passed away a 2:30 a.m. December 12, 2009 at the age of 52.  He was critically injured when he fell from a  ladder truck following the Krewe of Gemini Mardi Gras parade. His February. 21, 2009 injury is classified as in the line of duty.  >> More and a video memorial  <<

One of Signal 51's true friends has retired. He worked his way through the ranks to become a Shreveport Fire Department, Assistant Chief of Operations. 
  Chief Bob Robinson, thank you for the wonderful service you have provided the citizens of Shreveport. 
  After 38 years you deserve to retire and enjoy it to the fullest.   Your Dad was certainly justified in how proud he was of you.
&  We are thrilled to have you as an Honorary member of the Signal 51 Group.

We celebrated our 40th Anniversary with a luncheon at the Madison Park El Chico's Restaurant on November 14, 2009. S.F.D. Chief Brian Crawford, and just Retired Assistant Chief Bob Robinson, S.F.D. Retired Battalion Chief Ken Conley and his wife Debbie and Retired Chief Dallas Greene Fire Buffs Charlie Womach and Molly from Houston, Wally Banks who is the Region 5 IFBA Vice President, Box 4 Fire Buffs - Bill Kempe and his wife Pat, Tommy Hines and almost all the members of the Signal 51 Group were present.  Mike Lowe told how and why the Signal 51 Group came into being and mentioned all the names of present and former members. Wally Banks, IFBA Region 5 Vice President parised Signal 51, Chief Dallas Greene told of his relationship with Sig 51 and Chief Crawford told about his first encounter with Sig 51 members at a multiple alarm fire.  At the conclusion of the celebration, just retired Chief Bob Robinson and retired Chief Ken Conley were made honorary members of Signal 51.   Click here for more about this event.

SFD is the First Louisiana Fire Department to Implement New Reserve Fire Corps Program. The Shreveport Fire Department in conjunction the Caddo-Bossier Citizen Corps is seeking volunteers for a new Reserve Fire Corps Program. Fire Chief Brian A. Crawford announced on October 19th that the Shreveport Fire Department plans to implement a Reserve Fire Corps Program-the first in the state of Louisiana. According to Chief Crawford that program will utilize the talents of private citizens working side-by-side with trained fire professional within the Department in limited capacities and in non-emergency roles.
     The initial Reserve Fire Corps class will consist of 10-15 citizens. Reserve Fire Corps members will perform the following duties: accompany members of the Fire Prevention division on schools and daycare visits; protect the public and fire professionals by redirecting traffic away from major fire scenes; provide basic needs such as food and water to emergency personnel during large scale emergencies; and assist with some of the day-to-day operations around the fire station. 
     Interested applicants must be at least 18 years old, pass a background check, and complete a 2-week comprehensive training program. The Department plans to offer two classes per year in order to maintain at least 40 Reserve Corp members on staff. Anyone interested in serving as member of the Reserve Fire Corps should contact Assistant to the Fire Chief Fredrick Sanders at 318-673-6652 or fredrick.sanders@shreveportla.gov by November 1, 2009 to receive at application.

A vehicle was reported on fire at 3:50 a.m. at the corner of Louisiana Avenue and Snow Street, and about seven minutes later a police officer reported a fire at Shreveport Regional Art Council Building (SRAC), in the 800 block of Snow Street. The building was pretty much totally involved with fire when the first alarm assignment arrived at about 4:00 a.m. Firefighters entered the building and started their fire attack, but were ordered to evacuate when conditions inside the building became untenable. A second alarm was transmitted at 4:08 a.m. and a third at 4:59 a.m. Five cars backed against a warehouse in the 800 block of Wilson were set on fire and caused damage to the building. The fire next to Antioch Baptist Church caused smoke damage to the church. Caddo Parish Fire District Stations were notified to standby for possible mutual aid as a good portion of the S.F.D. equipment was assigned to the fires.
Click HERE or on the thumbnail for KTBS-TV News Story about this fire.      Click HERE to see additional video from YouTube.   Click HERE for Time Lapse Video of Fire      Click HERE for Aftermath of the Fire

Around 7:00PM, Saturday August 22, Engine and Medic 5 were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident with injuries at Shreveport-Barksdale Hwy and Dee St. After arriving on the scene Engine 5 requested a Battalion Chief, another medic and an additional engine to assist with the large number of patients that were injured. Engine 7 was dispatched along with the other requested units. A few minutes later fire units were dispatched to a house on fire at Sheridan Ave. and Southern Ave. Since Engine 7 would have been the first on the scene and Engine 5 would have been second due, Engine 4 and 8 arrived as the first-in companies. Both laid 5” supply lines and Engine 4 went to work with its deck pipe. There were several other fires that kept the SFD busy the rest of the evening. At one time 4 tac channels on the fire department radio system were being used.  Click here or on the thumbnail to see a video of the Southern Ave. fire.

The fire station speakers broadcast that there was a fire at 1333 Coates Bluff at 7:20PM for a fire at the Willows Apartment complex. An upstairs and downstairs apartment were gutted on July 27, 2009.   Upon arrival on the scene Engine 5 requested a 2nd alarm because of the intensity and location of the fire.  No one was injured, but a pet dog was missing.  
Click HERE or on the image to see a the YouTube video of this fire.

Shortly before 11:00 hrs on Wednesday, July 1 - An alarm of fire was transmitted for a fire at the Mid South Tower Building at 416 Travis Street in downtown Shreveport.  SFD units arrived on the scene to find heavy smoke throughout the building. While some firefighters located and extinguished the fire other firefighters assisted with the evaluation and searched for any possible casualties. Some engine companies hooked up to the buildings standpipe system to supply additional water if needed.  A second alarm was ordered for additional manpower to assist with the operation. The fire was in the elevator motors and associated electrical equipment on the top floor of the 16 story building.  When the fire was put out smoke was removed by positive ventilation using the exhaust fans from the hook and ladder trusks.  The SFD did an outstanding job in handling this high rise fire and safely removing a high number of occupants without any major injuries.  This certainly proves that training and drilling for such an event pays off.  Click HERE or on the image to see a KTBS TV News Story about this fire

On a hot Saturday afternoon a fire started in a building at 6th St. and Market St. and ended up with more than a 2 alarm assignment.  The date was June 6, 2009.  In the building was  wood products used to age spirits, but the spirits were only sample amounts.  The "heavy fire load" was in the upstairs part and caused a problem for firefighters because large amounts of old hotel furniture and business records were stored there. The structure of the 120 year old building was also a factor.  Click HERE or on the thumbnail to see a video of this fire.

Shreveport Fire Dept. 2008 Annual Report.  This report includes the mission statement, information about the fire department's divisions, statistical summary and the total response by company. Engine 9 answered the most calls - 3578, Hook & Ladder 9 was the busiest truck co. answering 1001 calls, Rescue 9 was the busiest Rescue with 3068 rolls, Battalion Chief 4 was top BC answering 1351 alarms and Medic 14 was busiest ambulance with 3669 runs.       
Click on HERE to see the report.

The Caddo Parish 9-1-1 District has an "Enhanced 9-1-1 System", which provides immediate information containing the caller's name, address, and telephone number.  If you hang up, the Communications Officer  will call back! If the Communications Officer receives a "9-1-1" call and no one is on the phone (either the phone is an "open line" or the caller hangs up), the Communications Officer will attempt to call the telephone number back to determine if there is an emergency.   If no answer is received, the closest available law enforcement agency will be dispatched to investigate the call.  Click HERE or on the thumbnail for more about our 9-1-1 System.   
Also, Check out the 9-1-1 video presentation.

About our Site
In our Web site you will find information about the Signal 51 Group, and what it does to support our local fire departments.  There are a lot of photographs of fires, firefighters, buff events, apparatus and a great deal of other stuff for you to observe.  Don't forget to click on any picture to see an enlarged image (not all, but most).
We have a large number of Videos Clips 
In our Site you will find video clips of fires, apparatus responding to emergencies and other fire dept. related video.  Some of the video clips can be streamed while others can be downloaded and viewed later.

Members of the Signal 51 Group want this site to be a great place to visit
This Webpage is paid for by the dues from the members of the Signal 51 Group, and we want it to be really a great fire buff webpage, so if you have any suggestions for improving our site please email us or leave a message in our Guestbook.  If you have any complaints about something not working, please email us so we can fix it.  And We try to keep up with what's happening with the S.F.D. Since we are a fire buff club we will include interesting but unofficial information about the Shreveport Fire Department and other fire departments in our area.

Our Fire Department
From its beginning in 1890 (see Brief History of the S.F.D.), with a great deal of support from the citizens, local government officials, and outstanding leadership the Shreveport Fire Department has done an excellent job in fulfilling its primary responsibility to protect lives and property from fire.  Starting in 1965 the well trained firefighting crews were starting to receive basic life support and CPR training and provided these services when called upon.  So under Chief Dallas W. Greene leadership the firefighters were prepared in 1983 when the S.F.D. began operating the Emergency Medical Service for our city.  At that time local privately owned ambulance companies were discontinuing their services.  Under Chief Bo Roberts leadership the Fire Dept. obtained a Property Insurance Association of Louisiana rating of Class 1 in 1998.    When it became Class 1 it was one of 14 fire departments operating Advance Life Support in the United States that had obtained that ranking.  Click Here to see the Shreveport F.D. Master Plan for the years 2007 to 2011

About Us (Signal 51)
The Signal 51 Group was formed in 1969 by five local Fire Buffs whose mission was to offer support to the Fire Department of the City of Shreveport.  In 2009 we celebrated our 40th year of operation and now have over 12 members.  Our organization is a member of the International Fire Buff Associates, Inc. (IFBA).  The IFBA  has over eighty Fire Buff Groups in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and many other countries that have joined together to share their ideas on promoting the general welfare of the fire services and allied emergency services.