Red Bud Fire Department

10/24/2026

Congratulations to two of our probationary firefighters, Ryan Wittenborn and Pat Mueller, on their graduation from the SWIC Fire Academy class. This 8 month mandatory course covers basic and advanced firefighting techniques as well as basic HAZMAT. The successful completion requires many hours away from family on week nights and weekends. It is led by a highly dedicated team of instructors from all across the fire service, one of them being our own Zac Zipfel, who also dedicates the same hours away from his family to help teach new firefighters.

This is the first time that SWIC has held a graduation ceremony for the part-time academy and a number of our memebers were in attendance to show our support. SWIC, again, went over and above with the ceremony, just as they do with the training.

A special congratulations to Firefighter Ryan Wittenborn, who was selected as his class representative this year and delivered an exceptional speech on their behalf. Along with being chosen as his class representative, he was also awarded the Lee Smith Academic Excellence Award, the top honor given in the class.

Congratulations to all of the graduates of this class. While it is a great accomplishment, it is but the first step in your firefighting career and we look forward to seeing how you grow and progress within your departments and the fire service in general.

We also want to thank their families for their sacrifices that allowed these firefighters to pursue something bigger than themselves. One of the first things we tell prospective recruits to RBFD is that if you do not have the complete support of your family, you will not be successful in this endeavor. They give up as much as you, so thank you to the Wittenborn and Mueller families for your sacrifice.

Lastly, and as always, thank you to the community. Without your unwavering support we would not be able to send all of our new members to these excellent programs and outfit them with the proper gear to be successful. We cannot be the best that we can be without your support. We will continue to bring high quality individuals with the best training possible to serve the Red Bud Community, because you deserve it.

"Be the firefighters that you would want to show up for your family" - Ryan Wittenborn

10/08/2026

Rest Easy, Brother.

We are heartbroken to share that Firefighter Andrew Brokes died in the line of duty this morning while searching for victims inside the building at 410 Marly Drive.

Firefighter Brokes, who joined the Durham Fire Department on May 5, 2025, served the Durham community with dedication, courage, and a deep commitment to the residents of the Bull City.

“This is a heartbreaking loss for our department, the family, and the entire community,” said Durham Fire Chief Robert J. Zoldos II. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and his colleagues, and we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during this unimaginably difficult time. The department is standing with and supporting his family in every possible way.”

Two other firefighters were injured during the incident and were taken to Duke Medical Center. Both have received care and are expected to make full recoveries.

This loss is felt across our entire department. Firefighters step into unpredictable situations every day in service to others, and Firefighter Brokes embodied that calling with honor.

We know our community is grieving alongside us. If you wish to share your condolences or messages of support, they will be received with gratitude by our department and by those who knew and loved Firefighter Brokes.

In the coming days, we will share more information about how we will honor his service and support the firefighters involved in this incident.

Thank you, Durham, for surrounding our DFD family with care during this profoundly difficult time.

10/06/2026

PSA: we are out visiting the schools and daycares today for Fire Prevention Week, there is no incident.

10/01/2026

THIS SUNDAY! We will have the grill going and the good times rolling! Weather is looking to be perfect, high of 79 degrees and abundant sunshine. You don't get many chances to discharge fi****ms in town and not spend the rest of your day with Red Bud Police Department. 1-4PM Ratzkeller

09/22/2026

We wanted to take a minute to give some thanks where they are due. On Friday afternoon we were paged to a call of smoke in a building. When we arrived on scene we discovered a working structure fire with extension into the ceiling. A call was immediately put out for mutual aid to Hecker Fire Department. From there, additional mutual aid calls were made to Baldwin Fire Department, Waterloo Fire Department, Prairie du Rocher Fire Department and Evansville Volunteer Fire Department which all arrived with apparatus and manpower. Thank you, always, for answering the call for help!

As well, thank you to Red Bud Police Department and Randolph County Sheriff's Office for traffic control, Illinois State Fire Marshal office for sending an investigator and a thermal drone. Last, but certainly not least a shout out to City of Red Bud, IL Utility Workers - when we arrived on scene they were already working to cut power to the building to allow us to work safely, as well they provided extra labor, secured adjacent property and structures and helped supply water and sports drinks and reconnected power when the scene was cleared. They are an integral part to many of our scenes in town and they are always ready to help. We are lucky to have such a great crew.

Finally, we have to thank the community for immediately looking for ways to help and for Casey's for bringing cases of water and sports drinks. It is always appreciated when the community steps up. That being said, we do want everyone to know we have procedures in place for these types of incidents and we are always happy to educate the community on how we operate. Our first out truck has a mini fridge full of cold water on it, which is enough to keep the inital firefighters going while our pick truck and air trailer are being brought to the scene. The air trailer, serves a double purpose as a rehab center, carrying its own mini fridge of water, portable tents to build shade, lawn chairs and the entire trailer has an air conditioner system that runs off its own generator so people can go in it and cool off as needed. The guys that bring that truck also throw in a large cooler of water and sports drinks that stays packed at the firehouse so it can be quickly loaded and driven to the scene. We are also sometimes lucky to have EMS on scene to monitor guys during rehab and treat them if necessary. We were lucky to have MedStar Ambulance on scene taking care of our guys.

While we were able to contain the fire to the initial building and extinguish it, it had traveled quickly through the ceilings and destroyed an apartment that 2 people occupied, who now have lost their home and contents and it completely destroyed 2 businesses and resulted in heavy smoke damage to another that will likely require extensive restoration. There was also minor smoke damage to an adjacent business. Within hours, the community was rallying as they always do to get needed supplies to the people that lost their home. The loss of the only laundromat in town now means that many people that relied on it to do their laundry will have to travel out of town, so the ripples extend much further than the owners and the tenants. Also, another young business owner who was just getting started lost most of her equipment and has to restart. We are keeping everyone affected in our thoughts.

Thank you to the community of Red Bud and to all of our emergency service partners who always show up when the call goes out. It just goes to show how intertwined all of our communities really are and that we all have to look out for eachother.

09/13/2026

We were honored to step up and participate in the Clayton 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb today. Each step of the 110 floors were to remember & honor the ultimate sacrifice of our fallen brothers and sisters - and to ensure they are never forgotten.

09/11/2026

25 years ago, you asked us, from just shy of 1000 miles away, to Never Forget. 25 years later, we haven't and we won't. We made that promise to our fellow Americans. Today, about 40% of our population was born after or was too young to remember 9/11. It is up to those of us that watched that day in horror to pass that knowledge down. It is also our responsibility to pass down who we became in the days after. People who weren't there to remember life before 9/11 will have a difficult time understanding how much the entire world changed that day. It had been 60 years since America had been attacked within her borders, at that scale, at Pearl Harbor. Trying to explain the level of safety and security we felt as a nation before 9/11 is a difficult task because many now operate in this constant state of waiting for the other shoe to drop. We didn't always live like this. Unfortunately, for the terrorists that carried out this attack, they didn't account for the resolve of many Americans. That resolve lives on today. So, today, we remember and we stand ready for the wolves at the gates. These are some of the photos from various 9/11 events around our little town, a thousand miles away from ground zero, 25 years later. Forgetting was never an option. God Bless America 🇺🇸