Sequatchie Volunteer Fire Department

04/18/2026

We’d like to extend a big thank you to Foster Falls Volunteer Fire Department 🔥 for the invitation and the opportunity to come train alongside your crew 🚒.
We truly appreciate the chance to work together, sharpen our skills, and strengthen the bond between our departments 🤝. Training like this makes all of us better and ultimately helps us serve our communities more effectively.
Looking forward to the next one—stay safe out there! 👨‍🚒👩‍🚒💪

04/12/2026

Busy weekend around the hall. Yesterday was a great training day. Today we had some much needed maintenance done to our drive and parking area. Thanks to John Hood and his equipment it made quick work. 60 tons of chat was spread and leveled in no time. Videos in the comments

04/12/2026

Today members learned how to properly don and doff their PPE including SCBA. After they were comfortable with that they were exposed with a real life scenario of having to don their gear and packs to extinguish a live car fire. Here members were introduced to live heat and changing evolutions of fire stages. Each member got nozzle time while breathing live air until they had used up their supply. Videos in the comments!!!

02/11/2026

🚒 BIG THANK YOU TO THE STATE OF TENNESSEE! 🚒
We are incredibly grateful to the State of Tennessee for approving our department for $64,500 through the VFEAT Grant Program!
Because of this funding, our fire hall has been approved to purchase a new SCBA bottle filling station, which will greatly improve firefighter safety, response readiness, and on-scene operations.
This investment directly supports our mission to protect our community and ensures our firefighters have the equipment they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
Thank you for supporting volunteer fire departments across Tennessee — your commitment truly makes a difference! 🇺🇸🔥

12/08/2025

⚠️ Carbon Monoxide Safety Alert — Protect Your Family This Winter

Carbon monoxide (CO) is called the “silent killer” for a reason. It’s colorless, odorless, and impossible to detect without an alarm — and it can become deadly in minutes.

As we head into colder months, heaters, fireplaces, and generators make CO buildup more common.

🏠 What Causes Carbon Monoxide?

Gas or propane heaters

Fireplaces & wood stoves

Gas stoves & ovens

Faulty furnaces

Generators used too close to the home

Vehicles running in garages

Blocked fireplaces or chimneys

🚨 Signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Headache

Dizziness

Nausea

Confusion

Chest pain

Sudden fatigue

These symptoms often feel like the flu — but CO doesn’t wait.

❤️ FREE CO Detectors for Our Residents

Our fire department is giving away FREE carbon monoxide detectors to help keep our community safe.

For more information about carbon monoxide, click the link below.
https://www.cdc.gov/carbon-monoxide/about/index.html

12/02/2025

🔥 Smoke Detector Facts Everyone Should Know
✔️ Smoke detectors cut your risk of dying in a home fire by about 50%.

They give you the early warning you need to escape before smoke and heat trap you.

✔️ Most fatal fires happen at night.

You cannot smell smoke when you’re asleep — but a smoke alarm will wake you up.

✔️ You need a smoke detector in EVERY bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of your home.
✔️ You should test your smoke detectors once a month.

It takes 2 seconds. Push the button — if it beeps, it works.

✔️ Replace the batteries once a year (unless it’s a 10-year sealed battery alarm).
✔️ Replace the entire smoke detector every 10 years.

Even if it still beeps — the sensors wear out.

✔️ Most deadly fires start from unattended cooking, heating equipment, or electrical issues — not the big dramatic stuff people imagine.

A smoke detector catches these early.

✔️ Closed doors slow smoke.

A detector in the hallway + bedroom doors closed = more time to escape.

✔️ Working smoke detectors save children, older adults, and people with mobility issues.

They provide extra minutes that can make the difference between life and tragedy.

✔️ One small alarm can detect hidden fires behind walls or in appliances long before flames appear.

12/01/2025

🎄🔌🔥 Holiday Safety: Don’t Overload Your Power Strips This Christmas!

Christmas lights are beautiful — electrical fires are not.
During the holidays, overloaded power strips are one of the top causes of preventable home fires. All those lights, decorations, inflatables, and gadgets can push a power strip past its limit fast.

⚡ Why Overloading Happens More at Christmas

Multiple strings of Christmas lights plugged into one strip

Indoor & outdoor décor running off the same outlet

Space heaters plugged into strips to “warm the living room”

Plugging a power strip into another power strip (daisy-chaining)

Old or cheap strips struggling to handle holiday loads

🔥 What Overloading Can Do

Overheat the strip

Melt plastic or wiring

Cause sparks

Trip your breaker

Start an electrical fire near your tree or presents

Nothing ruins Christmas faster than smoke filling the house before Santa arrives.

🎁 Signs Your Holiday Setup Is Overloaded

Warm or hot power strip

Flickering lights

Burning or “hot plastic” smell

Crackling or buzzing sounds

Strip shutting off by itself

If you notice any of these, unplug things immediately.

🌟 How to Keep Christmas Bright (and Safe)

Plug space heaters directly into a wall outlet — never a strip

Don’t connect more than 3 strings of lights together (check your light’s label)

Spread decorations across different outlets

Use heavy-duty outdoor-rated strips for outdoor décor

Replace old strips, frayed cords, or damaged lights

Keep power strips off carpets, under trees, and away from wrapped gifts

🚒 🎅 Firefighter’s Simple Holiday Rule:

The only thing that should get lit this Christmas is your tree — not your outlet.

11/27/2025

🔥 Thanksgiving Cooking Fire Safety — Keep the Feast, Not the Flames!

Thanksgiving is the #1 day of the year for home cooking fires. We love y’all, but please don’t invite us to dinner by accident. Here’s how to keep your kitchen safe so you can enjoy the holiday with your family — without a surprise visit from the fire department.

🦃 Top Causes of Thanksgiving Cooking Fires

Unattended cooking (most common cause)

Overheated oil while frying or sautéing

Loose sleeves or flammable items near the stove

Grease buildup catching fire

Kids or pets too close to hot surfaces

🔥 How to Prevent Cooking Fires
👀 Stay in the Kitchen

If you’re frying, boiling, or broiling food, stay right there.
If you need to walk away, turn the burner off.

⏲️ Use Timers — Lots of Them

Multiple dishes? Use timers so nothing gets forgotten in the chaos.

📏 Create a “Kid-Free Zone”

Keep kids and pets at least 3 feet away from the stove and hot oil.

🧽 Clean as You Go

Grease on the stovetop = fuel for a fire. Wipe spills quickly.

🔥 Deep Frying a Turkey?

Do it OUTSIDE, on level ground.

Keep the fryer far from the house, decks, and garages.

Make sure the turkey is completely thawed (frozen = explosion risk).

NEVER leave a fryer unattended.

☕ Keep Flammables Away From the Heat

Towels, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper plates — keep them far from burners.

🚒 If a Cooking Fire Starts
Grease fire? Do NOT use water.

Turn off the heat

Cover with a metal lid or cookie sheet

Use a fire extinguisher if trained

Oven fire?

Turn off the oven

Keep the door closed

Call 911 if it doesn’t go out quickly

❤️ Our Thanksgiving Wish

Spend the holiday enjoying your family, food, and football — not explaining what happened in your kitchen while we hose down your cabinets.
Let’s keep it safe, keep it calm, and keep the fire department off your guest list this year.

For more safety tips and holiday fire prevention information, please see the Red Cross link below.
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/news/2025/red-cross--stay-safe-this-thanksgiving.html

11/22/2025

🎄 Thank You for Supporting Our Toy Drive! 🎁

A huge thank you to everyone who dropped off gifts for the Fire Department Toy Drive today! Your generosity is already making a big difference for families in our community, and we are truly grateful. ❤️

✨ Still Want to Donate?
You can continue to donate anytime by dropping off new, unwrapped gifts at the Dollar Store on Cherri Circle.

🎅 Know a Family in Need?
If you or someone you know is in need of donated gifts for Christmas, please call us at 423-403-7333. We are here to help.

💻 Digital Donations:
We are also accepting digital contributions through the link below.

Thank you again for helping us bring joy to local families this holiday season! 🎁🚒💙

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/your-blessings-help-keep-families-safe--3

11/16/2025

Our Zeffy page is up, y’all!
If you’d like to help out your local fire department, this is the easiest way to do it.
We appreciate you more than you know.

Click the link below to donate now!!!

🌟 Join us in creating Change! 🌟We’re asking for your support to help us continue giving back to our community, encouraging our youth to get involved and serve, keeping families safe, and reaching those in rural and off-road areas. As a diverse and dedicated team, we rely on community donatio...