Wilcox Volunteer Fire Department

06/15/2026

🚒 Elk County Summer Fire Training Session 🚒

Attention all Elk County firefighters!

The Summer Training Session will be held on Saturday , June 20th at the Wilcox Volunteer Fire Department.

📍 Location: Wilcox VFD Station
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM

This session will focus on Pump and Engine Operations, providing valuable hands-on training and a chance to sharpen skills that are essential to our service and preparedness.

We encourage all area firefighters to attend and take advantage of this opportunity to learn, train, and work together.

Stay safe, stay prepared, and we look forward to seeing everyone in Wilcox on June 20th!

06/14/2026

⚠️ WEATHER ALERT FOR ELK COUNTY ⚠️

The National Weather Service has issued a Tornado Watch and Severe Thunderstorm Warning affecting portions of Elk County.

Residents are urged to remain weather aware and be prepared to take shelter immediately if a Tornado Warning is issued or severe weather approaches your area.

🌪 Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for tornado development.
⛈ Severe Thunderstorm Warning means severe weather is occurring or imminent.

Safety Tips:
• Move indoors and stay away from windows.
• Have multiple ways to receive weather alerts.
• Secure outdoor items that could become airborne.
• Avoid unnecessary travel during severe weather.
• If a Tornado Warning is issued, move to the lowest level of a sturdy building and shelter in an interior room.

Please monitor local weather sources and emergency notifications for updates.

Stay safe and be prepared

06/14/2026

🚨 ATTENTION COMMUNITY: Help Us Keep 911 Resources Available 🚨

Let’s start with the most important point: Crash Detection, Auto-Fall Detection, and automated SOS features are incredible, life-saving technologies. There is absolutely NO DOUBT that these features SAVE LIVES when the unthinkable happens, and we fully support keeping them active if they give you peace of mind.

However, it seems our local emergency responders are seeing a spike in accidental automated Text-to-911 alerts based on the dispatches we hear and post.📱

⌚️In addition to car accident features, we are hearing a lot of accidental triggers from Auto-Fall Detection (often when a device is dropped or thrown into a bag) and even automated text alerts regarding structure fires. These automated texts often trigger by mistake from certain smart-home setups, or when a phone or smart-watch takes a hard knock during a bumpy UTV/ATV ride, trail riding, or doing heavy yard work.

⚠️Every time 911 gets a crash alert, a fall notification, or an automated text about a structure fire, emergency crews MUST respond. Especially in our rural areas, chasing down a false alarm sends fire trucks, police departments, and medical resources miles out of the way. This leaves our communities unprotected if a true, life-threatening emergency happens at the same time.

If you see your phone or smart-watch accidentally dialing or texting 911:

❗️DO NOT HANG UP OR IGNORE IT.❗️

👉🏻If 911 calls or texts you back, please answer and simply tell them it was a false alarm. You will not get in trouble! Confirming you are safe allows dispatchers to instantly cancel the response instead of sending emergency vehicles out into the woods or searching for a fire that isn't there.

📱 How to Manage These Features
If you do a lot of high-impact activities or find your devices are triggering false alerts, and you wish to temporarily or permanently disable these automated functions, here is how:

For iPhone / Apple Watch (Crash & Fall): Go to Settings ➡️ Emergency SOS ➡️ Toggle off Call After Severe Crash. For falls, go to the Watch App on your phone ➡️ Emergency SOS ➡️ Toggle off Fall Detection.

For Android / Google Pixel: Go to Settings ➡️ Safety & Emergency ➡️ Car Crash Detection (or Safety Center) and toggle it off.

For Smart Home Alerts: Check your specific smart-home or security system app settings under "Emergency Services" or "Automated SOS text alerts" to manage how it interacts with local dispatch.

Let's work together to look out for each other and keep our first responders where they are needed most! Please share this post to help spread the word. 🌲🚑🚓🚒💨

05/25/2026

05/04/2026

Today, May 4, we recognize International Firefighters’ Day.

We honor the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. Their courage, sacrifice, and commitment do not go unnoticed.

We also remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

Take a moment today to thank a firefighter ❤️

04/23/2026

Engine 62 is “officially” official and certified as our newest QRS unit.

04/19/2026

Help us spread the word! Tomorrow kicks off our new summer hours. As the days feel a little longer with more sunshine, we are staying open later in both stores. We hope this helps accommodate all of our customers who are up late enjoying the summer nights! Please share this to spread the word. Thank you guys for always being such a great part of our business and community!