Tampa Fire Rescue Hosting Open Houses

Find out more about the fire department during the open houses.

Tampa Fire Rescue Hosting Open Houses

The open houses are designed for citizens to receive safety information.

Tampa Fire Rescue Hosting Open Houses

The open houses are designed for citizens to receive safety information.

In honor of National Fire Prevention Month, Tampa Fire Rescue is hosting open houses on Saturday Oct. 6, Sunday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 20. The purpose is to allow residents to receive safety information. Below are locations for open houses in the Seminole Heights area:

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Learn How to Save a Life

Tampa Fire Rescue units invite you and your family to join them in the support of CPR/AED Awareness Week.

From Tampa Fire Rescue: Tampa Fire Rescue joins forces with The City of Tampa Risk Management/Safety Team and will be in Lykes Gaslight Park with an Informational Tent and Rescue Unit on Tuesday, June 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The primary purpose is to increase awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and how the use of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and an AED (automated external defibrillator) can save lives. Learning, and feeling confident in the skills of administering CPR and an AED starts with training before an incident. Tampa Fire Rescue and 911 dispatchers are trained and certified to guide a caller through this process; yet, it helps the rescuer (caller) feel more confident when they have been trained on, and practiced on …

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Basic CERT Training Class Now Available

The purpose of the course is to provide citizens with the basic skills needed during a major disaster.

From City of Tampa Online: There will be a basic CERT training class starting on Monday, June 11. The class will be held at Tampa Fire Rescue training center, 116 S 34th St., Room 108, on the following dates: The purpose of the course is to provide citizens with the basic skills needed during a major disaster. This training will allow graduates to respond to the immediate needs of their community in the aftermath of a major disaster - the time when emergency services may not be immediately available. To register for this class, please send an email to certclassinstructor@gmail.com including your name, as you would like it to appear on your CERT certificate and a daytime contact phone number by Thursday, June 7. All training materials will …

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Update: Tampa Police Phone Lines Up, Fire Still Down

Residents are asked to use the 911 system to contact the Tampa Fire Department.

Update, 12:40 a.m.: The Tampa Police Department's non-emergency line is now working. Residents can call 813-231-6130 for police assistance. The non-emergency number for the fire department is still unavailable. Residents are still being asked to use 911 to reach that agency. Earlier: Try to call the Tampa Police or Fire departments on the non-emergency lines and chances are you’re not going to get very far. According to a media release, both agencies are having trouble with their phone systems. While Verizon is currently working on the problem, the lines “will be down indefinitely,” the release said. Until the lines are repaired, residents are asked to use the 911 system “to contact either department for any type of situation." Stay with …

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Update: Arrest Made in Tampa Heights House Fire

Veronica Shelby was arrested in connection with today's house fire in Tampa Heights and she faces a first-degree arson charge, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.

Update, 10:45 p.m.: Tampa Fire Rescue spokesperson Lonnie Benniefield said that an arrest was made in connection to the fire that erupted at a home in Tampa Heights on Wednesday, April 18. Veronica Shelby, 26, was arrested in connection with the house fire on 105 E. Oleander St. and she faces a first-degree arson charge, according to Benniefield. Records show that Shelby was arrested at the corner of Columbus Drive and East Jefferson Street at 5:30 p.m. and she was booked into Hillsborough County Jail at 10:15 p.m. today. Shelby, whose address is listed as at large, is being held without bond. No further information regarding the investigation has been released. Earlier: Tampa Fire Rescue units responded to a house fire in Tampa Heights on…

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Woman Dies in Old Seminole Heights House Fire

The body of Laura Grumney, 56, was discovered in the rear doorway of the house at 5609 N. Seminole Ave. on Saturday, after she apparently failed to heed warnings from a neighbor not to go back inside, officials said.

An Old Seminole Heights woman died in a house fire Saturday afternoon after apparently not heeding warnings not to go back inside, Tampa Fire Rescue reports. The body of Laura Grumney, 56, was discovered in the rear doorway of the house at 5609 N. Seminole Ave., officials said. Fire rescue units responded shortly after 3 p.m. to find "heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the house," Captain Lonnie Benniefield said in a news release. It took firefighters about 18 minutes to get the blaze under control. An estimated 22 responders were dispatched to the scene. According to witnesses, Grumney was initially outside of the house when the fire started. But Grumney went back into the house at least three times, officials said, despite the …

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For Ballplayer-Turned-Paramedic, Saving Lives Is 'Living Another Dream'

Hillsborough High School grad Jaisen Randolph once played for the Chicago Cubs and in the minor leagues. Now he loves helping the community as a Tampa Fire Rescue paramedic in Sulphur Springs.

For Jaisen Randolph, spring used to mean snagging pop-ups and line drives as an outfielder in the minor leagues and with the Chicago Cubs. Now the Tampa Fire Rescue paramedic listens for emergency calls, catching cardiac arrests and stroke alerts. As baseball season begins, few fans in Sulphur Springs likely realize that a crew member from Station 11 at 710 E. Fairbanks St. is a former major leaguer. Colleagues often ask him to play softball, but Randolph says he prefers to focus on his 13-year-old son and serving the community he loves. In fact, he relishes his life today. “Baseball was exciting, all those people in the stands,” he says. “But when I was able to achieve becoming a firefighter, an EMT and a paramedic, I felt I earned …

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