Fort Payne Fire Dept.

05/29/2026

Fort Payne Fire Regional Training Center held graduation ceremonies today for the Spring 2026 Firefighter Recruit Academy. Training Officer Taylor Casey is pictured below with the eleven recruits from various fire departments across the state of Alabama. Congratulations to all of the graduates. Fort Payne Fire had two recruits in the class, Firefighter Kevin Quevedo & Firefighter Kris Shavers.

05/01/2026

Bring the kids out from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 2 for Meet A Machine at the Isbell Field Airport in Fort Payne. Kids get the chance to see, touch and learn about emergency response vehicles and trucks used by local businesses. Proceeds benefit the DeKalb County Children’s Advocacy Center. Adult tickets are $5. Children are free.

Get tickets:
https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/meetamachinefp-0/fortpayne26

05/01/2026

Fort Payne Fire / Rescue is hosting the 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Sign up at the link below. Limited number of team spots available… Go get signed up today! 😎⛳️🏌🏼‍♂️

https://fortpayne.org/golf-tournament/

04/30/2026

P.S.A.- ADEM (Alabama Department of Environmental Management) Annual Burn Ban begins Friday May 1, 2026 and continues thru Saturday October 31, 2026 for all jurisdictions within Dekalb County, Alabama.

04/22/2026

FYI

04/20/2026

PSA- Fire Alert Continues…

No Burn Permits will be issued until further notice in the City of Fort Payne, AL.

📢STATEWIDE FIRE ALERT REMAINS IN EFFECT📢

Statewide Fire Danger is HIGH today!
The Northern half of the state is classified as a High Fire Danger, while the Southern half has increased to a Very High Fire Danger classification.

We continue to urge everyone to avoid outdoor burning as we remain in drought conditions.

For clarity - this is not a ban on outdoor burning. This is a public notice to increase awareness of the drought conditions. As always, if you are burning over a .25 of an acre, you must obtain a burn permit from AFC's dispatch center.

04/13/2026

P.S.A.- “No Burn” Statewide Fire Alert Issued

📢With worsening drought conditions across the state and low relative humidity, State Forester Rick Oates has issued a statewide Fire Alert effective immediately.

Over the past weekend, 50 wildfires burned more than 2,300 acres of forestland across the state. This includes a 500-acre wildfire in Mobile County, one for 412 acres in Coosa County, one for 382 acres in Choctaw County, one for 260 acres in Washington County, and another one for 105 acres in Escambia County.

In the last 30 days, 387 wildfires have burned approximately 15,850 acres of forestland across the state.

“With no measurable rain in sight, the continued extremely dry conditions create dangerous wildfire behavior,” said Oates. “These conditions create the potential for fires to escape easily and spread rapidly, taking longer and more of the agency’s firefighting resources to contain. Fast-moving wildfires not only destroy property and forests but also threaten the lives of citizens and endanger firefighters.”

This Fire Alert will remain in effect until rescinded by the State Forester, at least through Monday, April 20. Conditions will be reevaluated at that time. Permits for outdoor burning will be restricted only to Certified Prescribed Burn Managers. Anyone who burns a field, grassland, or woodland without a burn permit may be subject to prosecution for committing a Class B misdemeanor.

The Alabama Forestry Commission is the state agency committed to protecting Alabama’s invaluable forest assets and its citizens. To report a wildfire, call (800) 392-5679. For more information on the current wildfire situation in the state or any other forestry-related issues, contact your local AFC office or visit the agency website at www.forestry.alabama.gov

03/27/2026

P.S.A.- Current Fire Advisory / Restrictions.

03/23/2026

Fort Payne Fire was honored to have US Senate candidate for Alabama, Jared Hudson visit Fort Payne Fire Regional Training Center this afternoon. Former US Navy Seal Jared Hudson attended & trained at Fort Payne Fire Regional Training Center Recruit Academy in 2004 while he worked for Cahaba Valley Fire Dept. He is pictured below with our current recruit class (left). The right picture is where he completed the firefighter maze in the drill tower in recruit academy and signed his name years ago representing Cahaba Valley Fire Dept. 🇺🇸🔥🚒

02/06/2026

Thanks to all the agencies involved in this case…

BLANKS SENTENCED IN MANSLAUGHTER CASE

District Attorney Summer Summerford announced today that Bradley Blanks was sentenced on Wednesday, February 4th by Circuit Judge Shaunathan Bell in DeKalb County to twelve (12) years in prison for the 2023 death of a minor child.

On July 27, 2023, law enforcement and fire personnel responded to a report of a fire at a residence in the Grove Oak community with a young child trapped inside. The unresponsive child was found by firefighters and brought out of the house. CPR was then administered; however, the child was pronounced deceased. His death was attributed to smoke inhalation.

Multiple fire experts conducted a cause and origin investigation. The conclusion of that investigation was that the fire was ignited by the failure of a pressurized vessel containing ignitable liquids. The cause of fire was ruled incendiary, caused by a chemical reaction from the failed manufacturing of methamphetamines.

“Children are our greatest blessing. Any death is hard, but the death of a young child is especially hard. I want to say a special ‘thank you’ to the fire personnel in DeKalb County who did everything they could to save this child. This case is possible because of the hard work of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama State Fire Marshals, the Fort Payne Fire Department, and all the volunteer firefighters who responded to the fire,” stated Summerford. The case was prosecuted by Summerford and Deputy District Attorney Brady Burns.