Sitka Volunteer Fire Department

Sitka Volunteer Fire Department Fire, EMS, Dive and SAR Divisions.

Please join our community at 11:30 am on Wednesday, July 1st, to honor a fallen WWII Veteran as he is finally escorted h...
07/01/2026

Please join our community at 11:30 am on Wednesday, July 1st, to honor a fallen WWII Veteran as he is finally escorted home after over 80 years of searching. Thank you to all those who put so much time and effort into making this happen and honoring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

What has two thumbs and is SUPER happy to be off of Mt. Verstovia? THIS guy! 👇 Meet SFD’s newest hiking friend, Raul! (...
06/22/2026

What has two thumbs and is SUPER happy to be off of Mt. Verstovia? THIS guy! 👇 Meet SFD’s newest hiking friend, Raul! (Name changed to protect the innocent…🥸)

On Saturday night, 911 Dispatch relayed a cellphone call from an individual who reported themselves lost off of the Verstovia Trail downhill of Picnic Rock. From out-of-town and new to this particular trail, the individual stated they lost the trail and continued deeper into the woods in an attempt to re-intersect the trail on the way down. Unfortunately, those efforts led Raul further and further from the prepared Verstovia Trail. Raul luckily had decent cell reception and was able to send a general position and also conduct regular check-ins with our teams.

Your Sitka Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) and SFD mobilized the Incident Management Team (IMT) and two Field Teams to go up and locate Raul around 7 p.m. It took about two hours to locate him, as he was ultimately located about a quarter mile east of the prepared trail in a very steep ravine, and the position from his cell phone showed him about 400’ higher up the mountain than he actually was. The teams provided Raul with some much-needed water and snacks, then set off for the hour-long trip down, bushwhacking and dodging 30’ hidden drop-offs, and VOILA! The group of four rescuers and one new member of the "Verstovia Off Road Club” arrived back in civilization on Jamestown Drive (thanks for letting us through your yards!) around 10:30 p.m., all well and in major need of some pizza.

Sitka’s an amazing place to hike and explore. It can also be incredibly unforgiving if you let your guard down and/or are underprepared. Make sure you always have enough food, water, communications (and battery life!), and means of navigation whenever you leave the road system. As we saw here, GPS is great, but not always super accurate. Get outdoors, be safe, and we’ll see you on the trail! (ON the trail, Raul. On the trail, buddy. 👊) Giddy up!



SFD. One Department - All Missions.

Watch your step! On Sunday, your Sitka Volunteer Fire Department Search and Rescue Team and SFD EMS personnel responded ...
06/16/2026

Watch your step! On Sunday, your Sitka Volunteer Fire Department Search and Rescue Team and SFD EMS personnel responded to a Cruise Ship hiker that injured their leg whilst ascending the island's worst StairMaster - Gavan Hill. (Ugh. My legs hurt just thinking about that...) ANYhoo...

Our Hasty Teams made it to the hiker with a wheeled litter and a plethora of medical gear and equipment to stabilize the leg and start moving them to the Cross Trail. There they were met by the EMS crew driving Medic 4 (yes, we do, in fact, have an ATV Ambulance with flashy lights!). The patient was loaded into Medic 4, transported to Pherson St trailhead, transferred to a full sized ambulance and brought to the ER with plenty of time to make it back to the cruise ship and continue their adventure!...on crutches.

A solid ending to this story. But it also serves as a good reminder to be prepared out in the woods and dress for the weather. You know, just in case...



SFD. One Department - All Missions.

...And the Eagle Eye Award goes to (drum roll)…the very observant and conscientious Sitkan that happened to notice a sma...
06/13/2026

...And the Eagle Eye Award goes to (drum roll)…the very observant and conscientious Sitkan that happened to notice a small open fire burning up the side of this hill and called the Fire Department! HOORAY! Congratulations! We appreciate you so much! (You are encouraged to print out this post and hang it on your refrigerator! Also suitable for framing.)

Hey Sitka! "Did you know…👀” Your Sitka Fire Department put out a small brush fire around 3:30 pm today at the northeast end of the Starrigavan Bridge. As best we can tell, the fire pit seen at the foot of the firefighter was not extinguished fully, sent embers up onto the hill, and caught the (strangely?) dry twigs, moss, and ground fall on fire. And here we all thought living in a rain forest made us immune to this! Apparently not. (Who knew?? 🤔)

It’s summer time (for at least another week…)! Get outside (especially on days like today! ☀️ ), enjoy our amazing island, have a fire pit, make some s’mores, roast some hot dogs, tell a bunch of lies about the fish you never caught. Just ensure that fire is COMPLETELY out before you depart. 🧯Had our helpful neighbor not called us at the FD, this could have become a much more significant and damaging fire.



SFD. One Department. All Missions.

06/12/2026

Captain Jon Welch landed for his final flight in the USCG MH-60T Helicopter, closing out with over 4,300 of flight time during his career. Sitka Fire Department was honored to take part in celebrating Captain Welch's impressive milestone. Semper Paretus! SFD. One Department. All Missions.

Early Thursday morning, Sitka Fire Department received a report of a vehicle submerged in the water near Back Beach. Fir...
06/12/2026

Early Thursday morning, Sitka Fire Department received a report of a vehicle submerged in the water near Back Beach. Fire, EMS and Dive divisions responded. Divers were able to confirm no victims were in or around the vehicle. Divers and firefighters were then able to remove the vehicle. SFD. One Department. All missions.

6/10/26 Fire DrillFirefighters ran evolutions of performing a safe yet aggressive attack on a fully involved vehicle fir...
06/12/2026

6/10/26 Fire Drill

Firefighters ran evolutions of performing a safe yet aggressive attack on a fully involved vehicle fire. Drills like this hone firefighter skills to be ready for the next response.

PSA
03/09/2026

PSA

Address

209 Lake St
Sitka, AK
99835

Telephone

+19077473233

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