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Christmas Drives and Family Adoptions Muscular Dystrophy Association Smoke Detector Checks and Installation
Christmas Drives and Family Adoptions Every Christmas, the APFA organizes a food and toy drive for less fortunate children and their families. All proceeds are given to the local Lions chapter for distribution to the families. In 2002, enough new toys for approximately 80 children were collected with extra items and food donated to Avondale Social Services. APFA members also adopt families on a crew by crew basis and take turns playing "Santa" , delivering toys, food, gift certificates, or other household items on Christmas Eve. Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause themselves are very good friends with all of our firefighters. They happily make several appearances during the Christmas season, arriving on a big red fire engine and intently listening to what children (and some adults) want for Christmas.
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Firefighters across the country are devoted to helping Jerry's Kids, and year after year raise millions of dollars to help find a cure for this terrible, degenerative disease. APFA members raised more than $13,000 in 2002 for the MDA, more than some locals three times our size. We are incredibly grateful to our generous community during our "Fill the Boot" campaigns, they are consistently there to help us help Jerry.
All of our members get involved in Public Education by visiting schools, holding station tours, and by interacting with children at every opportunity possible. To inquire about station tours, contact Valorie Russell at 623-478-3192. Avondale Fire-Rescue is also actively involved in the FIRE PALS educational program and has received national recognition for its public education programs. Education of our senior citizens in home safety is becoming a new focus of Avondale Fire-Rescue as the senior citizen population grows.
In 2002, Avondale Fire-Rescue ambitiously trained all employees of the City of Avondale in CPR, First Aid, and Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) use. Currently, AEDs are located in all major City of Avondale facilities. Through cooperation with Estrella Mountain Community College, Avondale firefighters teach CPR and First Aid to interested members of the public. Courses include recognition of acute coronary syndrome, cardiac arrest, stroke, foreign body airway obstruction, AED use, and CPR instruction. Effective bystander CPR has been consistently shown to have a significant effect on patient survival and is the best treatment that a cardiac arrest patient can receive until the arrival of a defibrillator or ACLS care. To find out when the next CPR class is offered, please call the Estrella Mountain Community College at 623-935-8000 or Avondale Fire-Rescue at 623-478-3170.
Smoke Detector Checks and Installation Every Avondale Fire-Rescue engine company carries a kit with several smoke detectors and batteries as well as information on the importance of installing and maintaining smoke detectors in your home. As a courtesy, our members check the working order of smoke detectors in our customer's home and will replace batteries if needed. They also will install smoke detectors if none are present, all free of charge. A properly installed and working smoke detector may be the best chance of survival for you and your family in the case of a house fire. Click Smoke Detector Tips for more information on smoke detectors.
Old and unwanted cellular phones can be dropped off at any Avondale Fire Station. Your old cellular phones can be put to good use by donating it to us to give to women's crisis shelters. All 911 calls are connected to 911 operators free of charge and can provide a lifeline for domestic violence victims when faced with an emergency. Please bring your phone, battery, and charger to any Avondale Fire Station for donation.
Visible address numbers on a resident's home is essential in assisting the fire department in finding the location of an emergency call. Without them, valuable seconds can be lost. In some of Avondale's older neighborhoods, address number are not posted or hidden. In 2002, the APFA and Avondale Fire-Rescue teamed up to walk door to door in the Cashion neighborhood and place numbers on residences that had none, all free of charge. The project was a success and is planned to be completed in other neighborhoods as well. Every engine company in Avondale Fire-Rescue also carries address numbers and are happy to place them on residences who need or request them.
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Through grants from the State of Arizona, Avondale Fire-Rescue receives infant seats, car seats, and booster seats for freedistribution. Keeping your child properly secured in a child's car seat isn't just the prudent, safest thing to do for your child while driving in the car, but it's also the law. Our members take four day courses which explain the principles of proper car seat installation and inspection, and will gladly install and inspect your children's car seat for free. To date, Avondale Fire-Rescue has distributed more than 200 car seats. Remember, if you have recently been in an accident, you may have to replace your child's car seat even if there appears to be no damage. Please call 623-478-3192 to set up an appointment to receive a car seat or check for proper installation of one your family already uses. Please, keep you and your family buckled up when in the vehicle. 
Avondale Fire-Rescue's two public education clowns, Cinders and Splash, spend countless hours at schools teaching kids about fire,pool, and gun safety, and what to do in case of an emergency. They also spend time at children's burn camps around Arizona, encouraging kids during their recovery.
Avondale Fire-Rescue is also embarking on its own Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. CERT is a program that helps train people to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in their communities. When emergencies occur, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. Volunteers take an 8-week course which will teach disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, and team operations. Avondale Fire-Rescue intends to begin these training sessions in 2004. For more information, visit the
On the third Saturday of every month, the Avondale Fire-Rescue hosts a child immunization fair at 1007 South 3rd Street in Avondale.Specially certified AFR paramedics along with registered nurses review child immunization records and administer the appropriate vaccinations to school aged children. Parents are educated on the importance of childhood vaccinations and our children live healthier lives. This service is offered free of charge to the community. Since its inception, the Baby Shots Program has administered over 7000 vaccinations to more than 3000 children earning it WestMarc's "Best of the West" award for service to the community in 2002.