Chief's Message
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“April Showers bring May Flowers….” Am I showing my age by leading off this month’s newsletter message with this quote? Although the Spring Equinox happens and Daylight Savings currently occurs in March here in American Canyon, the real signs of Spring in Southern Napa Valley usually happen in April each year. Bud break happens in our vineyards, fruit trees flower and wildflowers blanket the fields on Oat Hill and the Newell Open Space. As I sit here at my desk and compose this message last night’s rainfall is quickly being absorbed into the parched soil impacted by years of drought.
The 10-day forecast shows dry and warmer weather. Your local firefighters have become weather watchers just like those of you that are pilots and sailors. We become very anxious about this time of the year if our local Winter rainfall is on the ‘shy side’. What that means, is that FIRE SEASON is just around the corner and the potential for a busy Summer and Fall is to be expected.
Last month’s message talked about Spring Cleanups and reducing the accumulation of combustible materials around your home and on your property. If you didn’t get a chance to make a dump run or take your ‘weed-wacker’ to the repair shop, you still have time to do both of these and help reduce the threat of a dangerous unintended fire around your home. We will be starting our Annual Weed Abatement inspections and enforcement soon throughout the Fire District. This program is designed to reduce the risk of large and threatening grass fires in and around the residential and commercial areas of town.
We’ll continue to still have grass fires but this program reduces the potential for large fires and makes them easier for our firefighters to control quickly. I’d like to thank you all in advance for your help in taking care of your weeds and high grass early this year and for doing your part to keep our community fire safer this Summer.
April hopefully will continue to bring us closer to our ‘pre-pandemic’ way of life here in American Canyon. The Fire District is working towards a more robust participation in Public Events throughout the Community. Keep your eyes peeled in hopes of running into our firefighters as they become more visible and present at community events. Additionally, our Fire District Board Meetings soon should be following the lead of the City Council and Commissions by moving towards transitioning to either a Hybrid (Public / Zoom) or fully Public style of meetings again. We will keep you all posted as we evolve in this area over the next several weeks. Watch for updates on the City’s Website and our Fire District Social Medial locations like Instagram and Facebook.
Be Safe American Canyon!
Mike Cahill
Fire Chief
Follow us on Social Media:
Facebook: Facebook.com/AmCanFire
Instagram: Instagram.com/amcanfire
Click Here for the Monthly Statistical Report for March Statistics
CPR Training
Are you CPR Trained? Would you like to be?
The American Heart Association hosts online CPR/AED classes to provide basic life support training.
Visit: AHA CPR/AED Training to find class near you.
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Meet The Team Mondays
Meet The Team Mondays continued featuring the following:
Firefighter/Paramedic Francisco Cano
Firefighter Mark Cia
Fire Executive Assistant/Office Administrator Martha Banuelos
Firefighter/Paramedic Donevin Steele
We will continue to feature a different member of the American Canyon Fire Protection District. We are highlighting why they love serving our community, why they like being a firefighter, and how they like to spend their downtime. They even get to highlight what special duties they have taken on within the District. Stay tuned to learn more about YOUR AmCan Fire District.
To see the previous post click here.
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March 8th
International Women's Day
We would like to celebrate and elevate the four talented women associated with #AmCanFire
Chief Cahill says 'We need to do a much better job of recognizing the importance of the role that the current women of the American Canyon Fire Protection District perform on a daily basis and work harder at encouraging young women within our community to see the value of a Fire Service career.
The current women on staff are nothing short of amazing in each of their perspective roles and we couldn't be prouder of the high level of skill set and professionalism they deliver to the organization and the community on a daily basis.'
Martha Banuelos, Fire Executive Assistant/Office Administrator/Deputy Clerk
Laura Provencher, Fire Executive Assistant/Public Information Officer
Christina Breitenbuecher, Probationary Firefighter/Paramedic
Mariam Aboudamous, Vice-Chair, Fire District Board of Directors
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 Next Level Care Training
Wednesday, March 30, Dr. David Shatz, a UC Davis Trauma surgeon, visited AmCan Fire to teach our ENTIRE staff about gunshot trauma. UC Davis is the trauma center for American Canyon residents and all of Napa County.
Our continued partnerships with our medical community ensure that AmCan residents continue to receive the highest level of care. While we hope you don't need it, we are trained if you do.
A special thanks to Dr. Shatz for spending his time to make sure we have the highest level of knowledge.
#AmCanFire #UCDavis #Partnerships #Training #WorldClass
More about Dr. Shatz; a trauma surgeon and surgical intensivist who has lectured extensively both nationally and abroad. His primary research interests are in the immunologic competence of the injured spleen, and in disaster preparedness and response. He is a nationally recognized expert in disaster response, having worked and taught within the federal search and rescue system for over fifteen years. His clinical and professional interests also extend to the pre-hospital environment, where he has been a fire-rescue medical director for over ten years in Florida and California.
This Month In Action
Napa City Fire Department invited us and CAL FIRE/Napa County Fire Department to participate in joint training with extinguishing and controlling natural gas and propane fires (Fire Control IV). 
 Firefighters from Napa City and American Canyon Fire Protection District
 What is CERT?
Community Emergency Response Training (C.E.R.T.) is a nationally recognized emergency training course that teaches essential emergency response skills. By taking and completing the CERT course you will gain the skills and confidence necessary to help yourself, your family, and your community during a disaster.
7th Annual Heart of Napa™ - Volunteer of the Year Award
Heart of Napa recognizes individuals and organizations making an outstanding difference in our community, from nonprofit organizations to volunteers, to nonprofit leaders. The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to those who have provided exemplary volunteer service to a Napa nonprofit organization.
CVLN presented Powell with the 2021 Heart of Napa County and certificates of recognition from Congressman Mike Thompson, State Assembly member Cecila Aguiar Curry, State Senator Bill Dodd, and the Napa County Board of Supervisors. Powell also received an award of $5,000 for ACCERT, sponsored and presented by Syar Foundation.
Powell has lead or contributed to a vast majority of Napa County CERT deployments. As many of us know, he is often the first person to arrive and the last to leave. He also volunteers a substantial amount of his time to organize and plan our CERT operations. His vision has lead both ACCERT and other Napa County CERT teams to improve, create partnerships and achieve our goal of both improving the quality of life of those in need and assisting emergency services.
Congratulations to Powell for some well-earned recognition. All of us here at ACCERT are proud of you! Thank for you helping us serve and improve our community.
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March Training
ACCERT trains on a different topic every month following its member’s meeting, but we also hold several longer, more in-depth Quarterly Trainings per year. Last Saturday, ACCERT was fortunate enough to have the American Canyon Fire Protection District present basic firefighting to our CERT team at the firefighting training area behind Fire Station #2. The day started out with classroom instruction covering how to mitigate fire dangers, how to prepare for the upcoming fire season, and what to expect if CERT is needed. The team then moved on to training outside.
Our hands-on training began with fire extinguisher practice and transitioned to how ACFPD responds to house fires and firehose basics. ACFPD Acting Capt. EJ Abalos gave an overview of how the Fire District works and how they get mutual aid from Napa City, Napa County and City of Vallejo. As part of their demonstration, Engine 311 arrived, prepared their firehoses and attacked a simulated fire in the training tower. ACFPD Firefighter/Paramedic Spyro Drossos spoke about the complexities of water pressure, water supply, and the math it takes to maintain it. Probationary Firefighter Brad Bermann also participated in the demonstration.
CERT members completed the day learning how to roll up and reload hoses and experiencing what it’s like to use a firehose. Thank you ACFPD for taking the day to provide an informative, memorable and exciting training day for CERT!
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ACCERT March Highlights
- On March 9th ACCERT 's activation status was changed to 'Stand Down'. We have been in some form of active status for TWO YEARS, deploying over 80 times.
- We had a wonderful day participating and attending American Canyon Little Leagues Opening Day!
- We held our first in person membership meeting in two years on March 14th.
- On March 20th, the Napa Valley CERT program completed its 100th Basic CERT Training Class.
- To learn more about ACCERT visit our web site at http://www.americancanyoncert.org/ or Follow us on Facebook here.
The next Fire District Board meeting will take place on Tuesday, April 26th at 6:30 PM. The agenda will be posted on our web site.
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