Tsuruoka Fire Department commends two districts that have remained fire-free for 1 year in Asahi and 5 years in Tagawa | From the paper dated April 18, 2026 | Shonai Nippo News – Yamagata/Shonai | Shonai Nipposha

From the paper dated Saturday, April 18, 2026

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Tsuruoka Fire Department commends two districts that have remained fire-free for 1 year in Asahi and 5 years in Tagawa

On the 15th, the Tsuruoka City Fire Brigade’s Asahi Fire Brigade (headed by Atsushi Shindo) received awards from the city fire department headquarters (Fire Chief Takeshi Seino) for having achieved “one year without a fire,” and the 8th branch of the Tsuruoka 2nd Fire Brigade (headed by Yasuyuki Sugawara) had achieved “no fire for 5 years.”

The Asahi Army, which is in charge of the entire Asahi area, has 195 members, and the 8th Division of the Tsuruoka 2nd Army, which is in charge of the Tagawa area, has 57 members. Each organization works to raise residents’ awareness of fire prevention by conducting regular visits to local residences to conduct fire prevention inspections and provide instruction on how to handle firearms, as well as cooperating with voluntary disaster prevention organizations to provide various courses and firefighting drills.

There have been no fires in the Asahi area since a vehicle fire on National Route 112 on April 8 last year, and in the Tagawa area since a wildfire broke out in a field on April 11, 2021.

An awards ceremony was held at the city fire department headquarters, and in the presence of fire department personnel, Fire Chief Kiyono handed out certificates of commendation to area commander Shindo and branch commander Sugawara, and the flags of the area and branch units were given commemorative pole-shaped ribbons to honor the fire-free record. Fire Chief Kiyono praised the team, saying, “The efforts of all the members led to the fire-free award.I hope that this achievement will be a milestone, and that they will continue to work toward creating a fire- and disaster-free community.”

Receiving the award, Division Commander Shindo said, “I want to keep going one year without fires,” and Branch Commander Sugawara said, “The Tagawa area is also dealing with flood damage, so I want all the group members to work together.” They were more focused on disaster prevention.

According to the city fire department headquarters, there were 37 fires in the area last year, an increase of seven from the previous year. A recent trend is that mobile batteries and lithium-ion batteries are causing fires, with three fires confirmed last year.