Webster Groves Fire Department

A five-month closure of North Elm Avenue is planned at South Brentwood Boulevard.

Public Works Director Sinan Alpaslan says the project is essential to replace a stream crossing beneath the roadway.

The existing corrugated pipe culvert has experienced deterioration, requiring a full closure to install a replacement structure.

Construction work is anticipated to begin the week of July 20. However, the start date is weather-dependent. Additional updates will be provided over the next several weeks.

Drivers can expect electronic and static message boards with information about the closure on Interstate 44, Elm Avenue, and Brentwood Boulevard.

Commuters should seek alternate routes. The local signed detour will utilize Lockwood Avenue, Bompart Avenue, Newport Avenue, and Laclede Station Road.

All residents and businesses will have access up to the point of the closure.

The Webster Groves Fire Department is one of two agencies in the Central Core Training Division with a ladder truck.

Crews can reach the roofs and upper windows of multi-story apartment complexes and commercial buildings for rescue, ventilation, and water suppression.

Firefighters are trained on ladder placement with standardized benchmarks to evaluate timing, ex*****on, and precision.

Watch as Firefighter Hannah Jones ascends the ladder and uses a chainsaw to open the roof of a training prop in this simulation exercise.

The Webster Groves Fire Department responds to approximately 3,200 calls per year with two stations, 36-line personnel, an Assistant Chief and Fire Chief.

In addition to the ladder truck, the agency staffs an engine, ALS ambulance, and one battalion vehicle with a boat for swift water rescue.

The Webster Groves Fire Department has a dedicated Water Rescue Team for static and swift-water emergencies, such as flash flood events along Deer Creek.

Utilizing the water park at the Benny Gordon Recreation Center, the team was able to practice critical skills in full gear.

Captain Travis Mueller says firefighters are state certified in boat rescue and water rescue tech.