Engine 253 and Ladder 25 first due on 3-alarm structure fire on Fulton Rd

Nov 21st - At 1927, Stations 25 and 27 were dispatched for a reported structure fire on Fulton Road. Engine 253 was on the road a minute later with 5 firefighters, with Ladder 25 responding with 5 firefighters 7 seconds later. While en-route, County Dispatch advised responding units that there was possible entrapment within the structure. Engine 253 was first on scene, confirmed working structure fire.  Chief Ries (Car 25) was right behind the engine, assumed Fulton Command, and advised we had heavy fire from the garage, front door, 2nd floor, and from the eaves of the attic, and requested Station 56 to respond as the FAST company. While driver/engineer Lew Pinnella and FF/EMT Lisa Raisch secured a water supply, Engine Captain Sherrod Middleton, Engine Lieutenant Angel Natal, and FF/EMT Dan Greenhaus stretched a 2 inch line to the front door and began to put water on the fire. Truck 25's crew arrived, and split up into two teams, one for ventilation, the other for searching for victims. Deputy Chief Herman Calvo arrived on scene, and took over the tower turntable duties from Engineer Amos. With Truck Lieutenant Dewon Wilson and FF Brian Whittaker going up in the bucket to ventilate the roof, FF Tommy Hannan, and FF Elizabeth Diaz performed a feline rescue, with FF Hannan bringing one of the resident's cat's out to the front yard.  Engineer Bob Amos joined FF/EMT Greenhaus and Lt. Natal on the primary attack line. As additional units arrived on scene, more lines were stretched off of Engine 253. Because of the heavy fire, Chief Ries requested a 2nd and later 3rd alarm. Due to the hard work of all the firefighters on scene, the stubborn fire was finally declared under control after 2 1/2 hours of hard work, with all units clearing at 2350.  By the end of the night, Engine 253 pumped four 2 inch lines, one three inch line to the Blitzfire master stream, and a 5 inch line to supply Ladder 25.  Two patients were transported to the hospital by Franklin-Somerset First Aid Squad.  Our thanks go out to all of our mutual aid units that were on scene or covering our district, Station 56 (Somerset Fire & Rescue), Station 27 (East Franklin) Station 31 (Franklin Park), Station 44 (Middlebush), New Brunswick Truck 1 and Station 28 (Millstone Valley). For additional pictures and videos click here.

The roof after Ladder 25 crews vented to release the heat	Flames shooting out of the "D" side of the attic.

Taxpayer fire training at MCFA

Nov 16th - The Middlesex County Fire Academy recently built a new burn build, designed to resemble a taxpayer.  For those that don't know, a taxpayer is a building design where the first floor is a commercial store, while the second floor and above are residential apartments.  This evening, crews on Engine 253 and Ladder 25 departed Somerset for the academy, for some intensive live fire training.  Under the supervision of Assistant Chief and Firefighter Instructor Mike Toth, crews performed two evolutions in the pouring rain involving multiple rooms on fire with victims trapped.  After an evening of long and hard work, both crews felt it was an enjoyable and beneficial training exercise.

Two firefighters off stretching a 2 inch line into the structure	Truck Co FF Whitaker, FF Raisch, and FF O'Meara discussing the drill
Lt. Wilson and FF Greenhaus making their way up to the roof	FF Diaz pumping E-253 during the drill

Special Operations Trailer 25 in Service

Nov 11th - After many long hours of hard work by everyone at the firehouse, our new Special Operations Trailer was finally put in service.  Trailer 25 will be used to transport all of our confined space rescue equipment, as well as our building collapse equipment.  Trailer 25 also has 4 halogen lights to aid in the illumination of a scene.  It has its own emergency warning lights, power generator, and can be pulled by either chief's vehicle or Van 257.

Trailer 25	Close up on the artwork and striping on our new trailer
Equipment carried in Trailer 25	More equipment from Trailer 25

Smoking Car Crashes Into Residence

Nov 4th - At 2049 hrs, District 3 was alerted for a car into a building, with smoke coming from the vehicle. Chief Krushinski arrived first, reporting a vehicle on fire that had crashed into the front of the house. Chief Ries arrived and took the position of Operations officer. Engine 251 responded with a full crew of 6 firefighters, and were directed by Chief Ries to stretch a 2 inch line, and extinguish the engine compartment of the car as well as the front of the house. Van 257 responded to the scene with additional manpower, and assisted Engine 251's crew with moving the car away from the house and opening the hood of the car up. The occupants were treated by the Franklin Somerset First Aid Squad, all units were cleared in less than 30 minutes.

After firefighters pushed the car away from the house, E251 firefighters pulled a line to hose down the engine of the car	Truck Co. FF Reed using a haligan to open the hood of the car