Station 25 Community Volunteer Fire Company, Franklin Township, NJ

January 2006

2 days of roof ops and search and rescue

Jan 28- Crews from Station 25 spent two full days training on two structures that were generously donated to us by a resident of district 3. One of the most valuable opportunities taken from this drill was everyone person in attendance got to get some hands on training in the different ways to ventilate a roof. Crews used both saws and axes, which allowed them to see the benefits and drawbacks of each tool.

Crews took a short break after testing the structural strength of concrete. From R to L: A future truckie, a new truckie, a career truckie, a person who tries not to be a truckie, and a truckie officer.

Two new FFs venting under the supervision of Truck Co. FF Vincent Inzano More roof venting using a quick vent saw.

Retirement party for Asst. Chief Toth

January 22, 2006, marked the official retirement date of Community Volunteer Fire Company's Assistant Chief Michael Toth. During a small ceremony held at Station 25, Mike was presented with several items from various agencies, including the Somerset County Fireman's Association, Somerset County Office of Emergency Management, and the Somerset County Emergency Services Training Academy. He was also presented with a piece of artwork representing Community Volunteer Fire Company, East Franklin Fire Department, and the Middlesex and Somerset County Fire Academies, drawn by Community VFC Firefighter Thomas Hannan. To see the full article published in 1strespondernews.com, click here.

Deputy Chief Herman Calvo, Artist and Community Firefighter Thomas Hannan, Assistant Chief Mike Toth, and Chief of the Department Richard Ries. Mike's coordinator helmet shield was mounted on a plaque and presented to him in honor of his 25-years-of-service as a county coordinator.

2006 Installation of officers dinner

Jan 21 - Tonight Station 25 held our annual dinner celebrating the installation of the officers of 2006. IOD committee chairman Robert Amos once again served as Master of Ceremonies for the event, and as he has done in previous years, did a spectacular job. After the cocktail hour, an 8 minute presentation (complete with videos and music) of all the events that happened over the past year was shown by Dan Greenhaus. Next came a very tasty dinner, which was followed by the introduction of the administrative officers by President Pinnella, and the line officers by Chief Ries. The Rev. Dennis McNulty then performed the swearing in ceremony for all the officers.

Following the swearing in ceremony were comments from both Chief Ries and President Pinnella about the evens that transpired during 2005. Then came the presentation of awards. Brian Sudo was given the award for probationary member of the year. The president's award was given to Vito Sansone. Citation bars were given out to Lisa Raisch, Dan Greenhaus, Sam Merhi, and Brian Kwityn. Awards of appreciation for assistant during the 2005 year were given to representatives of Somerset Fire & Rescue, Franklin-Somerset First Aid Squad, The Burn Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center, and East Franklin Fire Department. Awards for years of service were given out to our 25+ year veterans. Members who were in the top ten responders and top ten overall firefighters also received awards at the dinner. Lt. Angel Natal was presented with a medal of heroism, for his actions that resulted in the saving of many lives from a structure fire in New Brunswick. Several hours of dancing followed the presentation of awards. A good time was had by all in attendance. Pictures can be seen here, there are a lot, so please be patient while the page loads.

The top ten overall firefighters of 2006 Chief Ries and the new officers of 2006

Car Vs. Pole on Baier Ave

Jan 21 - At 1115, District 3 was dispatched to a reported car smoking on Baier Ave near Franklin Blvd in Somerset. Chief Ries (Car 25A) called in service, and while he was enroute, County Dispatch notified him that there were wires down as a result of the crash. Engine 253 responded, followed by Rescue 25, Assistant Chief Calvo (Car 25B) and Van 257. When Chief Ries arrived, he found that a car had been traveling down Baier Ave, and crashed into a telephone pole, shearing it in half. The pole fell across the road, pulling wires down with it. Chief Ries immediately requested PSE&G, as well as the US Postal Service, due to the fact that the car had knocked over a mailbox. Engine 253 arrived and closed the southern end of Baier Ave, while Rescue 25's crew secured the accident scene to prevent all the local kids from playing around the scene. Units from our mutual company closed off the northern end of the street. Crews from Rural/Metro and Robert Wood Johnson EMS treated the driver of the vehicle for injuries sustained in the crash. In total, 11 Community firefighters responded to the scene of the crash.

The vehicle after it collided with the pole and the mailbox Rescue 25 and Engine 253 at the southern end of the road

Top 10 firefighters of 2005

Top 10 Responders of 2005	Top 10 Overall Firefighters of 2005
1. Brian Sudo (317 alarms) 2. Lewis Pinnella (283 alarms) 3. Richard Ries (255 alarms) 4. Angel Natal (236 alarms) 5. Sherrod Middleton (235 alarms) 6. Robert Amos (229 alarms) 7. Frank Inzano (228 alarms) 8. Dewon Wilson (223 alarms) 9. Elizabeth Diaz (221 alarms) 10. Brian Whittaker (191 alarms)	1. Brian Sudo 2. Lewis Pinnella 3. Richard Ries 4. Robert Amos 5. Angel Natal 6. Elizabeth Diaz 7. Dan Greenhaus 8. Dewon Wilson 9. Sherrod Middleton 10. Brian Whittaker

After a busy year, we at Station 25 are proud to announce our top ten firefighters for the year 2005. They are broken down into two categories: top ten responder, and top ten overall. The top ten responder goes by the amount of fire alarms an individual responded to, out of the total of 500 that Community VFC responded to during the past year. The second group, top ten overall, is calculated by taking into account alarms a person responds to, meetings, drills, external classes, duty crews, work details and other work that is done for the firehouse. These hardworking individuals will all be honored at our annual installation of officers dinner.

Car Fire on Kent St

Jan 16 - At 18:28 hrs, District 3 was alerted to a car fire on Kent St. Assistant Chief Cicerale of our mutual aid company was first on scene and established command, reporting an early model Lincoln that was on fire. Engine 253 arrived and, at Asst. Chief Cicerale's direction, stretch a pre-connected line to extinguish the fire. Engine 278's crew arrived and assisted 253's crew with the extinguishment. All crews cleared in under an hour.

Photo courtesy of Station 27 Photo courtesy of Station 27

3 hour pin job at Rt. 27 & Douglas Ave

Jan 14th- At 1333, District 3 was alerted to a motor vehicle crash/rollover at the intersection of Rt. 27 and Douglas Ave. Squad 27 responded with 3 firefighters, and was the first unit on scene. Chief Krushinski (Car 27) was riding as officer of Squad 27, established command, and confirmed a single vehicle rollover with multiple patients, including two that were entrapped. Rescue 25 responded with a crew 3 firefighters, followed by Engine 253 with a crew of 5 firefighters. Rescue 25 was the first rescue unit on scene, with Air 27 following behind them. Next Assistant Chief Herman Calvo arrived, followed by Engine 253, Engine 278 and Van 257. Two patients self extricated and were immediately transported to the hospital by Robert Wood Johnson EMS unit 804. Crews from Rescue 25 stabilized and cut power to the car, and then began extricating the first trapped victim, as crews from Station 27 stretched a protective hand line to protect the rescue crews. The crew of Engine 253 assisted the rescue crew with the extrication, while Air 27's crew provided additional stabilization to the car. The first victim was freed by Rescue 25's crew at 1347, and was transported by Rural/Metro to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as a major trauma. The second patient was more heavily entrapped, and Operations Officer Engine Captain Middleton directed crews from Station 25 to work on the driver's side, and Station 27 firefighters to use the tools off Rescue 25 on the passenger side of the vehicle. The City of New Brunswick's Rescue 3 and Ladder 1 were requested to respond to the scene at 1500, due to a mechanical failure with Rescue 25. Operations was then transferred from Captain Middleton to Assistant Chief Calvo. The second patient was extricated at 1620, and was transported by Robert Wood Johnson EMS paramedics to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital as a major trauma.

New Gear Lockers for Station 25

Jan 1st- Another new addition came to the gear room of Community VFC. The Commissioners of Fire District #3 purchased new gear lockers to replace the old racks. Over the past two days, members of both the engine company and truck company had put together the lockers. After several long hours, it looks like their hard work was time well spent.