Station 25 Community Volunteer Fire Company, Franklin Township, NJ

January 2008

Back To The Basics - Ladder Drill

Wednesday January 30th - Members assigned to tonight's duty crew took part in a ladder drill held at Franklin Middle School here in our district. Tonight we focused on properly setting up ground ladders, placement of ladders as well as safety measures when operating with them. Once this was completed, we did a site overview of the building from the roof and identified locations of exits, entry points to the roof and identifying each facility within the school. Some of the newer members also took a walk up the tower ladder in order to get a feel for what it is like when climbing to the bucket and operating from it. It's always a good thing to cover advance training, but there's never a bad time to go over the basic things within the fire service.

Rollover MVA w/ Entrapment

Sunday January 27th - At 13:57 hours, District 3 Fire responded to the intersection of State Highway 27 & Veronica Ave on the New Brunswick/North Brunswick borders, for a overturned vehicle with an entrapment. Since the original call came into New Brunswick, Engine 5, Ladder 2 & Rescue 3 was dispatched to the scene. Car-25 called in service and arrived on scene to establish command. While New Brunswick FD operated on the scene, Rescue-25 & Squad-27 called in service and responded on a reduced speed per command. Units on scene continued working on the vehicle and was able to remove the entrapped victim who suffered only minor injuries. Upon the arrival of both Rescue-25 & Squad-27, command advised that the victim had just been extricated and that both units could clear the scene. Command was terminated shortly thereafter.

District Ceremony on 1/26/08

Tuesday January 22nd - This is just a reminder that there will be a ceremony held at the District 3 office located at 138 Shevenchenko Ave., this Saturday at 18:00 hours. All members are invited and encouraged to attend. There will also be refreshments served. Please come out and support your fellow firefighters.

Mutual Aid Into Highland Park

Monday January 21st - Shortly after clearing up for a CO Alarm, at 12:26 hours, District 3 fire was called into the Boro. of Highland Park at 248 South 7th Ave for a structure fire. Engine-253 called in service with 6 and responded as the FAS Team, while Squad-27 responded as the Engine Company. Upon arriving on scene, the crew of Engine-253 staged by the building with the FAS equipment while Squad-27's crew and additional firefighters continued to advanced their way into the building with the lines. Once progress was made, a crew from South Amboy FD was called in to take over as the FAS Team in which Engine-253's crew was sent in to perform overhaul. Engine-253 cleared the scene and returned to quarters at 15:38 hours. Thank you Station-56 for also providing additional coverage for our district while both companies operated at the scene.

2008 Installation of Officers Dinner

Saturday January 19th - Over 130 members and guests were in attendance for our annual Installation of Officers Dinner held tonight at O'Connor's here in Franklin Township. The festivities was kicked off with a warm welcome by our IOD Committee, soon followed by blessings made by our Honorary Member & Department Pastor, Dennis McNaulty. A slideshow presentation was given which reviewed the events from the past year. Afterwards, dinner was served. Following the award ceremony, All of the officers for this year, were called to the floor for the official swearing in. Once the presentations were complete, the dance floor was opened up to everyone. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment. Additional photos will be posted shortly.

Courtesy of Angela Pinnella/M.Reed

Bus Fire on JFK BLVD

Friday January 11th - At 09:26 hours, District 3 Fire was dispatched to John F. Kennedy Blvd in the vicinity of Winston Dr. for a reported bus on fire. Fire Inspector 908-E arrived on scene first and confirmed the working fire. Engine-251 and Engine-278 called in service and arrived within moments in which Engine-251 dropped a supply line to the hydrant and a 2" foam line was pulled to begin attacking the fire. Car-27A also arrived on scene, assumed command and requested a 2nd line to the fire. Engine-253, Special Services Van-25 also called in service as well as Van-27 with additional manpower in which the crew begin to open up the bus with the poles. It took crews about 1 1/2 hours to combat the fire. Once the fire was knocked down, the bus was towed to the yard at Suburban Transit. All units cleared the since just past 11:30 hours.

Installation of Officers Dinner Jan. 19th

Tuesday January 8th - To all Station 25 members and guests: This is just a reminder that this year's Installation of Officers Dinner will be held at O'Connor's located at 1719 Amwell Rd here in Franklin Township on Saturday January 19, 2008. If you have not already rsvp, please contact 25-R2 ASAP if you are planning to attend. 1800 Hours will be the start of the event.

Back To The Basics

Monday January 7th - Tonight after our company meeting, a drill was conducted with our experienced firefighter over on Roosevelt Ave for our new probationary firefighters. 12 members in all, were in attendance in which we focused on training each probationary firefighter that was present, on the proper techniques on how to hook up to a hydrant. The training first started out with the proper procedures on how to open and flush out the hydrant before making the connection. Once this was done, the probationary firefighters watched as our experienced firefighters made the connection to the hydrant and begin flowing water. Afterwards, the probationary firefighters were broken into 2 groups, each assigned to an engine in which they begin evolutions on supplying the line to the hydrant. All probationary firefighters will continue to receive this basic training to ensure that everyone is aware of what to do when situations arise since this is such a crucial function of firefighting operations.

Firefighter's Health & Wellness Program

Monday January 7th - Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Rahway, is presenting a firefighters' health and wellness program on Feb. 9 at the RWJ Rahway Fitness & Wellness Center in Scotch Plains. The free course, which runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., not only tackles on-the-job safety but also examines the risk of heart attack, which is a leading killer of firefighters. The course includes topics such as cardiovascular risk factors and how to implement a cardiac wellness program in local fire departments. This will be open to volunteer and paid firefighters. The program offers cholesterol and blood glucose screening, as well as a presentation by Robert Wood Johnson dietitian Stephanie Madeira. Registration is available by calling (732) 499-6193. Seating is limited. The fitness and wellness center is at 2120 Lamberts Mill Road, Scotch Plains. Please Click Here for more information.