ANNUAL TOWN REPORT

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT

I herewith submit the Annual Report of the Fire Department for the year ending December 31, 2006.

ROSTER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Chief and Forest Warden, P. Robert Wallace

PERMANENT FIRE FIGHTERS

Brian A. Falk—Retired 9/29/06

Stephen N. Rybacki

Gary L. Savaria

Shawn B. Minahan

Paul J. Morrissette

Edward C. McCandlish

Benjamin L. Cote

Christopher Raschilla Hired 10/30/06

Stephen N. Rybacki

ENGINE # 1	(8)	ENGINE # 2	(8)
Captain	P. Morrissette	Captain	R. Brady
Lt.	B. Minahan	Lt.	G. Savaria
F.F.	C. Higgins	F.F.	G. Frigo
F.F.	C. Ottoson	F.F.	D. Langford
F.F.	J. Giordano	F.F. (D)	J. LeClerc
F.F. (D)	B. Cote	F.F.	A. Villani
F.F.	T. LaCosse	F.F. (D)	J. Reale
F.F.	J. Gastone	F.F.	D. Fazio
ENGINE # 4	(8)	LADDER # 1	(8)
Captain	J. Pugliano	Captain	D. Villamaino
Lt.	S. Minahan	Lt.	F. Santaniello
F.F. (D)	B. Hill	F.F. (D)	R. Loughman
F.F.	C. Raschilla	F.F.	A. Gentile
F.F.	J. McCaffrey	F.F.	K. Burkhead
F.F.	T. Bechard	F.F. (D)	E. McCandlish
F.F.	J. Coppolo	F.F.	C. Beecher
F.F.	B. Daponde	F.F.	D. Avezzie

 

 

The Fire Department has the following vehicles:

1- 2003 Ford Crown Vic	Chief’s Vehicle	(Car # 1)
1- 2000 KME	Rescue/Pumper	(Engine # 4)
1- 1998 Student Awareness of Education (S.A.F.E.)		(Fire Safety Trailer)
1- 2007 Ford F150 Pick-Up	Deputy Chief & Inspector’s Vehicle	(Car # 2)
1- 1994 Saulsbury	1,250 G.P.M. Pumper	(Engine # 2)
1- 1988 Pierce Arrow	105’ Aerial Ladder - with 1,250 G.P.M. Pump	(Ladder # 1)
1- 1981 Pierce Arrow	1,000 G.P.M. Pumper	(Engine # 1)
1- 1978 Military ¼ ton Trailer		(Light Unit # 1)
1- 1999 GMC Mini-Bus	Mobile Command Post	(MC-1)

During 2006, the Fire Department responded to 558 alarms:

NFRIS* Description	QTY		NFRIS* Description	QTY
Building fire	3		Lock-out	7
Outside storage fire, shed	1		Lock-in	2
Trash or rubbish fire, contained	1		Water evacuation	3
Cooking fire, confined to container	1		Water steam or leak	4
Fuel burner fire/ boiler malfunction	2		Citizen complaint	1
Passenger vehicle fire	3		Assist police or other agency	5
Road freight vehicle fire	1		Public service assistance, other	3
Mobile property fire, lawnmower	3		Public service	3
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire	15		Cover assignment, standby	17
Grass fire	2		Good intent call, other	65
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire	6		Unauthorized burning	6
Authorized controlled burning	6		Smoke scare, odor of smoke	4
Medical assist E.M.S. crew	2		False alarm or false call, other	8
EMS call, party transported by non-fire agency	2		Malicious, mischievous false call, other	1
Carbon monoxide detector activation, no CO	11		Electrical wiring / equipment problem, other	20
Carbon monoxide incident	10		Overheated motor	1
Vehicle accident with injuries	2		Light ballast breakdown	1
Extrication of victim(s) from vehicle	2		Power line down	15
Vehicle accident, general cleanup	11		Arcing, shorted electrical equipment	9
Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill	6		Gas leak (natural gas or LPG)	7
Oil or other combustible liquid spill	7		Chemical spill or leak	4
Sprinkler activation due to malfunction	7		Steam mistaken for smoke	1
CO detector activation due to malfunction	17		Alarm system sounded due to malfunction	27
Smoke detector activation, no fire – unintentional	158		Detector activation, no fire unintentional	1
Smoke detector activation due to malfunction	23		Heat detector activation due to malfunction	5
Alarm system sounded, no fire – unintentional	11		Sprinkler activation, no fire – unintentional	6
Extinguishing sys. act, unintentional	2		Service call, other	6
Severe weather, other	8		Animal rescue	1
Lightning strike, no fire	1		Animal problem	1

·               NFIRS: National Fire Incident Reporting System

During 2006, the East Longmeadow Fire Department issued 1086 permits.

Permit Type	QTY		Permit Type	QTY
Fire Alarm (New construction)	75		Oil Burner	41
Fire Alarm (Re-sale)	219		Outside Burning	656
Fire Reports	8		Sprinkler System	7
Fixed Extinguishing System	3		Tank Installation	1
FP#33, Car Fires	2		Tank Removal	9
Gun Powder	1		Tank Truck	7
Liquid Petroleum Gas	45		Flammable Liquids	4
Unvented Propane Heaters	2		UST Registration	4
Hood & Duct Systems	2

Estimated Fire Losses in 2006:

Building & Contents	$56,000.00
Vehicle	$11,500.00
Total Loss	$67,500.00
Property Saved	$386,900.00

Some of the notable events of 2006 were:

We had a relatively “Quiet” year relative to structure fires.

MAY 2, 2006: 26 BAYNE STREET

We received a call of a fire in a second floor bedroom. Upon arrival heavy fire on the second floor contained to one bedroom. All occupants were out of the house and the fire was contained to that room with moderate smoke damage to the second floor and moderate water damage to the first floor.

CAUSE: Unattended candle.

MAY 22, 2006: 252 ELM STREET

We received a call from the Police Department who were already on scene for an ill person. The officer did an outstanding job of recognizing the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Upon arrival we monitored the house and found 360 PPM. One person was transported to the hospital and the house was unoccupied for the night.

AUGUST 2, 2006—MICRO BURST STORM:

The Department responded to several major power lines torn down, trees uprooted and loss of power throughout the Town. It was classified as a microburst. There were homes that were damaged as well as outages for many hours in various sections of town. During this storm, there was a man trapped in his car under live wires for over one and a half hours. The gentleman had sense enough to stay in his car and not try to get out.

The Fire Department communicated with the man on his cell phone until the power was shut off and the wires removed.

DECEMBER 3, 2006: 8 FERN GLEN ROAD

We received a call of a smell of smoke and a light haze in the house. Upon arrival we could see smoke venting from both ends of the eves. Upon investigation with the Thermal Imager, (which detects heat) we found fire in the attic directly over a bathroom fan/light combination. Pulled the ceilings and contained the fire to the bathroom ceiling and minor damage to the attic joist. There was moderate smoke throughout the house.

Cause: Insulation in contact with a hot light fixture.

Captain Steve Rybacki, Firefighter Edward McCandlish, our public education coordinator, and other S.A.F.E. members, addressed over 2000 school children throughout the school system on fire safety, utilizing classroom instruction, our fire hazard house, and our mobile Fire Safety House. The more fire education we teach the students, the safer their homes will become.

The Fire Department received the Life Safety Achievement Award for the eighth year in a row in recognition of our work in keeping the community free of deaths from fire in the year 2005. This award is the result of a team commitment between the schools and this Department and the programs that are presented to the children and seniors of the Town.

We held our fifth annual September 11^th candle light vigil on the front lawn. It was attended by more than three hundred people who came to remember those 343 Firefighters and over 2,000 citizens who lost their life on that tragic day five years ago.

In September, Firefighter Ben Cote became a certified Car Seat Technician after attending a 40 hour certification course. Since his certification we have had several parents come to the station and have their car seat fitted the proper way for the safety of the child in the event of an accident.

Ed McCandlish attended an “Emergency Vehicle Driver” training course that was held at Devens Conference Center. This intense course trains the drivers in all aspects of driving an emergency vehicle while responding to an incident.

I attended the forth annual Fire Service Conference in Washington D.C. and met with Senator Kennedy and Congressmen Neal in April with sixty-five other Fire Chiefs from throughout the Commonwealth. The mission we set is to meet with our Senators and Congressmen and stress the need for local aid and grants for the Fire Service to meet the needs of the ever changing way we operate today. It is well worth the time and effort to continue this interaction with our legislators.

During the 2006 calendar year, Fire Explorer Post 525, (a division of the Boy Scouts for boys and girls 14 – 21 of age interested in Firefighting), continued training its members based upon the 4^th Edition of Firefighting Essentials. Throughout the history of the Post Firefighting Essentials has been the guide/program used for training. Training takes place every other Wednesday evening from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

During the year the Post lost a few members due to changes in their respective activities, schools, or because of age. These openings were filled within a short period time, as the Post usually has a waiting list of people who want to join.

In October the Post members assisted the Fire Department with their annual “Open House,” providing assistance with parking, hose demonstrations, food distribution and station clean-up.

In February the Post worked with the East Longmeadow Firefighter’s Association by handling the parking detail for the Association’s Annual 50’s Dance.

During the spring of 2006 the Post was invited to participate in the Spring Camporee at the Horace A. Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, MA. The Post provided first aid for the camporee.

Later in the year the Post worked with the Wilbraham Police Department. For this event they assisted with parking at a fundraising activity that was being held for one of the police departments injured officers.

During 2006 the Post actively raised funds for new fire helmets for its members. The goal of new helmets was met as of November 1^st with the purchase of the last six helmets. The new helmets are different in color from the fire department so that the Explorer’s are readily identifiable. We wish to thank everyone who donated funds so that these helmets could be purchased.

As of December 27^th the Post received a gift from the Westover Air Reserve Base Fire Department – two year old turnout gear. The gear has been issued to the members of the Post and put in service. With the combination of the turnout gear and new helmets, members now have uniform matching equipment for training.

Sincerely,

Brian A. Falk, Head Advisor

East Longmeadow Fire Post 525

In October, we had another very successful “Open House,” with over five hundred people in attendance. The Town residents got a chance to view our facility, meet our Firefighters, see our apparatus and equipment, view various demonstrations, and receive many safety handouts for the family and participate in the “CHIPS” program. This program (Child Identification) allows the children to be fingerprinted, DNA taken and a video of them to be taken home by their parents in the vent of an incident. We saw over 160 children go through this program that day.

We held our third annual boot drive for Muscular Dystrophy and collected a record amount of money for a Fire Department drive: $10,000.00. The Association presented a check for $10,000.00 to the MDA on T.V.at the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon.

Deputy Chief Steve Rybacki for the past several years has coordinated with Mercy Hospital, a Town-wide blood drive. There have been more than 440 pints collected at these drives. Because of the success of these blood drives, the blood mobile is at our station six times per year.

All our Firefighters have received training and completed the National Management System (IS-00700 NIMS). All our Officers have received training in IS-100 & IS-200 NIMS). This is a requirement by the Federal Government, the Emergency Management Institute, and Homeland Security.

This Department donated an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) storage wall unit to the Senior Center to hold their A.E.D. that will allow access to this unit in the event of an emergency and save precious moments.

We passed out 700 smoke detectors and 716 Carbon Monoxide detectors to our seniors that live in Town and own their own home. These detectors were purchased with funds from a Federal grant. We now have in excess of over 900 homes that have both these live saving devises that detect smoke, and CO and gives the homeowner early warning of trouble and time to get out.

We are presently refurbishing a min-school bus that was given to us by the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative and will be used by this Department and Emergency Management as a “Mobile Command Post. This unit will be equipped with several radios, a generator, scene lighting and will respond to any type of emergency that may face the Town. Our goal is to have it in service within a few months.

After thirty-five (35) years of dedicated service to the town of East Longmeadow, Captain Brian A. Falk retired on September 29, 2006. Brian was appointed to the Call Department on July 1, 1971. Brian was appointed to a career position on January 1, 1979, Lieutenant on March 18, 1986, and Captain on April 9, 1992. Brian is still currently the Deputy Director of Emergency Management, Chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and the Post advisor for our Explorer post which is a division of the Boy Scouts of America. We wish Brian and his family a very well and long deserved happy retirement.

Call Firefighter Chris Raschilla was hired on October 30, 2006 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Captain Brain Falk. Chris was hired as a Call Firefighter on August 1, 1997. Chris will be attending the Department of Fire services 12 week Fire Academy in the spring and will be a major asset to the Department.

I would like to extend my appreciation to all the Town Boards, the other Town Departments, their personnel and inspectors, for their continued cooperation during the past year. A special thanks to the Longmeadow, Somers, Shaker Pines, Springfield, Hampden and Wilbraham Fire Departments for their quick and professional assistance when called upon.

Above all others, I would like to thank and commend the Firefighters of this Department. It is their dedication, motivation, and professional performance that the people of this Town should be very proud of as they continue to maintain an outstanding Fire Department and promote a fire safe community.

Respectfully submitted, P. Robert Wallace – Fire Chief

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR SMOKE DETECTORS WEEKLY

“WORKING SMOKE DETECTORS SAVE LIVES.”

“The Sound Of Life”

CARBON MONOXIDE: POISONOUS-ODORLESS-COLORLESS-TASTELESS

“INSTALL A CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR TODAY.”

‘”IT’S THE LAW”