In this Issue

This Month Around the Fire House

Profile Of The Month - Brian Newhall

Chief's Corner

Opticon Traffic Control

Road Closed!

Candles ... A Serious Fire Hazard

This Month Around the Fire House

In January the Fort Washington Fire Company responded to:
    42 Alarms
    Averaging 20 responders per call
    Totaling 436 responder hours

For All of 2005 the Fort Washington Fire Company Responded to:
    644 Alarms
    Averaging 25 responders per call
    Totaling 7217 responder hours

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Profile Of The Month

Each month we profile one of the many Volunteers that make up the Fort Washington Fire Company. This month we are highlighting Brian Newhall

Meet Our New Chief
Brian Newhall

On January 1st of this year The Fort Washington Fire Company began taking its direction from our new fire Chief, Brian Newhall.

In spite of his comparative youth, Brian is 35 years old; he has a comprehensive resume in Firefighting and Public Service.

Brian graduated from Upper Dublin High School in 1989 and went on to Shippensburg University where he received his BA in Communications in 1993. Currently, he has nearly completed his Master’s degree in Public Safety Management at St Joseph’s University.

In the past he has been employed as a paid firefighter and a Fire/EMS dispatcher for the Montgomery County Emergency 911 system. Since 1999 he has been serving as a police officer for Upper Moreland Township. In addition, Brian is a certified EMT, a nationally certified Fire Service Instructor with over 1000 hours of emergency service/management training.

At this year’s annual reorganization meeting, Brian announced his 2006 operational goals for the Fort Washington Fire Company which include:

1. The creation of job descriptions for all line officers
2. A switch to 800 MHz radios for improved communication with other public service departments
3. Training drills with area fire companies that we provide or receive mutual aid
4. The implementation of all newly published SOG’s (Standard Operating Guidelines)
5. Officer development training
Recruiting 6 additional volunteer firefighters

Join us in welcoming Brian to his new position.

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Help Wanted
In 2006 we want to add 6 additional Firefighters to our rolls. If you are interested contact Chief Newhall. We will provide all the necessary training. _______________________________

Help Wanted
We need someone with Database expertise in SQL Server and Access Databases to volunteer a few hours each month to help maintain and establish databases. No data entry. Contact Ed Schuler
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·  Chief's Corner

2006 will be an exciting year for the fire company as we face many new challenges and opportunities. The training and the dedication of the volunteer members of the fire company are second to none. I have been a proud member of this company for 17 years and, despite the many changes that have taken place, the dedication, bravery, and skill of the members have never changed. All the members of the Fort Washington Fire Company are volunteers; all make sacrifices in their personal lives to assist neighbors and local businesses when needed by spending time away from their families and loved ones when the call for help comes in.

We are always looking for new volunteers and provide all the necessary training and equipment needed for one to become a professionally certified firefighter. The only requirement is the willingness to commit time to serving your community. It can be a daunting task on occasion, but the friendships that are made and the feeling that comes with helping others make it all worthwhile.

I encourage all the residents of Upper Dublin to visit one or both of our fire stations to meet the members of the company and to observe firsthand what kind of equipment is available to protect them. If you have any questions or comments to share with the company, please feel free to email me at Chief@FWFC.ORG. Have a safe new year.
Brian Newhall, Chief.

·  Opticon Traffic Control

By Bob Lester

You are driving toward a familiar intersection with a green light ahead when suddenly it changes to red much before you expected. That may be because an emergency vehicle is approaching the intersection from another direction responding to a 911 call.

Upper Dublin Township, as well as other surrounding communities, has been equipping traffic lights with a device known by its trade name “Opticon”. The Opticon is a traffic pre-emption device that allows emergency vehicles to change a traffic light to green in the direction that they are traveling while all other directions turn to yellow then red. The Opticon works by transmitting a coded flashing beam to a receiver mounted on the traffic light. When the Opticon receives the signal it begins to change traffic lights so that only the emergency vehicle has the green light. After the signal has changed, the Opticon then flashes a light back to the emergency vehicle so that the operator knows the Opticon is working.

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·  Road Closed!

By Fire Police Lieutenant David Levy

You are driving down the road on your way to work when all of a sudden you find the road closed with one of our Fire Police members directing traffic...
Undoubtedly such road closures happen at the worst possible time for you. No one wants to have their primary travel route disrupted. However, it is important that you realize that we are attempting to protect the same firefighters that you would rely on if you needed help.
The role of the Fort Washington Special Fire Police is to help protect the lives of the emergency responders at a fire/accident scene, and to help protect motorists and pedestrians from entering a hazardous situation. The primary method of protecting these emergency responders and the public is to close the roads in the immediate area of the fire or accident scene. Under ideal situations we will have two Fire Police Officers at each road closure. When possible, we attempt to provide directions to those drivers who are not familiar with the area. However, we cannot help everyone. Please do not mistake our inability to provide you with specific directions as rudeness; we maybe just too busy directing traffic. We try to block traffic at intersections where traffic is only detoured one block out of your normal route but this is not always possible.
Continued:

·  Candles ... A Serious Fire Hazard

By Howard Schmuckler, Fire Prevention Committee Chairman

With the increase in candle use, 44% of fires caused by candles were started in bedrooms. Candle fires have a higher death rate per fire than most other fire causes. Only smoking and children playing with fire have higher death rates. Remember that candles are an open flame, which can easily ignite nearby combustibles (mattresses and bedding; cabinetry; curtains and drapes; interior wall coverings; upholstered furniture; decorations; newspapers and magazines; rugs and other floor coverings; towels and other linens). Winter is the peak time for home candle fires. December has twice the number of home candle fires than other months.

Do not leave lit candles unattended. Never leave home or go to bed with a candle still burning. Never leave children unattended near a burning candle, and keep candles (as well as matches and lighters) out of reach of children.

If you do use candles... continued: