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This Month Around the Fire House
In February the Fort Washington
Fire Company responded to:
47 Alarms
Averagin g
19
responders per call
Totaling
275
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 Deputy
Chief Mike Duffy
Meet Mike Duffy
Mike Duffy joined the Fort Washington Fire Company
in 1979 and has been a line officer since 1992. He
has steadily worked his way up to Deputy Chief,
reporting directly to Chief Brian Newhall.
Mike has a BS in Business Administration from Temple
University and is a partner in Duffy White
Construction Company of Fort Washington.
In addition to his Deputy Chief position, Mike is
the Chairman of two of the company’s most important
committees, the Training and the Training Grounds
Committees. His primary responsibility here is to
see that all firefighters receive the training that
they need to in order to carry out their duties both
safely and effectively.
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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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If you
know someone who would enjoy receiving our
newsletter, click on the "Forward email" link at the
bottom of this newsletter to send them a copy with a
personal note from you.
_______________________________
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This is one of a series of newsletters from the Fort
Washington Fire Company No.1 in an effort to keep
the citizens and taxpayers of Upper Dublin informed
about the many and varied activities carried on by
our organization. Anyone may opt out of receiving
these e-mailed newsletters by clicking on the
unsubscribe link at the bottom of this Newsletter.
In each newsletter we will endeavor to provide
information that is informative, useful and even
entertaining. |
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Ladies Auxiliary /
Spring Flea Market
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By
Dawn Hurt
The Ladies Auxiliary of the Fort Washington Fire
Company welcomes new members anytime. Most members
are wives or mothers of firefighters but any Upper
Dublin resident, age 18 and older, is welcome to
join. We meet on the last Tuesday of every month
except July & August. Our meetings our held at the
firehouse on Summit Avenue in Fort Washington; we
begin at 7:30 p.m.
Our main focus is to support the firefighters both
financially through various fund-raisers and as
"goodwill ambassadors". We help by handing out
literature at the Fire Expo in September, serving
food at “Housing Ceremonies” for new equipment, and
various other activities the company may become
involved in.
Continued:
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What To Do If A Fire Starts In
Your Home
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By
Lieutenant Pete Williams
A house on fire is a very serious matter. A big or
small fire or even an odor of something burning from
an unknown source has to be treated seriously.
Before the question above can be addressed, the
following points are important in every home,
apartment or college dormitory and must be
mentioned.
Your home must have at least one working smoke
detector. Preferably one detector installed on every
floor beginning where the bedrooms are located.
These detectors should be installed properly
according to the directions and tested by you once a
month. The batteries are to be changed once a year.
Continued:
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By
Howard Schmuckler,
Fire Prevention Committee
Chairman
At times, a fire department runs into a problem
finding or accessing a fire hydrant. This is not
because the fire hydrant has been moved, rather
because it is hidden from view.
One of the most prevalent problems occurs after a
snowstorm when either the amount of snow
accumulation is great, or the snow has been plowed
high against the fire hydrant. If this occurs please
take the time to clear the snow away from the fire
hydrant. In the event of a fire, valuable time will
be lost if the fire department has to clear away the
snow.
Other situations arise when vegetation or trash
hides the hydrant. It is not uncommon for trash to
be piled against and around a fire hydrant. Please
cut all vegetation around the fire hydrant and pile
trash well away from the hydrant. If you notice that
someone has placed an obstruction at a fire hydrant,
please discuss with him or her the possible dangers
in doing so, or call the police to report it. If a
hydrant appears to be defective, notify the Water
Company immediately.
Continued:
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By Ed Schuler, I.S. Committee Chairman
When the Fire
Company started back in 1908 and on into the 1980’s,
firefighters had one mission — put out fires and
save lives. Since the eighties changes have taken
place. Today’s volunteer fire companies are small
enterprises with many of the record keeping
obligations of small to medium sized businesses.
The Fort Washington
Fire Company is an independent 501 (C) 3 non-profit
corporation with two fire stations, 10 emergency
vehicles, and millions of dollars in life saving
equipment. All this property and equipment must be
maintained and eventually replaced. We are financed
through property taxes paid to Upper Dublin Township
as well as through private contributions to annual
our fund raising drives.
Continued:
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A Working
Partnership
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By Fire Fighter / Scout leader Roy Nuss
For a Boy Scout to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout,
one of the requirements is for the boy to organize
and lead a project that benefits the community or
another organization other than the Boy Scouts. Boy
Scout Troop 577 is a typical scout troop and does a
good job preparing its scouts to obtain the rank of
Eagle Scout. When the boys begin to look for
projects, one of the organizations they can approach
is the Fort Washington Fire Company.
As an all-volunteer organization, the Fort
Washington Fire Company is constantly challenged to
find people who are willing to volunteer their time
and complete the tasks required to keep the Fire
Company ready to serve the community. While it
would not be appropriate for the young scouts to
perform all the duties of a firefighter, there are
many other jobs that must be done behind the
scenes. An example of some suitable jobs would be
performing maintenance and repairs on the Fire
Stations and Fire Training Grounds.
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As We Recognize Our Own |
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Each year the Fort Washington Fire Company holds a
banquet to honor long service and the extraordinary
contributions of the volunteers that put in their
time in serving our community. This year, on
February 25, we held our 54 such banquet. Members
were recognized for 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50
and yes, even 60 years of service.
Additionally...
Three
members were honored for 1 year's perfect drill
attendance.
Five were honored for turning out for the most
emergency calls. They each responded to between 325
and 346 calls last year. A lot of recognition also
goes the families of these firefighters for all of
the interrupted sleep and mealtimes that they too
experienced.
A special recognition was made of outgoing Chief Ed
Hurt for his thirteen continuous years serving as
our Chief. Ed received the annual Haggar Award for
service above and beyond the call of duty. Only one
other person has served longer as chief in our past
98 years as a company. Our hats off to Ed Hurt.
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