In January
the Fort Washington
Fire Company responded to:
54 Alarms
Averaging 18
responders per call
Totaling
392
responder hours
For All of 2006 the Fort
Washington Fire Company Responded to:
601 Alarms
Averaging 18 responders per call
Totaling 4982 responder hours
_______________________________________
Profile Of The Month
By
Andrew Rathfon
Each month we profile one of
the many Volunteers that make up the Fort Washington
Fire Company. This month we are highlighting
Richard Roberts
 Meet Richard Roberts
Richard “Yock Jr.” Roberts is a third generation
firefighter with the Fort Washington Fire Company
No.1. He follows in the footsteps of his
grandfather, Clarence H. Roberts, and his father,
Clarence J. Roberts, who served for fifty years and
attained the rank of Chief in 1971. Richard’s
grandmother, Catherine Roberts, was active in the
Ladies Auxiliary for numerous years while they
resided at 205 Summit Avenue. Richard’s mother,
Mary Roberts, was also active in the Ladies
Auxiliary, as they lived at 211 Fort Washington
Avenue. Additionally, Richard’s two
brother-in-laws, Clarence Fortune and Kelly Rines,
are currently active drivers / firefighters with the
company. As you can see, the Roberts family is a
fixture in both the Fort Washington Fire Company
No.1 and the Old Fort Washington community.
Richard, born in October of 1968, has always resided
at 211 Fort Washington Avenue. Attending Upper
Dublin School District from grade school to high
school, Richard graduated in 1987. Following
graduation he worked as an auto mechanic for several
different garages, his longest tenured position
being with Springhouse Ford. In 1992 Richard joined
the Navy and was assigned to the VF14 Tophatters, an
F14 Fighter Squadron on the CV67 USS JFK. Here
Richard operated as an aviation structural
mechanic. Upon returning form his tour with the
Navy, Richard attended Refrigeration School at the
Philadelphia Wireless Technical School. Once this
was completed Richard went to work for Piroeff as a
refrigeration mechanic. After a five year stint
with Piroeff, Richard took a position, which he
currently holds, with the Philadelphia Convention
Center as their refrigeration mechanic.
Richard joined the Fort Washington Fire Company No.1
in 1984 as a junior firefighter. In 1997, upon
returning from the Navy, Richard was promoted to
Assistant Engineer, a position he would hold until
he was made a Lieutenant in 2001. In 2004 Richard
was elevated to the rank of Captain. During his
tenure as a line officer, Richard has assumed the
responsibility of maintaining, issuing, and ordering
all of the firefighting gear worn by the
firefighters of the Fort Washington Fire Company
No.1. Richard has served on numerous committees
during his twenty-three years as a firefighter.
Some of these include: the Apparatus Committee, the
Uniform Committee, the Grounds Committee, the
By-Laws Committee, and the Veterans Committee.
Richard also served as the President and Vice
President of the Active Worker’s Association. Since
1996, Richard has organized both the annual Phillies
Trip and the Kid’s Christmas Party for the Active
Worker’s Association.
Richard recalls his first working fire as a kitchen
fire near the intersection of Hartranft Ave. &
Highland Ave. This incident remains ingrained in
his memory as a daytime fire in which he was on the
nozzle of the first in engine. Richard’s most
memorable fire was a working townhouse fire in
Stuart Creek Farms the night of a Phillies Trip.
Richard recalls that the homeowner was forced to
drive down to the Fort Washington Wawa to report the
fire, because her neighbors refused to open their
doors to her banging at such an early hour.
Needless to say, by the time a shorthanded crew
arrived at the scene, the house was fully involved.
Lastly, Richard’s favorite piece of apparatus was
the 1971 Mack Aerial Scope Ladder Truck as it was
purchased the same year that his late father was
chief of the company.
It is evident, to anyone that has met Richard, that
he exudes genuine pride when he speaks about the
Fort Washington Fire Company No.1. This is not due
to our performance in parades, the color of our
trucks, or even our performance on the fire scene,
it is solely a reflection of his love for the people
that make up the Fort Washington Fire Company.
Richard enjoys the camaraderie that is unique to the
Fort Washington Fire Company No.1. Additionally,
his dedication to traditions and his willingness to
subscribe to new ideas makes him a strong leader,
one that many turn to for advice and guidance.
_____________________________
Correction:
In last month's issue we incorrectly assigned the
years 1982 and 1983 to the pictured George Haggar as
Chief, when in reality it was George R. Haggar who
was chief for those years.
_____________________________
_______________________________
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.
_______________________________
|
|
| |
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.
|
| |
|
The President's
Corner
|
| |
By
President Tim Evard
I would like to thank all our readers for being a
part of our newsletter’s first year. I would also
like to welcome and thank our newest subscribers.
We started the newsletter as a way to provide the
community with a better understanding of who we are
and how we operate. I hope the first twelve issues
have accomplished this and hope future issues
continue to do so.
Firefighting is not just about getting on a fire
truck and going to calls. Each member of the
company volunteers countless hours of their time for
the organization. We drill every Monday night,
committees meet most other nights of the week, and
then there are the 600+ calls we respond to at all
hours of the day. It is not easy, but our members
are dedicated and I can say with all confidence that
when the alarm sounds, we are ready.
I
would like to recap some of the many accomplishments
by our members over the past year. The diligent
work by our grants committee has brought in almost
$500,000 which has been used for radios, pagers, gas
detection equipment and exhaust systems for each
station. The finance committee put together an
outstanding budget for 2007. I cannot stress enough
how great a job they did and I look forward to what
it will allow us to accomplish next year. Once
again our fire prevention committee provided the
community with an outstanding fire prevention expo.
I hope you had the opportunity to attend and if you
didn’t, I hope you can be there in 2007. Our line
officers, policy and SOG (Standard Operating
Guidelines) committees have reviewed and revised our
administrative and operational procedures. Our
information and technology committee has completed
several upgrades to our record keeping system. It
allows us to track the activity, training and
records of all current and past members. If there
is data to collect, we can do it. This system is
home made and far greater any generic program on the
market. There is so much more that I could go on
and on. I tell you all this with the hope that you
understand how important our members are and if you
see one, please take the time to say thank you.
Continued:
|
| |
|
Homeowners Insurance
—
Keep an Inventory!
|
| |
By
Howard Schmuckler
Nobody ever thinks a fire is going to burn down
their
home, and with any luck, it won’t. But we can’t
count on that. That is why we need to take certain
precautions to make sure we are as prepared as
possible for those “just in case” disasters. For
example, make sure your family has an evacuation
plan in place just in case a fire ever starts in
your home. Also, make sure you have properly
installed working smoke alarms and fire
extinguishers in your house; again, just in case.
What’s another important thing you should do to make
sure you are fully prepared? Keep an up-to-date home
inventory in a safe spot away from your home (bank
safe deposit box or a relative’s home), it won’t do
any good if it too burns in a fire.
Continued: |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
By William Gift and Dr. Jeffrey Fogel MD -
Co-chairmen of the Accreditation Committee
Editors' Note:
This is the first of a series of articles describing
our commitment to achieving accreditation by the
world known organization, Fire Accreditation
International CFAI. As of this date there is only
one all volunteer fire company in the US that has
achieved this recognition. We are striving to become
the second.
_______________________________
The question has been raised “What is the response
time of my local fire company?” In other words,”
When I dial 911, how long will it take for the Fire
Company to get to my location?” The Commissioners
of Upper Dublin Township, the officials that you,
the citizen, have elected to represent you, are
ultimately responsible for that answer. To help
them answer that question, the Fort Washington Fire
Company No.1 has established a “Standard of Cover”
consistent with the guidelines developed by the
Commission on Fire Accreditation International Inc.
(CFAI). We have been collecting statistics and have
analyzed those numbers to see what our historic
response times were. This article, which includes
information from CFAI, will give an insight as to
all the factors that are involved in determining
“response time”.
Continued:
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
By
Howard Schmuckler
Fire is faster,
hotter, darker, and smokier than you can imagine.
You must know what fire is like in order to safely
prepare to escape its danger.
FIRE IS FAST! In
less than 30 seconds a small flame can get
completely out of control and turn into a major
fire. In minutes, a house can be engulfed in
flames. Most fires occur in the home when people
are asleep. If you wake up to a fire, you will not
have time to take valuables because fire spreads too
quickly. There is little time, use that time to
escape. Yell to alert others of the fire.
FIRE IS HOT! The
heat from a fire can kill. Inhaling super hot air
will scorch your lungs. The heat can melt clothing
to your skin. Within a few minutes a room can get
so hot that everything in it will ignite. Heat is
more threatening than flames.
FIRE IS DARK!
Fire is pitch black. It only takes a few minutes
for thick black smoke to fill a room. Fire starts
with a bright flame, but quickly produces black
smoke and complete darkness. If you awaken to a
fire, you may be disoriented and unable to find your
way around the home that you are normally very
familiar with. Have a flashlight ready, and practice
an escape plan in the dark to simulate fire
conditions. Of course, do not take any risks that
may injure yourself or others during the drills.
FIRE IS DEADLY! Smoke and
gases kill more people than flames do. Fire uses up
the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous
gases such as carbon monoxide that kill. Even small
amounts of smoke and gasses can cause you to feel
ill. Carbon monoxide makes you sleep deeper than
normal, before flames reach your room, and you will
not be able to wake up in time to escape. This is
why everyone needs the earliest warning that there
is the danger. Install smoke alarms on every level
of the home and outside of every sleeping area (it
is even recommended to have an additional smoke
alarm inside every sleeping area). Test the smoke
alarms monthly; and change the batteries twice a
year, when you change the clocks .
Continued:
|
| |
|
| |
|
