In Otober
the Fort Washington
Fire Company responded to:
57Alarms
Averaging 13.7
responders per call
Totaling
251
responder hours
For All of 2006 the Fort
Washington Fire Company Responded to:
601 Alarms
Averaging 18 responders per call
Totaling 4982 responder hours
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Profile Of The Month
By
Andy Rathfon
Each month we profile one of
the many Volunteers that make up the Fort Washington
Fire Company. This month we are highlighting
Ernie Racz
 Meet
Ernie Racz
Born January 29, 1973 in Red Bank, New
Jersey, Ernie Racz was the youngest of three
children, having an older brother and sister. Ernie
attended private school while residing in Rumson,
New Jersey. However, for his sophomore year of high
school, when his family relocated to the Fort
Washington area, Racz attended Upper Dublin Senior
High School. After graduating in 1991 from UDHS,
Ernie attended Penn State University where he earned
a Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and
Administration. Upon graduation in 1995 he began
working for Connaught Laboratories, which is
currently named Sanofi Pasteur. Ernie now holds the
position of Senior Biological Products Specialist.
In 1989 Ernie, new to the area and eager
to make friends, decided to join the Fort Washington
Fire Company No.1 as a junior member. Here he would
gain many lifelong friends and ultimately be
introduced to his wife Victoria. Ernie began dating
Victoria in 1996 and the couple married in 2002.
They welcomed their daughter Evie into the world in
2005. Victoria and Evie are extremely active in the
Fort Washington Fire Company No.1 Ladies Auxiliary.
They play an integral part in the production of the
biannual flea market. Ernie’s stepfather, Ed
Schuler, is also a member of the Fort Washington
Fire Company No. 1 serving as a fire policeman,
chairman of the IT committee, and the editor of this
newsletter.
In 2004, Ernie was promoted by Ed Hurt
to the position of Lieutenant. Then in 2007, Ernie
was elevated to the rank of Battalion Chief by Chief
Brian Newhall, a position he currently holds.
During his tenure as a member of the FWFC, Ernie has
also been extremely active in the administrative
realm of the fire company. Racz has served as the
Secretary of the Active Workers Association, Vice
President (1 year) and President (4 years) of the
company, and a member of the Board of Directors (4
years and counting). Ernie has either chaired or
served on the following committees: Apparatus,
Education & Orientation, Fundraiser, Membership &
Investigation, 100th Anniversary, Goodwill, and
Finance.
Ernie recalls his first fire at the old
estate house at Red Gate Farms, which is currently
located where the development of Dublin Hunt is
situated. Following the fire of this abandoned
building, the company used the remains of the
structures on the property to conduct training
exercises. Racz’s most memorable fire was the
Temple Ambler University Amphitheater fire due to
the magnitude of the blaze. Ernie remembers being
in the bucket of the old 88-11 Mack Aerial-scope for
hours extinguishing the fire. Ernie’s favorite
apparatus was 88-21, the 1976 open-cab Mack pumper.
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