In March
the Fort Washington
Fire Company responded to:
47 Alarms
Averaging 18.6
responders per call
Totaling 299
responder hours
For All of 2007 the Fort
Washington Fire Company Responded to:
627 Alarms
Averaging 18 responders per call
Totaling 4662 responder hours
_______________________________________
Profile Of The Month
By
Denny Zwicker
Each month we profile one of
the many Volunteers that make up the Fort Washington
Fire Company. This month we are highlighting
David Haggar
Meet
Dave Haggar
Certain names are always associated with certain
things. For example, Ford means cars, Barrymore
means Hollywood and in Upper Dublin, Haggar means
the Fort Washington Fire Co. Assistant Chief Dave
Haggar was born to this destiny as the son,
grandson, and nephew of the many family members who
served before him. It is a destiny he has more than
willingly accepted.
Born in Chestnut Hill Hospital in 1965, Dave has
spent his entire life living in the old Fort
Washington section of the Township. He was raised
with two sisters and his brother, Keith, who is also
a member of the Fire Company. Upon graduation from
Upper Dublin High School, Dave immediately went to
work for PECO as a meter reader. Twenty-four years
later, he is a foreman in PECO’s Gas Distribution.
Dave is also the third generation to work for PECO.
Cupid struck the day after high school graduation
when fellow firefighter John Mariotz and his wife
introduced Dave to Sandra. Together they’ve raised
two children. Daughter Kerri will graduate from
college this year and son Chris is a junior at Upper
Dublin. Like his father, Chris joined the fire
company two years ago as a junior member. He is
considering a career in the emergency services,
possibly firefighting in a large, metropolitan
department. When asked how he feels about that, his
Dad says,” If that’s what he wants to do, I would
never stop him”. Coincidentally, wife Sandra also
has cousins affiliated with the fire company.
Dave literally grew up in the fire department and
does not remember a time when he was not involved.
Even as a little boy, he ‘hung around’ doing things
like rolling up fire hose after a call and washing
the trucks. He remembers that his first fire call
was a spectacular barn fire in Penllyn with
Wissahickon ‘Ambler’ Fire Co. At the time of the
call he was working with his grandfather Art at the
high school bus garage. They looked out toward the
direction of Penllyn and saw the sky filling with
smoke. Racing to the fire station, Art, the Chief
Engineer of the Company at the time, told Dave to
get on the fire truck even though Dave wasn’t quite
yet ‘officially’ a member of the Company. At the
time, Dave’s father, G.R., was the Assistant Chief
and he, too, boarded the truck. Realizing his son,
not yet officially a firefighter was on the truck,
he ordered him off. But Grandfather Art prevailed,
reminding G.R. that there would be miles of hose to
roll after the barn, back a long dirt road, was
extinguished. Art was right; Dave chalked up his
first fire call and rolled up miles of hose that
afternoon.
Continued:
_______________________________
_______________________________
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 out 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. |
| |
|
CPR/AED Training
|
| |
By
Eric Clauson
Past President and CPR Instructor Tim Evard teaches
CPR procedures to FWFC Firefighters
In February, nearly 70 Fire Company members
attended our CPR/AED re-certification class which is
conducted every 2 years. This class was taught by
member and CPR instructor Tim Evard, along with
Assistant Chief Brian Newhall.
Members were refreshed on safety precautions and
procedures for performing CPR on adults, children
and infants. This was also an opportunity for all to
become familiar with our new,
recently purchased AED's (Automated External
Defibrillators). These up-to-date units are designed
to be user-friendly and actually verbally instruct
the user on how to operate them in an emergency.
Assistant Chief Brian Newhall
instructs members on the use of AEDs
With the purchase of these new AED's, the fire
company now has these life-saving devices on all
apparatus as well as in both fire houses.
Additionally, all active FWFC members are certified
in CPR, First-Aid and Blood-Borne Pathogens
|
| |
|
Extinguishing Cooking Oil Fires
|
| |
By
Unknown
Author (Found on the Internet)
You probably never thought that a wet dishcloth can
be a one size fits all lid to cover a fire in a pan!
Download this is dramatic video, only 30
seconds long, about how to deal with a common
kitchen fire involving oil in a frying pan. Please
be patient while the video clip loads on your
computer.
At Fire Fighting Training schools they would often
demonstrate this with a deep fat fryer. An
instructor would don a fire suit and using an 8 oz
cup at the end of a 10 foot pole toss water onto the
grease fire. The results would dramatically get the
attention of the students.
Water, being heavier than oil, sinks to the bottom
where it instantly becomes superheated. The
explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil
up and out. In an open field, it can became a thirty
foot high fireball that resembles a nuclear blast.
Inside the confines of a kitchen, the fire ball hits
the ceiling and fills the entire room.
Also, DO NOT throw sugar or flour on a grease
fire. One cup can create the explosive force of two
sticks of dynamite.
This video carries a powerful message!
Download Video Clip
|
| |
|
|
| |
By Sheilagh Wagner
The Ladies Auxiliary of the Fort Washington Fire
Company will once again be holding it’s semi-annual
Flea Market on the first Saturday in April. This
year’s will be on April 5th, from 8 a.m. to 2p.m.,
rain or shine at the Summit Avenue Station. Our
flea markets are our primary fund raisers. Thanks to
these and other fundraisers, such as selling food at
the Fire Expo and selling cookbooks, we have been
able to donate generously to the Fire Company. Our
flea markets have approximately 50 vendors selling a
wide variety of things. We also have a bake table
and our kitchen is open, selling delicious homemade
soups, hot dogs and much more. Please come out to
support us and our vendors!
Who is the Ladies Auxiliary? We are wives, mothers
and daughters of firefighters but we welcome anyone
18 or older who would like to join. Our main focus
is to support the firefighters both financially and
as “goodwill ambassadors”. We help handing out
literature at the Fall Fire Expo, serving food at
“Housing Ceremonies” and various other activities
where the company might need us. We also relax and
have fun. We have an annual Christmas dinner and can
ride in parades with the firefighters. We meet on
the last Tuesday of the month (except for July,
August & December) at the Summit Avenue Station at
7:30pm. If anyone is interested, please stop by a
meeting or visit our link on the website to send us
an email.
|
| |
|
