Another Amusing Video

Make sure you watch the entire clip. This is why we do not let civilians operate a hydrant. Oh wait we dont have hydrants here.

VIDEO

Another Brush Fire- 3/30/2006- Edge Hill Road

Station 43 was dispatched to another brush fire on Edge Hill Road. This fire was started when a burn barrell got out of control. Station 23 was also dual dispatched but they were out on another larger brush fire so Station 35 was roiginally added when Dispatched informed us the owner said to "Please Hurry" Station 35 was cancelled when units arrived on scene. This is why there is a burn ban currently on.

FF John Debell making sure the barrell is out.

3/29/06-Brush Fire- Young Road

Station 43 was dispatched on the Daytime Dual Dispatch with Station 23 for a reported brush fire on Young Road. This fire also provided easy access and was quickly knocked down.

Chiefs 43-7 and 23-7 discuss their plan of attack.

3/29/06- MVA- Route 209/Route 115

Station 43 and Station 8 BLS were dispatched to an MVA at the intersection of Routes 209 and 115 in Brodheadsville. Units on scene found a two car MVA with all patients self extricated. Station 43 Flareburners assisted with traffic control while Station 8 handled patient care.

Brush Fire- Hypsie Gap Road 3/27/2006

Station 43 was alerted to a brush fire on Hypsie Gap Road. Given that the caller was unable to tell how big it was, Station 27 (Jackson Township) was added to the call. The fire was located right off of the road. Both departments were able to make a quick knockdown.

Email Notifications

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Burn Ban In effect

If you live in Chestnuthill Township there is a burn ban in effect. You cannot burn anything outdoors- that includes in a burn barrel.

From the Thought You Heard it All File

You have to check this out.

Article

Something Positive

This is an email I received the other day.

for one hope you keep up with what you are doing. I am the owner of the house that you and other firemen helped at on august the 2 2005.
I am very grateful for your pictures, and all the help that you and your "Brothers" did that day.I believe that showing the pictures as you have been doing will help some people understand what you go through. To be a Volunteer, takes time away from your family, work,and times you could be doing other things.
I thank you for the sacrifice.
I have family that is in other states and for them to see what happened that day gave them an insight into what our family went through. I was not interested in taking pictures that day, but your site has given us the opportunity to see some of what was happening.

THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND I HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE WITH YOUR SITE AND WITH THE PICTURES.
Many times firemen do not get the chance to see what happens after a rebuild. You and your "Brothers" are welcome at our house any time.

God Bless
Jim Gilbert

Good Photos From Toronto

These are from a fire in toronto- make sure you take a look through them all. This is why the roof should be laddered as well as taking the proper tools with you. A hose line wouldnt hurt either, but take it in with you- dont try to pass it through a second story window. And don't forget proper PPE. I don't know how these guys turned out, but hopefully they are OK.

Toronto Fire Pics

Updated Call Log

3/10/2006
medical- Sun Valley
Brush Fire- Mcalhaney
Medical-Sun Valley
Brush- Robin Hood Drive
Brush- Old Route 115

3/11/2006
Medical- Long Woods Drive
Medical- Long Woods Drive
Brush- Smith Hill Road
Brush- Turkey Ridge Road

3/12/2006
Dwellling Fire- Blossom Ave.

3/13/2006
Auto Alarm- Chestnuthill Manor
Auto Alarm- Chestnuthill Manor
MVA- Pheasant Run

3/15/2006
Medical
MVA- Merwinsburg Road
Chimney Fire- Blue Ridge Road

3/16/2006
Medical Route 715

3/17/2006
Brush Fire- Toll Road
RIT- Carbon County
Medical- Timber Lane

3/18/2006
Medical
Brush
Brush Fire- Jonas Road

3/19/2006
Medical
Brush- Rocky Mountain Drive North

3/20/2006
Medical
RIT - Carbon County

Year To Date: 216

3/15/2006-MVA on Merwinsburg Road

At about 1500 Hours, the West End Flare Burners were called out for traffic control at a non injury MVA on Merwinsburg Road. Thanks to FP Mike Manfre for the photos.

Few More Pics from James Court

These were sent to me by Dave Koerner from Station 27 Jackson Township. I always encourage readers to send me any photos they have.





West End Juniors


Kunkletown JR Firefighters Ashley Sherer and Denise Overpeck after the fire

Site Downtime

Do to an issue with Blogger who hosts this site there was some down time over the last day or so. Hopefully they have corrected their problems.

More info on Route 33 Crash

Taken from www.poconorecord.com


Effort man ID'd in fatal crash on Rt. 33

Catherine RodriguezPocono Record WriterMarch 16, 2006
The man killed in a fiery accident on Route 33 in Hamilton Township on Monday has been identified.Glen C. Osti, 41, of Effort, was killed instantly when his car hit the right rear bumper of a truck tractor that was on the shoulder of Route 33 north. The car caught fire after the crash with Osti still inside.Monroe County Coroner Dave Thomas pronounced Osti dead at the scene of the crash. He said that Osti was dead before the car caught fire and was not burned to death.

The driver of the truck, 23-year-old Jeremy E. Mitcheltree of Dewart, PA was not injured in the crash.Police are still investigating why Osti's car left the road, including the possibility that Osti may have misjudged his location on the road in Monday morning's dense fog. Osti leaves a wife and three children.He is the 10th casualty of Poconos highway accidents in the past 11 weeks.

3/13/06- Overturned Auto

Station 43 and Station 8 BLS were dispatched to a reported overturned MVA on Pheasant Run Road just in from Merwinsburg Road. Units on scene found all parties self extricated. Station 8 assumed patient care. Station 43 handled traffic control.

Update

Over the past couple of days I have heard from many of my readers. Some of these people know me on a personal level, some don't and some I email with from other web sites. 99% of the feedback I have received regarding this matter has been positive. It appears that the 1% of the world that is upset know the two that were killed that night.
I have been called every name in the book and been threatened several times. I have been accused of putting false statements as well as peoples names on my site. There are no false statements. As far as names, they are all taken from local news sites and referenced in the post. Names and factual information is released by the Pennsylvania State Police, so if there is an issue as far as what info the media gets, I suggest that you take it up with them.

I have removed the photos involved. I do not feel that I did anything wrong in posting these photos. I suggest you check out one of the thousands of other sites out there that post incident photos, probably the largest being firehouse.com. Just do a google search of "fatal accident photos"and over 9 MILLION links come up. - here is a similar picture from the washingtonpost.com http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/02/AR2006030200695.html
Or check out http://www.1strespondernews.com/index.aspx. This is a site that I have sent photos to before. There are many picturs on there of people "faces" being treated, extricated from cars as well as fatal MVA's. With the availability of the internet these things are all over the world, not just my site.

Feedback I Received

I just received a comment to one of my posts from a few months back. It was of a fatal MVA that we responded to. Here is the Link: Post

Here is the comment I received:

Its been almost six months and I am now strong enough to address you..Mr Volunteer firefighter first of all,let me tell you something Mister. Do you really want to know what we all think about your site.I'll begin by first saying that I pray to the lord up above, that there arent any other volunteer firefighters as low as yourself. If you wanted so badly to be a journalist or a professional photographer for a slimeball no name newspaper, than you should of done so. If you think for one minute that what you are doing is a service to the public you are wrong. You are a poor excuse for a human being.You say all opinions are yours and whomever doesnt like them too bad. Did you ever experience the pain and suffering of losing a loved one? Especially to a horrific accident like this one...You have alot of nerve trying to gain glory and fame off of someones loss of a loved one. You are a sick individual..You are not a reporter, and aside from all of your facts being false and totally distasteful you had absolutelty no....permission from us family members to display these photos on your site..You mister volunteer firefighter did not even know at the time that you had these pictures on your site for the world to view..that the families who lost their loved ones where not even notified yet by the proper authorities that we had lost our loved ones.You make me sick. Does a sheet over a vehicle usually mean there is someone still in the vehicle that has passed away? Oh, but I know you dont care..but I sure do...so before you go around taking some more of your discussting and distasteful pictures and following up with your fabricated statements..you should find something more productive to do with your time, than cause extra and pain and suffering to the families who have lost their loved ones in this manner.I hope the next time you go to use your camera it doesnt work, and the rest of the world can be spared the pain caused by a jerk like you.

I am always looking for feedback whether positive or negative. I assume this person related to one of the people who died in this accident.

First off let me say that I do not know what this person is talking about regarding "fabricated statements" The only comment I made is that it "appeared" that one car crossed the center line. Further more you call me a "jerk" for putting these photos up here. While I am truly sorry for your families loss, this is what is going on in our community. I never claimed to be a reporter of any sort. Anyone of the dozens of "gawkers" that were at this crash could have taken photos and put them on the internet. I as a volunteer firefighter for "your" community. I leave my family when ever there is a call - I dont ask what color the person is, are they nice, whose fault is it, I just go, along with every other person on my department and for that matter every other fire and EMS worker in the country.

If anyone else wants to comment feel free. I look foward to hearing what everyone else has to say. Maybe I am a truly horrible person. But just remember this horrible person may be saving your life some day.

Here is another one I just received:
P.S. IF YOU ARE SO BORED AND HAVE SO MUCH EXTRA TIME ON YOUR HANDS YOU SHOULD USE THAT TIME TO APOLOGIZE TO ALL THE FAMILIES THAT YOU HAVE CAUSED EXTRA PAIN AND SUFFERING TO. WE , THE FAMILIES ARE TRYING TO HEAL AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE JUST MAKING OUR TRADGIC AND HORRIFIC LOSSES WORSE. WHILE YOUR AT IT WHY DONT YOU POST SOME PICS OF YOURSELF, TO SO WE WILL ALL MAKE SURE THAT IF WE ARE EVER GOD FORBID IN NEED OF ANY SORT OF HELP OR ASSISTANCE FROM ANY OF THE VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AT STATION 43 WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE NOT THERE SNAPPING PICTURES OF OUR MISHAPS, OR MISFORTUNES..CAUSE WE SURE AS HELL, WOULDNT WANT YOU THERE IN OUR TIME OF NEED!

I did not force you to come to this site. You have chosen to come to this site thru a google or other search engine or been reffered to it by someone who has. If you did an internet search of other sites similar to mine you will find hundreds if not thousands of them out there. Again, I am sorry for your families loss. If you do not want me to respond to your home give me your address and I will stay at home with my family.

Here is some feedback I received from Joe at Firewhirl

I read your original post, all of the comments, and your response post.

I’m not sure that the person that sent you this comment really understands what your blog is about. I’m guessing that because this incident is very painful for them, they don’t see the positive side of posting these pictures. Here are my thoughts about your blog:

First, is can be used as a training tool for firefighters across the country. Seeing pictures from an incident and then reading about the events of the incident can reinforce good rescue/firefighting techniques. It can also point out the areas that they need to improve in so that they can accomplish their mission of saving lives and property while keeping their firefighters safe.

Second, it is a record of the incidents that your department responds to. The internet is allowing fire departments to quickly and efficiently put together a record of the incidents they respond to, including pictures from the scene, so that all members of the department have quick and easy access to those records.

Third, it can be used by the general public to see what types of incidents the fire department in their area responds to. This gives them a better understanding of what the fire department does and shows them what kind of training and equipment are required to respond effectively to these incidents. It also reinforces safety lessons with the public so that they don’t have these types of incidents themselves.

Lastly, it is a place where you can record your personal observations about a part of your life that is important to you. The great thing about the U.S. is that you are free to post your thoughts and pictures on your website without government interference.

Perhaps if the person understood these points, they may not be so angry with what you have posted.

Engineer Dave Sheller is Getting Married

A small "bachelor party" was held for Dave Sheller. Here is a picture of his last dance as a single man. I had to do some editing to keep this site PG-13. Congrats to Dave and his Finacee.

Firefighter Poem

Not sure who the author of this so if anyone knows let me know so I can give proper credit:

Edited 3/14/2006:
From Joe at Firewhirl he gave me the following info:
Here is the article from The Daily News covering the memorial service for the two firefighters killed in the Black Sunday fire.
Her voice cracking ever so slightly, an 11-year-old girl brought a firehouse full of big men to tears yesterday with a heart-wrenching poem about the day her father went to work to ride his red truck and never came home.
Lt. Curtis Meyran's daughter Angela proved she was every bit as brave as her dad as she faced a crowd of hundreds at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Black Sunday inferno that killed two firefighters and injured four others

My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck, And when he'd go to work each night, he'd say, "Mother wish me luck".
Then Dad would not come home again, 'til sometime the next day, But the thing that bothered me most, was the things some folks would say.
A fireman's life is easy, he eats and sleeps and plays, And sometimes he don't fight a fire for days and days and days.
When I first heard these comments, I was too young to understand Cause I knew, when people had trouble Dad was there to lend a hand.
Then my father went to work one day and kissed us all good-bye, But little did we realize, that night, we all would cry.
My father gave his life that night, when the floor gave way below, And I wondered why he'd risk his life, for someone he didn't know.
But now I realize, the greatest gift a man could give, Is to lay his life upon the line, so that someone else may live.
So as we go from day to day, and we pray to God above, Say a prayer for your local fireman, he may save the one you love.

Fatal MVA- Route 33

There was a fatal car vs. tractor trailer on Route 33 near the on ramp to 80 West in Bartonsville, this morning. Call came over as MVA with possible fire- was upgraded to with entrapment. Coroner was called shortly there after. I will try to get some info on this from the local news agencies as they post it.

What were they Thinking

This just shows we must always use our brains- even in training. I am sure the community that this took place in has a lot of faith in their department.

Firefighter Mishap

News Article

from www.poconorecord.com


Police investigating cottage fire in Hamilton
March 09, 2006State Police at Swiftwater are seeking information about a fire at Owl's Nest Cottages on Greenview Drive in Hamilton Township.Police said that on March 5 at about 5:45 a.m., a fire occurred on the front porch of an occupied cottage. The tenant, known only as "Rob," was forced to run through the flames to escape the fire.Neighbors helped to fight the fire with water and extinguishers until Blue Ridge Hook and Ladder Fire Department arrived to extinguish the fire. The cottage itself was saved.

State Police Deputy Fire Marshal Trooper Shawn Hilbert responded to the scene to do a fire scene examination and found that the owner had already cleaned up the entire scene, making it impossible to determine the origin and cause of the fire.Based on the fire company's observations and the information that was available, the fire marshal believes the fire was intentionally set.State Police are asking that anyone with any information about the fire or who may know the tenant named "Rob" is asked to call State Police at Swiftwater at 570 839-7701.-- Catherine Rodriguez

Guess they didnt know we were the first FD dispatched to this.

Rollover-3/7/06- Long Mountain Road

From poconorecord.com

A crash on Long Mountain Road in Polk Township on March 7 sent a young man to the hospital with injuries.According to police, Kordell Nesbitt of Saylorsburg was traveling south on Long Mountain Road when he lost control of his 1998 Chrysler Sebring in the gravel and then hit a tree with the passenger side if the car. The car went into a ditch and rolled over onto its roof. Nesbitt was taken to Pocono Medical Center by West End Ambulance for treatment of neck and back injuries. It is not known if Nesbitt was wearing a seat belt.

Updated Call Log

2/25/2006
Brush fire- Rolling Woods Drive

2/26/2006
Medical- Bonser Drive
Auto Alarm- Mcalhaney Road

2/27/2006
Medical- Sierra View
Medevac Landing- Route 115

2/28/2006
Auto Alarm- Lower Middle Creek Road

3/1/2006
Auto Alarm- Cherry valley Road
MVA- Route 209 and 115
Brush Fire- Melody Lane
Chimney Fire- Rolling Pines Drive

3/2/2006
MVA- Route 715
MVA- Bartonwoods Court
Medical
Unknown Fire- Gilbert Road
MVA- Route 115 and Valley Road
MVA Sugar Hollow Road
Medical- Johns Road

3/3/2006
Medical Route 209
Medical- Shop Rite
CO Alarm
Medical- Grand Mesa Drive
Medical Sierra View

3/4/2006
Dwelling- James Court
MVA- Silver Valley Road
MVA- Skyview Circle
Chimney Fire- Rocky Mountain Drive North

3/5/2006
Dwelling- Greenview Dirve
Fire Police- Effort Neola Road
Brush Fire- Sierra View

3/6/2006
Medical- Merwinsburg Road

3/7/2006
MVA - Effort Neola Road
Auto Alarm- Route 209
Medical Chipperfield Drive
MVA- Long Mountain Road
Year to Date: 189

Photos of James Court Fire

Thanks to FP Mike Manfre for these:











FF John Debell and FF Danny Rinaldo


Breaking down the dump tank or as the Pocono Record calls it a "kiddie pool".

Two Working Fires in Two Days

Well I guess the lull in the action has caught up to us. On Saturday Station 43 was dispatched to assit Station 23 with a working dwelling fire on James Drive in Ross Township.
On Sunday we asked Station 23 along with Station 39 (Sun Valley) to assist us with a working fire off of Greenview Drive.
I wasn't able to make either of these- will look for some photos.
Below is the article from the Pocono Record on the James Drive job:
The second fire, at 3488 James Drive in Ross Township, was apparently started by a kerosene heater in the garage where family members were working, according to Blue Ridge Fire Department Chief Leon Clapper.

The fire quickly engulfed the house.

Firefighters had to draw water from a pond three miles away to fill tanker trucks which carried it to the fire scene. The water was then off-loaded into a portable tank that resembles an old-fashioned square kiddie pool so pumper trucks could draw it to pour on the fire.

There were no injuries.

Firefighters from Blue Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, West End Volunteer Fire Company and Kunkletown Volunteer Fire Department responded.

The family's name was not released.

The Red Cross was called to assist the family with lodging, food and clothing.

I love the part about comparing the dump tanks to a kiddie pool.

3/2/2006- Portland,PA MVA

These photos were sent to me by FF/EMT Chris Dotter. They are of an accident in Portland, PA area on Route 611. Amazingly there was only one minor injury.

Another Car Vs. Tree

Station 43 was responding to a reported Car vs. Pole on Route 115 near valley Road when 43-Portable-Mike came upon a Car Vs. Tree on Sugar Hollow Road. 43-4-4 diverted to the Sugar Hollow Road Call as there was possibility of entrapment. 43-4-4 arrived on scene and found a single car vs. tree with heavy damage on the passenger side. The drivers door was open and the patient was removed to the care of Station 8 ALS. Good thing there wasn't a passenger in this car or we would have been cutting some more. This accident was just like the one we had earlier in the day but the opposite side of the car.

SUV Vs. Tree with Entrapment

Stations 27 Jackson Township and 43 were dispatched to an MVA with reported entrapment on Route 715 in the area of Campanella's. Units on scene confirmed the pin job and went to work. A roof flap was completed as well as a dash roll. The weather conditions made this an interesting job.

Busy Day in The West End

After several days of wondering whether my pager was broken we finally got some calls. The one most worthy of some photos was an MVA at the intersection of Route 115 and Route 209.
After clearing there we had a call for a small brush fire which was extinguised by the home owner. Then we got called out for a chimney fire on Rolling Pines Dr. Fire was out upon our arrival.

Here are some photos of the MVA

Greg Dorn Receives a Major Award

2/21/2006-
PA Senator Pat Browne and members of the Monroe County Council came to the West End Fire House to give FF Greg Dorn an award for his herioc act of pulling a man from a burning car on Route 715. Congratulations Greg.