The DFD is happy to announced that we will be hosting an Aerial and Ladder Tower Operations and Placement Training course on July 18 and 19, 2009, conducted by the dynamic instructor Mike Wilbur.  This will be a 12 hour (two day) course with a combination of interactive classroom and hands-on training.  Mike Wilbur is a Lieutenant with Ladder 27 of the FDNY in the Bronx and is known as the "Apparatus Architect" in addition to being a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine and Fire Apparatus Journal.

Please register for this course before July 10, 2009, as there are only 24 spots open.  The cost is $160. per person.  Please see the attachments for the Registration Form and more info.

Tonight, Engine 45 headed to Station 139 (West Bradford Fire Co.) for a standby while the members of West Bradford attended training in West Chester.  The crew from Engine 45 handled two calls during this time; one was for an EMS assist that ended up with a helicopter flight.  The other call was for an automatic fire alarm.

Congratulations to Alert Fire Co. members Tim Larkin, Karl Stevens, and Brett Wesson who graduated from Downingtown East High School.  We also extend our congratulations to their parents. 

Tim will be attending Paramedic Training at Delaware County Community College then he will be joining the United States Navy as a Corpsman, while Karl and Brett will both be attending Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in the fall.  Karl will major in Cabinet Making and Brett will major in Carpentry.  Good job and best wishes in your future endeavors.

An additional congratulations to Brett for placing 11th. in the United States in the National High School Carpentry Skills Competition.  Brett represented Pennsylvania in the competition with other high school seniors from 44 other states, last week in Kansas City, MO.

Photos Courtesy of Tom Kelly, IV from the Daily Local News.

It is with a very heavy heart that the members of Alert Fire Company No. 1 , The First West Chester Fire Company and Good Fellowship Ambulance announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Nick Kolokithas, who has been an active member with all three companies.  Nick was taken from us on Wednesday, June 17, 2009.  He leaves behind his wife Stephanie and their unborn child, our hearts and prayers go out to Stephanie and all of Nick’s family. 

Rest In Peace Nick; 
You Will Be Missed by the "A-Team"

 Obituary:

http://www.jamesterryfuneralhome.com/kolokithas.htm

On-line Memorial:

http://www.goodbyes.org/kolokithas/

At 11:07 AM, Engine 45 was dispatched as the second due engine with Station 49 (East Brandywine Fire Co.) and Engines 46-1 and -2 (Minquas Fire Co. No. 2) to a house fire in the 200 block of Township Rd. in East Brandywine Twp.

Deputy 49 (Hughes) arrived on location with fire showing from the rear of the single family dwelling.  He ordered Ladder 49 to lay a five inch supply line from the end of the road to the fire scene.  Engine 45 was the second apparatus to arrive on scene and supplied Ladder 49.   As the fire continued to grow due to being fueled by propane tanks, Deputy 49 requested the "Working Fire Dispatch" with extra Tankers, which consisted of Engines 48-1 and -5 (Glen Moore Fire Co.), Engines 47-2 and -5 (Lionville Fire Co.), Engine 33-5 (Honey Brook Fire Co.), Tanker 39 (West Bradford Fire Co.) and Ambulance/Medic 46.

Engine 46-1 established the water supply from a fire hydrant several miles away and continued to fill all of the tankers during the operation.  All of the crews worked together to extinguished the fully involved house.  The Chester County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

 

Photo's are courtesy of Steven Young (Minquas) and Josh Fortez (Glen Moore)

At 6:58 AM the DFD was dispatched to the first of four calls for the day.  This first call was for an automatic fire alarm at 275 W. Uwchlan Ave. in East Caln Twp.  As Engine 45 was responding, during a severe thunderstorm with heavy rain, at 07:08 AM it was redirected to assist Station 49 (East Brandywine Fire Co.) with a building fire, caused by a lightening strike, as the second due engine company at Village Hardware on Horseshoe Pike in Guthriesville.

The crew from Engine 45 assisted the Engine 49 crew with the fire attack and then salvage and overhaul.  Tower 45 arrived on location and the crew elevated the tower to roof and placed ground ladders to the front of the building.  The crew stood-by with the team from Ladder 49, however no roof work was needed, due to the quick work of the Engine 49 and 45 team.  Also on location was Engine and Rescue 38 (Thorndale Fire Co.) and Ambulance 46-1 (Minquas Fire Co. No. 2).

As the heavy rain continued throughout the day and street and creek flooding started to occur, the DFD responded to Dick's Sporting Goods for a malfunctioning fire alarm and then an odor investigation at 500 Washington Ave., which was a result of the increasing ground water at a nearby gas station.

The efforts of a week working on Brush 45 to get it ready for the 89th Annual Lancaster County Fireman's Convention and Parade paid-off!  The crew of Lt. Jeff Stevens and firefighters Karl Stevens and Mike Lam traveled to Quarryville for the parade and they were awarded First Place for Best Appearing and Equipped Brush Truck by the Delaware Valley Judges Assoc.  With the First West Chester Fire Co. and Robert Fulton Fire Co. placing second and third, respectively.

Brush 45 was in some stiff competition with approximately 12 brush trucks of all shapes and sizes.  The crew had an opportunity to visit and compare the our truck and tools with the other trucks in our category before the parade.  While after the parade we were able to hang-out with our friends from Christiana, DE.

Congratulations to the Quarryville Fire Co. with their new Pierce Rescue Pumper and thank you for hosting a great parade.

The Downingtown Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 842 and the Downingtown American Legion Post 475 hosted the Annual Memorial Parade today. Some of the highlights of the parade featured the annual DFD Honor Guard, followed by the marching of the current and past DFD Chief Officers. 
  
At the completion of the parade, a ceremony to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle and to those veterans who passed away was held at the Veterans Memorial in Kerr Park.  As part of the ceremony, DFD Chief Miller, Past Chief Lee, Karl Stevens (Alert) and Brie Colbert (Minquas) each placed an antique speaking trumpet of flowers at the base of the World War II Memorial to honor the deceased DFD members who served our country.
 

President Pat Butler had the honor of awarding the Annual Phillip T. Swank Memorial Scholarship to Karl Stevens, this evening at Downingtown East High School.  The $1000. book scholarship is awarded to a student at either Downingtown West or East High School who is a current Active Force member or the son or daughter of a current Active Force member of the Alert Fire Co. who will be attending college in the next semester.

Karl has been an Active Force member since since he was 16 years old, in 2006.  He was also the recipient of the 2006 Rookie of the Year Award.  Karl will be graduating from DEHS and CAT Pickering and will be attending Thaddeus Stevens School of Technology in the fall with a major in Cabinet Making.  Good luck Karl.

Also receiving two awards, at CAT Pickering was our Brett Wesson, for his carpentry skills.  Brett has competed in the high school skills competition this year and has the distinction of being the best high school carpenter in the state of Pennsylvania.  He will be competing in a national competition, "Skills USA" in Kansas City, MO in July.  Brett joined Alert at the age of 17 and also received the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award.  He is currently enrolled in the State and Pro-Board Firefighter I Certification class. 

Brett will also be attending Thaddeus Stevens School of Technology in the fall with a major in Residential Carpentry.  Good luck Brett.

The company traveled to the West Chester Fire School for training.  The purpose of tonight's training was to practice extinguishing fires, hose line advancement and searching techniques.  We were joined by Christiana Fire Company of Delaware.  Alert and Christiana assist each other with standbys for special events throughout the year.  This was a good opportunity to do some joint training.

Rescue 45 was dispatched for an auto accident with entrapment and involving fire on Rt. 113.  Brush 45 was on the way back from the Fire Expo in Harrisburg and responded direct.  Brush 45 arrived first and the crew extinguished the vehicle that was on fire.  When the Rescue arrived the crew from the Brush joined in and assisted with the extrication.  Two patients were taken to trauma centers due to their injuries.  One additional patient was taken to a local hospital.

Tonight's training focused on vehicle fires.  Each member had taken turns practicing extinguishing techniques.  Thanks to Servpro for donating the use of the van.

The DFD participated and helped celebrate Kid's Day and Touch a Big Truck Day at the Lowe's Home Improvement Center in East Caln Twp.  Tower and Rescue 45 were on display for several hours and many kids (and parents) had a chance to climb onto the trucks during their visit.  We would like to thank everybody who visted with us.

Tonight, both Alert and Minquas fire companies gathered for a department drill. Each month the department gets together for training. The purpose of the drill was to familiarize each companies members with the different equipment that is carried on each piece of the departments apparatus.