Tuesday, November 27, 2012 The accidents keep coming. On Tuesday afternoon, yet again, another tractor trailer overturned on a King of Prussia highway. This time it was a trailer loaded with automobile starter fluid packaged in aerosol cans on the I-76 westbound ramp heading to route 202 southbound. No injuries or fire was reported, but the fire department was requested to stand-by while the tow truck operator dragged the trailer to a spot where he could upright it and the product could be cleaned up. Under the direction of Assistant Chief 47-3 (M. Gallagher) the crews from Rescue 47, Squad 47 & Squad 48 (Swedeland F.C. was special called) stretched a foam equipped hoseline for protection as well as a back-up hoseline. The crews stood by on scene for approximately two hours until it was deemed safe. Not soon after the KPVFC members returned from the accident stand-by, remaining members at the station were listening to a developing fire that the Norristown Fire Department was operating at. The fire was located in a large 3 story twin on West Main Street, which was converted to a boarding house. Norristown Chief Tom O’Donnell was requesting extra units with one being specifically for a tower ladder apparatus in case the operation went defensive. This brought Tower 47 as well as Engine 47-1 (as an engine simultaneously requested) on the dispatch to assist at the scene. Crews from both Allendale and Beidler Road stations manned both pieces and arrived right behind each other. Norristown Fire Department crews and the immediate mutual aid units had a “good stop” on the fire (as we call it in the business) already as the KPVFC arrived. The Tower Ladder was not needed for the waterway and crews assisted with overhaul operations before returning to service after nearly two hours.
Monday, November 26, 2012 All weekend leading into Monday the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company responded to various vehicle accidents. It started on Black Friday when the KPVFC was dispatched to Mall Boulevard at the entrance to mall property near the Atrium Building. Lafayette EMS and Upper Merion P.D. were already on scene requesting rescue. Rescue 47 (M. Gallagher) responded with 4 firefighters immediately after dispatch as members were manning the station during the “mall holiday”. Crews encountered one victim trapped in the passenger side of a 4 door sedan type vehicle. The crew went in service by stabilizing the vehicle and using the Jaws of Life to extricate the victim. Due to deep impingement crews from Rescue 47 and Squad 47 used the hydraulic “spreaders” and “cutters” to remove the “B” post and both passenger side doors. The victim was removed from the vehicle in 15 minutes upon arrival. Sunday morning the vehicle accident with entrapment was dispatched for the Schuylkill Expressway eastbound side bringing the “highway response”. Squad 48 (Swedeland) accessed the scene first since it was only a few hundred feet west of the Gulph Mills interchange. Deputy Chief 48 (Orangers) confirmed no entrapment with two patients requiring EMS transport. Engine 47-2 & Squad 47 remained available while Rescue 47 and Squad 48 awaited on the scene for Lafayette Ambulance to transport both patients. Monday afternoon the KPVFC was dispatched along with the Berwyn Fire Company to Route 422 at the Route 202 ramp for a vehicle fire. First arriving units found a tractor trailer on its side with no entrapment or vehicle fire. What the crews found was that the truck was transporting vehicle batteries, which cracked open, and starting mixing with the leaking diesel fuel from the tractor. Crews worked to control the runoff and communicated with the county hazmat chief (chief 81) concerning the mixing chemicals. All crews except engine 47-2 were released in about an hour. Engine 47-2 stood by for an additional four hours while they awaited the environmental clean-up crew.
Monday's Accident Rt. 422 to 202
Friday's Accident on Mall Blvd.
Saturday, November 24, 2012 The officers and members of the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company send our condolences to the West Chester Fire Department and the family of Captain Chris Good. Captain Good, of the Good Will Fire Company, died in the line of duty following a house fire earlier this week. For funeral arrangements and further details please visit the following links: http://www.ccfirechiefs.org/apps/public/news/newsView.cfm?News_ID=95 http://pafirenews.net/messageboard/index.php?topic=8180.0
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 The King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company is currently on its way to 100 emergencies for the month of November at the time of this posting. Kudos to the members of the company that have sacrificed their own time to answer the numerous emergencies so far. Included in the emergencies so far, and within the previous week, the KPVFC responded to a cooking mishap at the Valley Forge Towers (see attached photo). With Thanksgiving coming this is a good time to remind everyone of the hazards of cooking. Did you know Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment? Here are some tips to keep in mind courtesy of the NFPA: - Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stovetop so you can keep an eye on the food. - Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently. - Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away. - Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns. - Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags. - Keep knives out of the reach of children. - Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffeemaker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling of the counter within easy reach of a child. - If using a deep fryer for your Turkey use it outside and far away from a deck or the house. Don’t fill the cooking oil to the top leaving room in the tank for the Turkey. - Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.
Sunday, November 18, 2012 While most people spend their Sunday mornings sleeping late because of an off day from work, the volunteer firefighters were awakened at 6:30am for an accident on the Schuylkill Expressway eastbound side near the Gulph Mills exit. Rescue 47 (Durland) and Squad 47 (Smull) arrived back to back to find a single vehicle accident with it on its side. The occupant was able to self extricate and the members from the KPVFC secured power to the vehicle while controlling the fluids leaking from it. Station 48 (Swedeland) was released from their staging point and the KPVFC cleared soon after.
Thursday, November 15, 2012 At a recent Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors meeting two close friends of the KPVFC were formally recognized for their heroic actions. Former KPVFC member Joe Burkurt and current member Bill Metzler, who work in the township public works department, are credited with saving the life of a woman while the apartment she occupied in King Manor was on fire. In September of this year, the two gentlemen were performing their regular duties as township workers when they received the alert on Firefighter Metzler’s pager. They were just blocks away and responded directly to the scene where they learned the women was still trapped inside the fire apartment. Unable to make access to the apartment due to smoke conditions, they both quickly sized up the porch roof that allowed access to the rear bedroom, which the occupant was trapped in. Joe and Bill were able to ascend to the roof, without a ladder or protective gear, and kicked out the window they believed led to the occupant. To their delight the occupant was still conscious and they gained her attention by yelling through the smoke. After Joe and Bill kicked over a dresser that blocked the window, the occupant managed to make it to the window. They quickly lifted her out of the window to the exterior of the building and free from further danger. Firefighter Metzler is a former chief of the Swedeland Fire Company (Station 48) and recently joined the KPVFC after relocating residence within the township. Former Firefighter Burkurt ran at the KPVFC during the 80s through the early 90s and was a big part of the engineering staff. Congratulations Joe and Bill on the well deserved recognition.
Monday, November 5, 2012 For the third week in a row, the volunteers from the King of Prussia Fire Company utilized their advanced rescue skills to remove an individual from a crashed vehicle. This time, a driver ran his vehicle into a row of bushes, lodging the passenger side of his car up in the air on a 45 degree angle. The patient was trapped in the driver seat of the vehicle with a decreased level of consciousness. Lafayette Ambulance paramedics and Upper Merion Police arrived and requested the rescue assignment dispatch. The KPVFC responded and placed eleven state certified vehicle rescue technicians on the scene. Rescue 47 arrived and quickly stabilized the vehicle using Junkyard Dog rescue struts and cribbing. Squad 47 arrived, placed a charged 1.75" hoseline in service, and assisted the Rescue's crew. Due to the position of the vehicle and the location of the patient inside, the driver side door could not be fully opened to facilitate extrication. Personnel from Rescue 47 had to use the Hurst "Jaws of Life" spreaders and cutters to create an extrication pathway to remove the patient. First, the rear driver side door was removed from its hinges. Next, the B pillar of the vehicle was cut at the roof rail and then folded down toward the ground. With an extrication pathway established, 47 personnel assisted EMS with removing the patient onto a backboard. Lafayette paramedics treated and transported the patient to a local hospital.
Monday, November 5, 2012 Congratulations to the five members that completed Truck Company Operations I this past weekend at the Delaware County Emergency Services Training Center. Despite two nine hour days, one being sick, a long week from the Hurricane Sandy fire call emergencies, two of the participating members with kids and a few also attending our annual banquet on Saturday all had a good time. The class builds off skills learned in basic firefighting school and is intended to show advanced techniques to experienced firefighters. The weekend skills consisted of forcible entry, search and rescue with victim removal down a portable ladder, vent, enter and search, roof cutting and ventilation to name a few. These members join the others who took the class in-house a few years ago. It is especially nice seeing the senior firefighters of the company honing their veteran skills by taking this physically demanding class. Great job again to the members, who are already looking to take Truck Company Operations II.
Sunday, November 4, 2012 The King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company held its 62nd annual Awards Banquet on November 3rd at the company’s Banquet Hall located at the Allendale Road Station. The annual event is held to honor the performance of the members during the past year and to recognize and honor the special performance of volunteers for their dedication to serving Upper Merion Township. With over 120 people in attendance, Chief William Jenaway welcomed the group which included numerous Upper Merion Township Supervisors, Township Manager Designee David Kraynick, State Representative Tim Briggs, State Senator Daylin Leach as well as representatives from several neighboring fire and EMS agencies. Chief Jenaway recognized the members for their efforts to the community. He reminded all in attendance of the 700 calls for service over the past year and investment of over 25,000 person-hours over the course of the year, involving fire / rescue calls, training, public education, equipment / station maintenance and attending / performing administration duties to keep the fire company operational. The awards presented were as follows; Chaplain’s Award – Mark Shepperd Rankin Taylor Memorial Length of Service Award – Joe Bartlett Jr. Clarence Silcox Memorial Fire Fighter of the Year Award – Larry Durland Fire Chief’s Award – The 2012 Fire Officers Donald “Tippy” Beck Memorial Presidents Award – David Gallagher John Costello Memorial Chief Engineer's Award – Matt Keszczyk Rookie of the Year Award – Chris Walter Fire Police of the Year Award – Gary Grayshaw Fire Safety Education Award – Vince DiSanto and Sarah Bretz Junior Firefighter of the Year Award – Andrew Gray Scholarship Award – Sarah Bretz Business Supporter of the Year Award – The King of Prussia Rotary Club Resident Supporter of the Year Award – Charles Rossi (Member of Upper Merion Twp. Fire & Rescue Services Board) In addition, retiring Township Manager Ronald Wagenmann was recognized as the ninth “Honorary Fire Chief” of the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company for his 30 years of support to the organization. Deputy Chief Marty Menago and Chief Engineer Fred Reigel were recognized for their contributions to the company as they chose not to seek an officer position for the next term.
Friday, November 2, 2012 A home fire impacts the life of an American family every 85 seconds. By providing early warning and critical extra seconds to escape, smoke alarms cut in half your family’s risk of dying in a home fire, but only IF they work. Make a lifesaving change in your household by changing the batteries in your smoke detector to ensure it works. November 4, 2012 we will set our clocks one hour back for daylight savings time. The KPVFC wants to remind you that this is a great time to change the battery in your smoke detectors. A smoke detector should be located on every level of the home and within each sleeping area or bedroom. Also, if you have a carbon monoxide detector the battery in this device should be changed as well. If you do not have a carbon monoxide detector, please purchase one from the hardware store and place it near the sleeping area of the home.
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