Engine 5-5 is off to Guardian Fire Apparatus for some much needed work. Our aging pumper/tanker will be out of service for approximately 2-3 months as it undergoes a "refurbishment" process, which will include body, engine, and pump work, new paint from the metal up, a new electrical system, new LED warning lights, and minor cab work. This refurb will help maintain our fleet by giving Engine 5-5 an extra estimated 8 to 15 years of life by saving maintenance and safety costs for the department's overall long term strategy.

Be sure to stop back every now and then, as we will put pictures and update the status of Engine 5-5's work as it progresses. 

At 17:03 hrs (5:03 pm), St. 5 was dispatched to southbound Rt. 202 in the area of Rt. 29 for an accident with injuries. Within minutes, Ambulance 5-2, Engine 5-2, and Traffic 5 made their response.  Engine 5-2 arrived and advised that the accident was southbound just short of the Rt. 29/Great Valley off ramp and involved 4 cars blocking.

Ambulance 5-2 transported 2 patients in stable condition to Paoli Memorial Hospt.

All units were cleared by 17:40 hrs (5:40 pm)

Story and photos by Mike Schon

Apparatus: Engine 5-2, Ambulance 5-2, Traffic 5, Tredyffrin Police, Federal Protective Service, PennDOT

At 20:29 hrs (8:29 pm), St. 5 ambulance was dispatched to northbound Rt. 29 north of Dickson Dr for an accident with unknown injuries. Within a minute, Chief 5 (K. Hurley) and Ambulance 5-1 made the response.

Upon arrival, Chief 5 advised that 2 cars had hit head on a curve of Rt. 29 better known as "Dead Man's Curve." After investigation, EMS decided to upgraded the call and bring additional resources to the scene.  Engine 5-2, Engine 5-3, and Squad 5 along with Medic 4-1 and 4-2 (Malvern) went enroute to assist. Asst. 5 (E. Nowaczyk) established command and requested St. 5 and St. 61 (Kimberton) fire police shut down rt. 29 and assist with traffic control. Firefighters secured hazards and debris while assisting with patient packaging and care.

Ambulance 5-1 with Medic 4-1 transported 1 patient in stable condition to Paoli Memorial Hospt.

All units were taken up and available by 21:55 hrs (9:55 pm). 

Story by Mike Schon. Pictures by Kevin Skymba and Mike Schon

Apparatus:

• St. 4: Medic 4-1, medic 4-2
• St. 5: Engine 5-2, Engine 5-3, Squad 5, Ambulance 5-1, Traffic 5
• St. 61: Traffic 61

At 23:34 hrs (11:34 pm), Station 5 was dispatched to southbound Rt. 202 north of Rt. 29 for an accident. Supplemental information stated that the wreck involved a tractor trailer vs a sedan, with a fuel leak in progress.

Firefighter/Photographer Mike Schon was first to arrive on scene along with the Pennsylvania State Police and confirmed the report of tractor trailer blocking the Southbound lanes of 202 with an active leak in progress with approximately 40 gallons of fuel already on the roadway. Due to a manpower shortage and Station 2 (Berwyn) being available after returning from another call, Capt. 5 (J. Temple) requested an engine from St. 2 to assist with the incident. The crews from Rescue 5 and Engine 2-3 secured hazards and established a dam to help contain the spread of the leaking fuel, while applying absorbent pads and oil dry to mitigate fuel already on the ground. Due to the volume of material, Squad 5 with Containment 5 responded to assist with additional supply.

All units were taken up and available by 00:52 hrs (12:52 am) and the incident was turned over to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation and the Pennsylvania State Police.

Story and Photos by Mike Schon

Apparatus:

• St. 2: Engine 2-3
• St. 5: Rescue 5, Squad 5, Containment 5, Ambulance 5-1, Traffic 5

Between June 24thh and June 26th, Southeastern Pennsylvania experienced a series of strong storms which brought gale-force winds, torrential downpours, and constant lighting strikes to the area. Chester County was caught in the middle of this storm, which left hundreds of thousands stranded without power and created thousands of emergencies for emergency personnel to respond to.  

The East Whiteland Fire Company was an instrumental player in assisting local residents with storm responses. Station 5 responded to over 34 emergencies in our district between 1500 hrs (3 pm) June 24th and 2400 hrs (12 am) June 26th, and provided mutual aid assistance to other departments during the storms. With many areas hit hard, responders were sent to emergency after emergency with no rest, totaling over 262 man hours of tireless sacrifice.   

The officer staff of Station 5 would like to give a big THANK YOU to our emergency responders for a job well done. We wish all those affected by the storm may quickly recover.

At 11:37 hrs (11:37 am), Stations 54/56 (Goshen), 4 (Malvern), and 5 were dispatched to the 1100 block of Princeton Lane in the Hershey's Mill Village, East Goshen Township for a reported house fire.

Within minutes, Engine 5-5, Ladder 56, and Deputy 5 (J. Brown) were enroute. While responding, Deputy 5 advised fireboard of a “header” (smoke column) visible from the distance. Deputy 5 arrived on scene and advised of heavy fire showing from the front of the house. Firefighters from Goshen and arrived and started an initial attack on the blaze, while Engine’s 5-3 and 5-5 worked on establishing a water supply and crews assisted with fire suppression and overhaul.

The fire was placed under control approximately a half hour after firefighters arrived, and there were no firefighter or civilian injuries reported. All East Whiteland units were taken up and available by 13:13 hrs (1:13 pm)

Thanks to Station 68 (Valley Forge) for standing by and covering our local while East Whiteland operated on scene at the fire.

Story by Mike Schon. Photos by Rich Constantine (Malvern Fire Co) and Larry McDevitt (Daily Local News)



Command: Chief 54 (G. Everhart), Assistant 56 (C. O’Neil)

Operations: Deputy 5 (J. Brown)

Apparatus:

• St. 4 (Malvern): Engine 4-5, Ladder 4, Ambulance 4-1,  Medic 4-5
• St. 5 (East Whiteland): Engine 5-3, Engine 5-5, Traffic 5
• St. 6 (West Whiteland): Engine 6-1, Engine 6-2, Tower 6
• St. 52 (West Chester): Engine 52-1, Air 52
• St. 54/56 (Goshen): Engine 54-1, Engine 56, Ladder 56, Tower 56, Ambulance 54-1

At 15:08 hrs (3:08 pm), Station 5 Ambulance was dispatched to the 200 block of Phoenixville Pike in front of Great Valley High school for an accident with unknown injuries. Within minutes, Captain 5 (J. Temple) and Ambulance 5-2 responded. Supplemental 9-1-1 calls indicated that a car had struck a fire hydrant and that the hydrant was reportedly “gushing.” With this information, Captain 5 requested Aqua PA to the scene, and added the fire department response to assist. Captain 5 arrived on scene and found an out of control hydrant shooting water 30 feet into the air. Fire/Rescue assisted in securing the area until Aqua PA could arrive, and fire police directed traffic around the incident.

This type of accident is highly unusual, as the hydrants located in Pennsylvania are considered “dry barrel” which means there is no water in the actual hydrant. The valve to access the water is located in the water main under the frost line so that in winter months, the hydrants don’t freeze and burst. The hydrants in the East Whiteland local are also “break away” equipped, so that in the event of an accident, they are supposed to break cleanly away instead of ripping up and breaking the pipe. In this accident’s case, the vehicle hit the hydrant with such force that it dislodged and broke the water main, causing the geyser.

Apparatus: Engine 5-2, Engine 5-3, Squad 5, Ambulance 5-2, Traffic 5

 Story and Photos by Mike Schon

News story on 6ABC:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?section=news&id=7494369&photo=4

The East Whiteland Fire Compnay participated in a large scale drill with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Taskforce Fire Work Group (SEPARTF) in the greater West Chester area on Sunday, June 6th.

The Taskforce is compromised of personnel and resources from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. This is 1 of 9 taskforces that exist in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that are established to provide a coordinated response to large scale emergencies and disasters.

The overall scenario for the day was a simulated natural gas line emergency in the West Chester area causing multiple fires and in turn taxing the local resources to be overcome requiring the activation of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Taskforce.

East Whiteland Engine 5-2 crew’s responded to various emergency scenarios throughout the day, including a simulated building fire. The scenarios were set-up to test the teamwork and efficiency amongst fire companies on each taskforce. It also tested the communications and organizational capabilities of the SEPARTF and in particular the Chester County Department of Emergency Services.

Representatives from FEMA Region III, the Office of the State Fire Commissioner, and PEMA were in attendance to observe and evaluate the drill. State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann commented, "The Southeastern region is the most prepared group of first responders in the Commonwealth due to its commitment to training and ability to come together for a drill like this."

For additional information about the drill contact Patty Mains, Public Information Officer at the Chester County Department of Emergency Services, at 610-344-5000.

For additional information about Station 5’s participation in the drill, contact Michael Schon at mschon@eastwhitelandfire.org

On Monday morning, firefighters headed over to KD Markley Elementary school to visit the second graders and do a fire safety talk.

Firefighters met with the students to discuss home and life safety, such as the importance of "Stop Drop and Roll" and how to safely get out and escape a building on fire. Firefighters also showed off their protective gear so that the kids could be familiar with a firefighter in full protective clothing and air pack, answered questions, and let the students look at one of the fire trucks and the tools firefighters use to save life and property.

Story and Photos by Mike Schon

The members of St. 5 were pleasantly surprised when a $500 donation was presented on behalf of the second grade class.

The members of East Whiteland would like to thank the students and faculty and staff of KD Markley for a fun and informative day, and a very generous donation.

Get info before donating

By Danielle Lynch, Daily Local News
Staff Writer

Saturday, May 22, 2010

The Chester County Fire Chiefs Association wants residents to be aware that professional solicitors have been asking for donations while claiming they are raising funds to help local firefighters.

These organizations act as though they are affiliated with local fire departments, according to Glenn Allison, president of the fire chiefs association. Allison said these solicitations have been conducted by phone and by mail in recent years.

"We want residents to understand that if they want to support local companies, solicitations will come by mail, not by phone," said Allison.

Allison said the fire chiefs association has sought help from Chester County Detectives regarding these incidents in the past.

Chester County Detectives Lt. Joseph Brooks said although these solicitations may come from legitimate charitable organizations, most of the donations made go to the fundraisers while only a small portion help the firefighters.

Brooks recalled how county detectives looked into a case in 2006 after being contacted by Allison regarding the Association for Disabled Firefighters Inc.

Chester County District Attorney Joseph Carroll addressed the public about the Association for Disabled Firefighters in an Oct. 20, 2006, news release. The association was traced back to Santa Ana, Calif.

The association had no connection to any Chester County emergency services organization or fire company, Carroll said. He also noted that, according to the charity's 2004 tax filing, the company raised more than $2 million and used less than $8,000 for "charitable purposes."

"In other words, only 40 cents out of every hundred dollars raised actually goes for the charitable purpose, while the other $99.60 goes to the fundraisers," Carroll said.

The district attorney's office recommended potential donors to any charity to ask the fundraiser specific questions, such as inquiring about the fundraiser's address, phone number and contact name. Also, Carroll urged potential donors to find out in advance how much of their donation will be used by the charity and how much will be spent on operating costs.

"Be skeptical of high-pressure tactics for immediate donations, especially if the solicitor wants to make arrangements to have someone pick up the donation immediately," Carroll said. "Do not give credit card numbers or personal information over the phone when dealing with an unfamiliar organization.

"Legitimate charitable organizations and legitimate fundraisers will not be offended if you ask for an opportunity to confirm information."

Allison said residents interested in donating to their local fire departments or emergency services personnel should visit www.helpfightfire.com.

"We understand times are tough, but we need funding to keep our doors open," Allison said.

To contact staff writer Danielle Lynch, send an e-mail to dlynch@dailylocal.com.