Fire Department News

By Tom Galeota

Someone once told me that complaining about the long, cold winter means you’re getting old. Well, I must be about 150 because I’m really, really waiting for spring. With it, comes new life, warm days cleaner fire trucks and the Fire Department Steak Dinner. The spring dinner will be held on Saturday evening, April 29^th. Steak, pasta, potato, vegetable, salad, rolls, drinks and ice cream will be served. There will be two sittings, one at 5:00 and the other at 6:30. Tickets are available by calling Bruce Davies at 646-4717, Ray Soma at 643-9474 or W. H. Preuss Sons Power Equipment at 643-9492. There might be (no guarantees) tickets available at the door if they do not sell out by reservation. Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for seniors and children under 12. Children under 6 are free. Proceeds will go towards much needed emergency equipment. Please get you’re your tickets early since this event sells out year after year!

The department will once again be selling Easter Plants at the firehouse. Plants will go on sale Thursday, April 13^th and continue through Easter morning or until sold out.

Recently, a headset intercom system was installed in the cab of Engine Tank 334 at a cost of $4,000. Unfortunately, this badly needed system was eliminated from last years town budget due to cutbacks so it was purchased by the department with proceeds from donations and department fundraisers (steak dinners, Easter plants and others). This safety system provides responders with enhancements including allowing clear communications between the emergency dispatcher and driver, officer-in-charge and driver, and between the on-board crew itself. As you might guess, the siren, air horn and engine noises can get extremely loud in the cab and can make it difficult to hear the radio. Critical information is almost always exchanged on the way to the incident. Studies prove that this headset system make both the responders and motoring public safer. An additional $500 of department funds was also used to purchase various rescue tools to replace those that wore out or were broken. Your money was reinvested toward your well-being and ours. A sincere thank you to all who attended our fundraisers.

Congratulations to Jason Preuss, Don Martin and Dale Bonn. Jason and Don are now Firefighter II certified after completing the 168 hour State of Connecticut Firefighter II training course. Dale is now certified Firefighter I after also completing his 168 hour course. Firefighter I includes training in personal protection, the use of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), fire suppression, ladders, ropes, ventilation, overhaul (checking for hot spots after the fire is out) and many other topics. Firefighter II includes diverse topics such as vehicle extrication, hose testing, sprinkler systems, foam applications and pre-incident planning. Both courses include a live-burn at the Connecticut Fire Academy burn facility in Windsor Locks. A live-burn includes wearing approximately 60 pounds of personal protective gear into a very hot, noisy, smoke filled building to find and extinguish a fire or find and rescue someone. What’s the visibility inside? Hold out your hand at arms length. In the building you wouldn’t see your elbow! Not kidding.

Speaking of fires, forest fire season is upon us. Please be careful outside. Forest litter (leaves, branches, twigs, etc) is known as the one-hour fuel. Under the right conditions it can be ignited in as little as one hour after it stops raining. The National Weather Service in Taunton, MA will issue a “Red Flag Warning” when conditions are forecasted as favorable for forest fires. The Red Flag system is sort of like a high tech Smokey the Bear.

Tip of the Month

Gasoline at home. We all have it. We usually store it in a small container somewhere in the garage. Did you know that even in this world of high tech pyrotechnics, many of the spectacular explosions and fireballs you see in the movies and on television are created with relatively small amounts of good ole gasoline?

There are several thousand home gasoline fires each year. Many do not end well. They are caused by unintentional spills, using gasoline to clean or wash parts, gasoline too close to a heat/ignition source, children playing, improper storage or fueling, and using gas to kindle a fire. What’s the most common ignition source? Matches. A gasoline fire can be an instant, unforgiving event. It’s actually the gasoline vapors that burn. You cannot see them and they can unknowingly be all around you. Gasoline has a flash point temperature (will burn or explode by flame) of about -45 degrees. It has an ignition temperature (the temperature at which a hot surface, absent of flame, will cause gas to burn or explode) of about 405 degrees. The muffler on your power equipment gets way hotter than 405 degrees. Here’s what the NFPA and the American Petroleum Institute recommend to help stay safe:

- Keep gasoline out of children’s sight and reach. Children should never handle it. Burns by ignited gasoline are a leading cause of injury to teenage boys.

- If a fire does start while handling gas, leave the area then immediately call for help. Do not try to extinguish it or stop the flow of gas.

- Do not use or store it near ignition sources (electrical devices, oil or gas fired appliances or anything with a pilot flame or spark). Gasoline vapors are invisible and are heavier than air and will creep along the floor.

- Store it outside the home in a garage or shed in a tightly closed metal or plastic container approved by an independent testing lab or local or state fire authorities. Never store it in glass bottles or unapproved plastic containers (milk containers).

- Store only enough gas to power your equipment. Let equipment cool before refueling.

- Don’t smoke within 50 feet of it.

- Fill portable containers outdoors with the container on the ground. Never fill them inside a vehicle or while still in the bed of a pickup truck.

- Never use gasoline inside the home or as a cleaning agent.

- Clean up spills promptly and discard clean-up materials properly.

- Never use gasoline in place of kerosene.

- Use caution when fueling automobiles. Do not get in and out of the automobile while fueling. Although rare, an electrical charge on your body (static electricity) could spark a fire, especially during the dry winter months.

Thank you for reading and please remember. We are here to serve you and we do so with honor and pride. See you at the Memorial Day Parade and Family Day!