Volunteers Serving Springfield Township
Flourtown Fire Company joined with Oreland Fire Company and Wyndmoor Hose Company to march in the Annual Arthur V. Savage Post 100 Memorial Day Parade. Honoring those who lost their lives defending our freedoms.
The Colonial Regional Technical Rescue Task Force, of which Flourtown Fire Company is a participating member, held a Department of Homeland Security authorized drill on Sunday, November 20, 2011. Taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, the companies gathered at Spring Mill Fire Company and were soon dispatched in an order as they would be in a real emergency to a local train crossing and station. The scenario involved a commuter train striking a vehicle, and a mass causality and injured situation. There was also a separate law enforcement element that involved a terrorist bomb scenario, but that was held on a separate car a bit further down the tracks from the fire companies’ drill.
Flourtown personnel, Assistant Chief Chris Buckley, Captain Chris Manning, Leitenant John Redington,and firefighters: Dean Seltzer, Kevin Davis, Tim Ernst, Tyler Buckley, and Sal Santangelo all took part in stabilizing victims and extricating them from the train and the severely-damaged vehicle. Chief George Wilmot and his daughter, Lexi Wilmot were part of the scenario’s observation team and “victim” volunteers. Photos by Bob Wilmot, Jr.
Squad 6 and Engine 6 responded to a three car vehicle accident on Skippack Pike (Route 73) just past Joshua Road on Monday, September 5, 2011. The driver of a white SUV, complaining of having difficulty breathing, was extricated from the vehicle. Squad 6 popped the driver’s door and the patient was removed. All others involved in the accident were out of the vehicles. Utility 6 along with Traffic 29 handled closing down Route 73 until the accident scene could be cleared. Rescue 29 also responded and assisted Flourtown Fire Company on the scene.
Photo by Bob Wilmot, Jr.
Check out our new “Roll Call of Members” page that highlights a different member of the Flourtown Fire Company each month!
As you will see, a lot of us are just like you. Business and trade professionals, students, men, and women.
We are all neighbors and members of the same community, and we encourage you to learn more about us, and in doing so, maybe you will want to submit an application and become a member of Flourtown Fire Company too!
By Tim Ernst, President & Firefighter Flourtown Fire Company
January 6, 2008
The scenario was modeled after building collapses that take place all over the world everyday. It used technology developed after 9/11 and Oklahoma City that allow rescuers the time needed to make progress in this type of emergency and learn what needs to be done. The training scenario involved two victims trapped in a three story building where the second floor partially collapsed onto the first and the third floor completely “pancaking” onto the second. In the end it would take over 50 firefighters, over five hours with hundreds of feet of air hoses, ropes, and many air packs to rescue both victims and it all took place in a 20-foot trailer in the parking lot of Flourtown Fire Company on Sunday.
Personal Protection Equipment Specialists, Inc. from Lincoln University, PA provided the confined space/building collapse trailer to Flourtown, Wyndmoor, Oreland, Wissahickon, Fort Washington, Green Lane fire companies and Springfield Ambulance. The drill began with each firefighter getting their blood pressure and pulse checked by Springfield Ambulance personnel to set a base line. Then after the teams of two or four firefighters donned self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and entered the darkened maze of tilting floors, shifting building debris, wires, and obstacles, where they removed the debris and brought in shoring equipment to inch their way to the victims – their vitals were checked again upon exiting the trailer. According to Chief George Wilmot, III of Flourtown, “We organized the fire companies and ambulance squads as we would in a real emergency and we learned a lot today. It was nice to work together with all the other companies and work side-by-side with their personnel and equipment. The lessons learned today in training will help us acquire the equipment and training needed to further strengthen our response.”
After 22 teams of firefighters had entered the simulator and five hours of crawling on hands and knees through the pitch black maze the two victims were reached, their “injuries” assessed and they were packaged up and removed from the collapse zone. “It really opened our eyes to how many firefighters it takes in such a situation, we had over 100 firefighters here today and for each one that went in, it took 8 to 12 outside supporting them,” said Robin Liberty a firefighter with Flourtown Fire Company. Wilmot concluded, “By assessing the vitals of each firefighter and recording the amount of time they could stay in the hazardous environment on a regular SCBA bottle we learned a great deal about our capabilities. Each company promised to share their photos and videos from today and critique their performance. Everyone I’ve talked to enjoyed the training today, it was a long day, but well worth it.”
