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Thursday, February 16, 2023 – Building Fire

Today at 12:55 hours Spring Mill Fire Company No.1 was dispatched to the Building Fire Non-Commercial to the 200 block of Roberts Avenue in the Cedar Heights section of Whitemarsh Township. Along with the mutual aid response from Conshohocken Fire Company No. 2, Plymouth Fire Company No. 1 (Montco 43), Harmonville Fire Company No.1, Barren Hill Volunteer Fire Company

The initial report was from the resident who saw smoke in the basement, the caller was advised to evacuate and that they would be waiting outside for the arrival of Fire.

Assistant 24-3 was the first arriving officer, reporting to County that he had a haze and an odor of electrical on the first floor. Engine 45 along with Chief 45 arrived on scene with a crew of 3, establishing Roberts Command.

Engine 45 and 55 crews entered the building to assess the situation. They discovered that the hot water in the basement was on fire. They secured the power to the unit along with ensuring that the unit no longer had an active fire as well that there was no extension.

It was another job well done by our local first responders.

Wednesday, February 15 – General Rescue

Today at 10:17 hours Spring Mill Fire Company was dispatched for a General Rescue at 1200 River Road, AIM Academy, with the report of a 15-year-old student with their finger stuck inside a pipe of a brick wall.

Squad and Chief 45 with a crew of 4 members responded immediately after dispatch. Deputy 7-1 was initially on-scene confirming the report of a student with their finger stuck inside a pipe on the 3rd floor.

Squad 45 arrived on the scene and its crew gathered hand tools to start the rescue operation to remove the victim’s finger from the pipe. Chief 45 assumed AIM Command during the extrication process. It was determined that the safest extrication method was to utilize hand tools to chip away at the brick and mortar around the pipe. In coordination with Whitemarsh Community Ambulance Association, it was determined that this would be a methodical process considering the patient’s stable condition. Whitemarsh Community Ambulance Association did a great job keeping the patient calm and comfortable during the rescue operation while rescue crews operated to remove the bricks.

After approximately 40 minutes the crews were able to free the patient’s finger from the wall, to make the rescue complete. Whitemarsh Community Ambulance Association transported the victim with the pipe still on their finger to CHOP Philadelphia for further treatment.

It was a job well done by all of our first responders.

Monday, February 13 – HazMat Training

On Monday, February 13, 2023, Spring Mill Fire Company No.1 members worked on sharpening their hands-on hazardous materials skills. The primary objective of the training was to recognize, identify, contain, and mitigate the situation.

Crews were dispatched at 19:15 hours for a vehicle leaking fuel at the Whitemarsh Highway Department. The initial report was a tank leaking an unknown substance in the compost area at the rear of the facility. All units responded at reduced speed, with the first due unit, Engine 45 with Lieutenant 45-1 along with a crew of 6 arrived on the scene to find a tank on a trailer not connected to a towing vehicle, leaking an unknown substance from the rear of the trailer. Squad 45, Ladder 45, Air 45, Special Service 45, and Traffic 45 also responded to assist with the incident.

Lieutenant 45-1 was the Incident Commander tasked first with identifying the unknown substance. Upon arrival, there were no hazardous materials placards visible from their vantage point. They deployed an entry team donned in full structural firefighting PPE breathing air from SCBA. Additionally, there was a safety team in full PPE with SCBA established with a charged handline on standby. The entry team discovered a flammable liquids placard with UN# 1170 only on the front side of the vessel. Assuming the product to be one of the following chemicals: Ethanol, Ethanol solution, Ethyl alcohol, or Ethyl alcohol solution.

The IC referenced the Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) and he established a hot zone perimeter of 50 meters. A manpower pool was established at the front of Engine 45. The entry team returned, and a reconnaissance team was deployed to secure the leak by closing the open valve on the tank and creating a dike with sand to contain the leaking substance. At this point in the incident, our crews had mitigated the situation to the point that the County Hazardous Materials Response Unit would take over the incident.

After the incident, all personnel conducted a “hot wash” (critique) of the incident to discuss pros, cons, and outside-the-box thoughts.

Ice Rescue Training 2/4/2023

On this frigid day, our dedicated volunteer members of the Spring Mill Fire Company No.1, along with members from Plymouth Fire Company and Harmonville Fire Company figured it was the prime time to enhance and sharpen their skills focused on ice rescue. The teams left at 05:00 hours to travel over 2.5 hours to a pond that would allow them to enhance their skills, with guidance from Elder Techincal Rescue Services LLC instructors. The temperatures were in the single digits when they started their training. The teams endured low temperatures and high winds while they trained to prepare themselves for ice rescues when faced with these conditions.

December 14, 2022 – Cat Stuck in the Tree

On December 14th just before 15:00 hours the station received a call from a concerned resident, that their family cat was stuck approximately 30 feet in a tree. The call was reported to the Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center, dispatching Ladder 45 with a crew of 6 responding to the call.

Upon arrival, the crew found the cat at the rear of the property in distress about 30′ up in the tree. The crew set up a 35′ extension ladder and Engineer Alex Jacobson climbed the ladder to safely get Poppi down from the tree.

#catinthetree #community

Member Milestone Recognition Ceremony/Commendation for Ida Response

On October 13th the members of Spring Mill Fire Company and Barren Hill Fire Company were recognized for their years of volunteer service to Whitemarsh Township. Both companies were also presented with a Commendation from the Board of Supervisors for their efforts during Tropical Storm Ida.

Members from Spring Mill Fire Company that were recognized were:

10 years – Juan Contreras

15 years – Joe Heil

20 years – Vince Messantonio

25 years – Jeff Heil

30 years – John Warner

35 years – Ann Waters (posthumously recognized) accepting on her behalf, her husband George “Skip” Waters.

55 years – Marvin Haines

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