FD Rant News LONG ISLAND, NY
Volume 3, Edition 1 - January 2014
BAYVILLE
Vacant House Fully Involved on Arrival
Bayville crews postition hand lines for a defensive attack. Full Story Page 21
HUNTINGTON MANOR - Candle Sparks Major Blaze - Page 6 NORTH BELLMORE - Chiefs Rescue Family Dog - Page 12 WYANDANCH - Vacant Beverage Distributor Burns - Page 24 EAST NORTHPORT - Taxpayer Job in Sub-Zero Weather - Page 32 FREEPORT - FAST Goes to Work for Injured FF - Page 40
Page 2 Page 3 Pages 4-5 & 34-35, 38 Pages 42-45
Table of Contents Editorial Faces of the Fire Service
Owner/Editor/Publisher Jeff DiLavore
Associate Editor Dave Cook Associate Editor- Parade and Drill Kim Versheck
Talkin’ Fire Stuff By Mike Capoziello
Pages 46 - 47
Apparatus of the Fire Service
Pages 56 - 57 Page 66
Centerfold Time and Sacrifice
Technical Editor Brian Welliver Graphic Editor Holly Luscher Social Media Consultant Mary Beth SteensonKraese
By Dom Prince
Pages 72 - 77
Radio Room
Contributing Authors
By Phil Lichtenberger
Page 91 Page 99
Phil Lichtenberger Jim McNamara Robert Senn Joe Laino Mike Capoziello Pete Silver Duane Welliver Tim Ivers Jeff O’Toole
Faces of the Fire Service Apparatus of the Fire Service
Pages 100-101 Sponsors Page About the Authors Page 102
Long Island FD Rant News Northport, N.Y. 11768 Phone: 631.766.3287 Email: FDRantNews@verizon.net
Correspondents
Mark Bellew Ken Bradbury Chris Colletti Lauren Cronemeyer Eric Devine Lauren Foschino Robert Garofalo Fred Kopf Paul Krussmann Tom Lambui Kevin Madigan Ralph Moniello Brian Olsen Dominic Orlando Chris Sabella Ron Schankin Matt Thomas Kim Versheck John Walthers Cameron Wilken Pat Welliver
Submit Stories and/or Photos to: FDRantNews@verizon.net Be sure to send contact information including name, phone number and email address.
All news articles, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips, video clips, trademarks, designs, graphics, logos, icons, images, user interfaces, visual interfaces and computer code (“Content”) contained in FD Rant News is either owned or used under license by Sophan Publishing, LLC with ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Content contained in this publication is protected by United States Copyright Law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without prior permission of Sophan Publishing, LLC or the owner of that Content.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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FD Rant News LONG ISLAND, NY
The #1 Publication for the Long Island Fire Service with the MOST and the BEST Coverage An Arctic blast the likes of which we have not seen in our area for quite some time have created the worse possible conditions for firefighting duties over the last month. With temperatures that have been at or below freezing for much of late December and almost all of January and, with several snowstorms of varying intensity, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of working fires on Long Island in the last few weeks. Several times, with temperatures significantly below zero due to wind chills, multiple alarm fires have challenged departments like East Northport, Long Beach, Albertson and Manhasset-Lakeville just to name a few. There were also several “close calls” with members being injured while operating the fireground. In at least one instance a FAST that was on scene was needed to remove a downed firefighter at a house fire in Oceanside. Luckily, his injuries were minor and thankfully the FAST was present to perform their duties. A fire in ManhassetLakeville involving a home built with lightweight construction using manufactured lumber was the scene of rapid fire spread and structural failure that could have been catastrophic had it not been for the command presence of the Chiefs running the scene who called for the removal of the members operating within the structure. These are just a few examples of how preparation, preplanning and training paid off while operating on the fireground. On a happier note, all of us here at the FD Rant News would like to congratulate one of our contributing authors [and a huge FD Rant supporter for many years] Phil Lichtenberger and his wife Toni on the birth of their daughter Lauren on January 17th. Both mom and baby are home and the family is doing great!!! We would also like to congratulate one of our original correspondents, Matt Thomas, for graduating from the Port Authority Police Academy earlier this month. Without a doubt, “Matty T” will be a tremendous addition to the PAPD and we all wish him the best of luck in his new career. We have also reached another milestone in the history of the FD Rant News. This edition represents the first publication going into our third year in production. We have certainly come a long way in two years and we could not be more proud of the fact that we are the #1 publication for the Long Island Fire Service with the MOST and the BEST coverage. We would like to thank all of our loyal subscribers and I would like to thank all of the correspondents and production staff for their hard work and dedication to our publication. Rest assured we plan on being around for a long time to come. Finally, we have been working on our new FD Rant News application for mobile devices and I can say that it looks great already. Creating an app for a publication the size of the FD Rant News takes quite a bit of time and effort. We want to be sure to do it right. We are confident that when we unveil the finished product, that we will revolutionize the way in which people receive their information about the Long Island Fire Service and beyond. Stay tuned!!!!! As always, we would like to hear back from you. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at: FDRantNews@verizon.net or call us at 631.766.3287. Ex-Chief Jeff DiLavore
Publisher
Click Here To Subscribe Now
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE Bellmore's Newley Elected 2nd Assistant Chief Vincent Montera at Bellmore First Job of the Year
Amityville FD Dauntless Hose & Engine Co #2 Captain Lynch on scene at North Amityville's working fire on January 6th
A member overhauls at a recent fire in Riverhead Photo by Tom Lambui
A member of North Patchogue operates O Cutters at a recent MVA
Photo by Robert Garofalo
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
An East Northport member operates at a recent building fire in sub zero weather
Photo by Jeff DiLavore.
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE Members of Wantagh Engine 2 and Engine 7 pack up after a recent car fire
Bayville Fire Company Chaplain and Safety Officer at a recent garage fire
Peter Solomito (foreground) operates the engine while his father Joseph Solomito, Chief of Department (backround) runs command at a recent fire in Glen Cove
Members of Bellmore operate at a recent car fire
Members of Wantagh Engine 2 gear up at a recent car fire
Photo by Mark Bellew
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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HUNTINGTON MANOR Heavy Fire with Roof Collapse Story and Photos by Ron Schankin
On the afternoon of Thursday, December 12th at 1618 hours, the Huntington Manor Fire Department responded to a working house fire located at 5 East 20th Street in Huntington Station. Units were confronted with a 2 story private dwelling that was heavily involved in fire. Under command of Assistant Chiefs Frank McQuade [2-4-31], Mike DePasquale [2-4-32], and Jon Hoffmann [2-4-33] an interior attack was attempted but due to the collapse of the roof on the exposure 3 side all units were pulled out of the building for an exterior attack. 3 lines were used to control the fire before firefighters could re-enter the building. Manor was assisted at the scene by Huntington and Greenlawn [F.A.S.T.] Fire Departments. Halesite Fire Department provided a standby at Manor Headquarters. Two firefighters were transported to Huntington Hospital; one with burns and one with a knee injury, by Huntington Community First Aid Squad. Town of Huntington Fire Marshals and S.C.P.D. Arson Squad are investigating the cause of the blaze.
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Publisher’s Note – This story was supposed to appear in last month’s edition. Due to a production error on my part, it was mistakenly omitted. I apologize to Ron and to the Huntington Manor FD for the mistake. – Jeff D.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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ELMONT Tires and Fires
Story and Photo by Dominic Orlando – South Nassau Fire Photo The evening of December 28th brought the Elmont Fire Department a report of a building fire in the tire shop at 1011 Elmont Rd. With a fast response by the Chiefs and a transmission of the signal 10 working fire, the members of Elmont sprang into action with the speed, intensity and professionalism of a paid department. With a fast knock down and overhaul, the cause of the fire was narrowed down to a malfunction of equipment inside the tire shop which was occupied and open for business at the time of the fire. Command on scene, as a result of the nature of the business and the chemicals used through the business, requested the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s HAZMAT Team to respond to mitigate any issues that had resulted of the fire.
FREEPORT
Garage Job Turns Out to be Great Job
Story and Photos by Dominic Orlando – South Nassau Fire Photo In the early morning hours of December 28th, the Freeport Fire Department sprang into action with a report of a fire in an attached garage on Virginia Ave. With the first arriving chief transmitting the signal 10 working fire, the members of Freeport quickly arrived on the scene; employing 2 operational hose lines to attack and knock down the fire. With a quick knock down and overhaul the cause of the fire was narrowed down to a problem in the garage extending into the walls of the house. Overall and excellent job by the members of the Freeport Fire Department with their fast and expert response to another signal 10 and an excellent job by the chiefs on scene managing a house fire.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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ISLIP TERRACE Nice Stop
Story and Photo by Robert Garofalo The Islip Terrace FD responded to a reported structure fire on Monday, December 30th at approximately 0925hrs. The two story home on the corner of Connetquot Avenue and Cedarhurst Street had smoke showing upon the arrival of Chief Thomas Quagliara [3-6-32] prompting him to transmit a working fire. Under his command, members from first due Engine 2, being supplied with a 5” line from a nearby hydrant, stretched the primary attack line through the exposure 3 entrance with a backup line close behind. Members from Truck 6 and Rescue 5 began vent, entry and search operations while Engine 2 made an aggressive attack on the fire. The East Islip FD responded to the scene for RIT along with Central Islip for an engine and Exchange Ambulance for Firefighter Rehab. The Islip FD handled standby at Islip Terrace headquarters for the duration of the alarm. Also on scene assisting was Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Don Miller [3-0-1] and the Town of Islip Fire Marshal. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Click Here for More Photos of Islip Terrace’s House Fire
OYSTER BAY
Story and Photo by Mark Bellew All Hands Fire Photo The Oyster Bay Fire Department responded to this 3 car MVA at the intersection of Northern Blvd and Cove Rd shortly before 9:00pm on December 30th. 1 person was transported to an area hospital for evaluation.
Click Here for More Photos of Oyster Bay’s MVA
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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HUNTINGTON MANOR Sunday Afternoon Work
Story and Photos by Ron Schankin
On Sunday, December 29, at 13:38 hours, Huntington Manor Firefighters responded to a reported house fire at 6 Dianne Crest in Huntington. Arriving first, Assistant Chief Frank McQuade [2-4-31] confirmed a working fire with a 2 story private dwelling fully involved in flames. First due Engine 2-4-3 was ordered to secure a hydrant and stretch two 1 and ž� lines to the front door. First due Ladder 2-4-6 set up the aerial to enter and search the second floor. Under the command of Chief of Department Fred Steenson Jr. [2-4-30] assisted by Chief Mcquade and 3rd Assistant chief Jon Hoffmann [2-4-33], firefighters began to attack the fire. Complicating the operation was heavy rain and wind and a ruptured gas line to the house that contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
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While searching the house firefighters found and rescued two family cats that were trapped in the house. Approximately 60 firefighters, using 7 pieces of equipment, had the fire under control in about 50 minutes. Manor was assisted at the scene by Huntington Fire Department and Huntington Community First Aid Squad provided an ambulance stand by. Melville Fire Department stood by at Manors Headquarters. Town Fire Marshall's were called to investigate the cause of the blaze which was believed to have started by an unattended candle and is deemed to be accidental at this time.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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NORTH BELLMORE
Chiefs Rescue Family Dog at an Early Morning House Fire Story, Photos and Video by Kim Versheck – LNBN
Shortly after 07:30 hours on December 29, 2013, The North Bellmore Fire Department began receiving multiple calls for a car fire in an attached garage on Tyrus Court. Chief Mark Collins [6500] was first on scene and quickly transmitted he had a working fire extending from the garage in to the second floor of the home. The occupants of the home were all accounted for except the family dog. Chief Collins and arriving 2nd Assistant Chief Rut [6502] forced their way into the smoke filled home through a rear door and were able to rescue the missing dog. Engine 655 was next to arrive on scene and after securing a hydrant put an exposure line to work on the number 4 side of the residence. The fire which had started in the garage was quickly spreading through the home. Tower Ladder 658 took the front of the structure as crews started to make an interior attack. Mutual Aid brought Uniondale as the FAST, Bellmore as a working truck and East Meadow with an engine. Four lines were put in to operation to darken down the fire in just over 30 minutes. Crews continued to hit hot spots in the garage as overhaul began. No Injuries were reported and the Nassau County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
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Click Here for More Photos of North Bellmore’s House Fire
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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HAGERMAN
Greeted with Heavy Fire
Story and Photos by Robert Garofalo The Hagerman FD responded to this residential structure fire on Monday, December 30th at approximately 1355hrs. The two story home located on Taylor Avenue off of Louise Avenue had heavy fire visible upon arrival of Bellport Chief Jason Crane [5-1-31] (automatic mutual aid) prompting the transmission of a working fire. Under the command of Hagerman Captain John Mahoney [5-10-50], with heavy fire on the exposure 3 side and rapidly spreading from the basement to the first and second floors as well as the attic, ordered first due Engine 1 to drop a 5” supply line and stretch the primary attack line to the front door. With positive water from a hydrant almost 1000’ feet away the aggressive attack was underway. A second handline was stretched to the exposure 4 side to a basement entrance to darken down this fire while a third handline was stretched to the exposure 2 side to attack the fire rapidly spreading into the attic. Second due Engine 5 from Bellport assisted in line placement and extinguishment. Hagerman Rescue 6 handled vent, entry and search operations with all searches negative as the occupants safely evacuated prior to the departments arrival. Additional departments on scene were North Patchogue which was immediately put to work and the Brookhaven FD for RIT. South Country Ambulance also responded to handle medical standby and Rehab. The Patchogue FD handled standby at Hagerman’s headquarters for the duration of the alarm. Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Bob Smith [50-4] and the Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshal were also on scene. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Click Here for More Photos of Hagerman’s House Fire
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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RIVERHEAD
House Fire Burns Occupant
Story and Photos by T. J. Lambui – FD Rant News/LiHotShots
On New Year’s Day, 2014 at approximately 1110 hours, the Riverhead Fire Department and Riverhead P.D. were notified of a structure fire on Riverside Drive just south of Main Street. Upon arrival, firefighters were met by a heavy fire load, located mainly to the rear (exposure 3 side) of the building. Riverhead’s Bravest, under the command of Chief Raynor [6-2-30], made an aggressive interior attack and were able to knock the fire down and go under control in about an hour. At least one occupant was reportedly transported to the local hospital with 2nd degree burns. Riverhead received mutual aid from the Flanders, Jamesport, and Wading River F.D.'s & E.M.S. units, among others.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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LINDENHURST
Corvette goes up in Flames
Story and Photos by Chris Colletti – LNBN On December 31st, around 12:00 noon, the Lindenhurst FD was activated for a vehicle fire at the corner of West John Street and New York Avenue. Lindenhurst FD 1st Assistant Chief Mike DeGregorio [1-6-31] arriving on scene with 2nd Assistant Chief Paul Vinciguerra [1-6-32] and 3rd Assistant Chief Craig Santoli [1-6-33] were met with an involved Corvette parked on the corner of the intersection. Engine 1-6-1 of the Chemical & Salvage Company #2 arrived on scene and stretched a 1 ¾’’ hand line quickly knocked down the bulk of the fire. Engine 1-6-3 of the Breslau Engine Company assisted with additional manpower and stretched a supply line to Engine 1-6-1 as the fire was knocked down using tank water only. All units operating on scene were up within 30 minutes of the alarm. SCPD remained on scene for the removal of the vehicle.
Click Here for More Photos of Lindenhurst’s Car Fire
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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WOODMERE
Post-Christmas Workout Disruption
Story and Photo by Dominic Orlando - South Nassau Fire Photo In the evening hours of December 27th, while some were trying to work off the holiday pounds gained, the Woodmere Fire Department responded to a call at the New York Sports Club for an odor of smoke with an automatic fire alarm. Upon arrival, a haze of smoke inside the building was confirmed and automatic mutual aid was requested. With mutual aid from Inwood, Lawrence Cedarhurst and the Hewlett Fire Department on scene; further investigation into the matter revealed a blown motor in the roof mounted HVAC system. After shutting the HVAC system down, the smoke dissipated and the scene was placed under control in short time. A great and expedient turnout by the Woodmere Fire Department and their requested mutual aid departments led to calm and professional handling of a complex fire scene.
NORTH PATCHOGUE Hard Hit
Story and Photo by Robert Garofalo - ESA Photography The North Patchogue FD responded to this three car MVA on Friday, December 7th, at approximately 1840 hours on Montauk Highway west of CR101. One driver was taken into custody by the SCPD while the passenger of the black Nissan sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center. Under the command of Chief Tom Volpe [5-17-32], members from Engine 3 and Rescue 5 responded to the scene while Engine 4 responded to the nearby landing zone. EMS personnel also evaluated four other individuals at the scene that refused medical attention. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Click Here for More Photos of North Patchogue’s MVA
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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SELDEN
Compacter Fire
Story and Photo by Christopher Sabella – On Scene Photography On December 28, 2013, just before 3 pm, Selden firefighters responded to a reported dumpster fire to the rear of Walbaums on Middle Country Rd. in Selden. Chief Leavens [5-25-30] put the probies to work, having them pull the debris out of the compactor where the fire was then extinguished with a booster line. The fire was placed under control in about 15 minutes and all units returned to quarters a short time later.
EAST ROCKAWAY Overturned Auto
Story and Photo by Dominic Orlando – South Nassau Fire Photo December 28th turned out to be another busy day for the East Rockaway Fire Department with a slew of aided cases and a fatal accident the previous morning. In a usual busy time fashion, the members of the East Rockaway Fire Department responded to a report of an overturned auto on a side street off of Main St. Upon arrival of Chief Ed Reicherter [401] and 3rd Asst. Chief Gene Torborg [4014], a small crossover SUV was found on its 4 wheels with 2 passengers awaiting medical evaluation. The occupants of the vehicle stated that a few individuals who witnessed the accident assisted by up righting the vehicle which was lying on its side. After a medical evaluation by the crew of ambulances 408 and 4081, the 2 occupants refused medical attention and left the scene. A fast turn out by the members of the East Rockaway Fire Department and excellent management by the Chiefs on scene led to a simple fire call with no further incident.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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DEER PARK
First Alarm for 2014 is an MVA
Story and photo by Ken Bradbury – Deer Park Fire Photo On Wednesday, January 1st, at 12:48 hours, the Deer Park Fire Department was alerted for a Motor Vehicle Accident at the intersection of Deer Park Avenue and Bay Shore Road. All Deer Park Chiefs responded with Chief John Giammarino [1-4-30] assuming command. A two car accident had occurred at the above intersection. One patient was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital and both vehicles were secured by the Engine Crew.
Click Here for More Photos of Deer Park’s MVA
DEER PARK
Car Drives through Store Front
Story and photo by Ken Bradbury – Deer Park Fire Photos On Wednesday, January 1st, at 15:03 Hours , the Deer Park Fire Department was alerted for a Motor Vehicle accident, car into store, at 19 Bay Shore Road. The IO was occupied by the New York Gold Center. 1st Assistant Chief Larry Bradbury [1-4-31] was first Chief on the scene and quickly observed a minivan had traveled some twenty feet past the storefront into the store. He also observed the driver was entrapped in the vehicle and injured. He notified the first due Engine of this. The engine crew, upon arriving, was able to free the victim with little problem and she was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital. The vehicle was carefully rolled out of the store and the structure was not compromised.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
Click Here for More Photos of Deer Park’s Car into Building
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BAYVILLE
Fueled Blaze Gives Crews a Tough Time
Story, Photos and Video by Mark Bellew – All Hands Fire Photo
Click Here for More Photos of Bayville’s Garage Fire Just before 3:00 pm on January 2nd, the Bayville Fire Company was dispatched to a reported garage fire with police on the scene requesting a ‘forthwith’ response. Once on scene, 1st Assistant Chief Kevin Viteritti [508] confirmed he did have a heavy fire condition in a 15’ x 40’ one story detached garage. The first arriving unit [Engine 504] stretched lines and firefighters immediately began to knock the blaze down. Multiple hazards were present, including a 250 gallon fuel tank in the rear of the garage, two motor vehicles in the garage, several 20 gallon containers of motor oil and a oxidizer based cleaner, as well as a hand-full of 3 gallon gasoline containers. With a viable water source from a hydrant and 3 hand-lines in operation, the fire was quickly brought under control. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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BELLMORE
Nassau County’s 1st Working Fire of 2014 Story and Photo by Kim Versheck – LNBN Additional Photo Courtesy of Brian Composto
Just about an hour in to the New Year on January 1, 2014 the Bellmore Fire Department was alerted to a report of a house fire on Rachel Street. Chief Stephen Marsar was first to arrive on scene and advised he had fire showing on the exposure two side of a 2 story residence. The working fire was transmitted bringing North Bellmore to the scene as the FAST and Wantagh with a truck. Bellmore Engines 603 and 604 both arrived on scene and picked up hydrants. Crews from Engine 603 quickly put the first of two lines in service on the fire now exposing in to the second floor. Ladder 606 took the front of the home and began to open up the structure. The second line was brought to the second floor to quickly contain the fire before further damage was done to the home. The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. No injuries were reported and The Nassau County Fire Marshal was called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire.
Photo by Brian Composto Click Here for More Photos of Bellmore’s House Fire
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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MASTIC BEACH New Year’s Day Worker
Story and photo by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On January 1, 2014 only six hours and fortyfive minutes into the frigid New Year, Mastic Beach’s Bravest were banged out for a reported house fire on Oceanview Drive. The first Chief to arrive discovered the cause of alarm was a fire of moderate size that was burning in an enclosure under the elevated waterfront house. A 13/35 [working fire] was transmitted and Mastic Beach’s Bravest went to work quickly to knock the fire down before it extended to the main body of the house. No injuries were reported and arson was investigating.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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WYANDANCH
Vacant Beer Distributor Building Burns Story and Photos by Chris Colletti – LNBN Additional photos by Kim Versheck – LNBN
On Sunday December 29th, around 5:30am the Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company was activated for a reported commercial structure fire at the corner of Straight Path & Commonwealth Street. The Wyandanch Volunteer Fire Company chiefs arriving on scene had a fully involved storage container against the exposure 3 side of building with extension into the vacant structure which once was a local beer distributor. The corrected location was 1563 Straight Path. A re-tone for a working fire was then transmitted. Mutual aid was requested from the North Babylon Fire Company for RIT and West Babylon FD for 1 engine to the scene.
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Click Here for More Photos of Wyandanch’s House Fire Wyandanch Engine 1-10-3 was first due into the scene, hitting the hydrant upon their arrival and staging on the exposure 4 side of the building. Once a positive water source was established, firefighters stretched two 1 ¾’’ hand lines and placed them into operation. Wyandanch Tower Ladder 1-10-5 was set up on the exposure 3 side of the building, placing their master stream into operation assisting to hit the hot spots from above. With firefighters making an aggressive interior and exterior attack to prevent any further extension into the vacant building, all visible fire was knocked down within 30 minutes and overhaul was underway.The Town of Babylon Fire Marshal’s office and the Suffolk County Arson Squad were on scene for an investigation into the cause of the fire.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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MASTIC
Worker During Blizzard
Story and Photos by T. J. Lambui – FD Rant News/LiHotShots At 00:25 hours, January 03, 2014 in the middle of a snow storm, the Mastic Fire Department was banged out for a reported house fire on Avondale Drive in Shirley. Luckily, Mastic crews were on a snow stand-by at their quarters and arrived at the scene quickly; in spite of the weather conditions. The occupants were able to escape unharmed but reported that the family’s pets were still inside. It is unknown at this time if the Mastic FD was able to rescue the pets. The cause of the fire is thought to be the Christmas tree in the rear of the house which incinerated the room it was in, shattering windows and glass doors, auto-exposing to the eaves. Mastic made a quick stop of the blaze, saving the home from further damage.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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WADING RIVER
Joint Venture on Basement Job
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On January 7th, at approximately 15:00 hours, with single digit temperatures, the Riverhead Fire Department was toned out for a reported basement fire in a house located at 40 Kay Road in Calverton. Riverhead F.D. and P.D. responded and were informed while enroute that the fire was actually located in the Wading River Fire Department’s district and that they were also responding. Upon arrival, Wading River Captain Branden Heller [6-3-51] took command of the scene and directed operations. Members on Wading River’s first due engine promptly stretched two 1 3/4" lines and attacked the basement fire. Additional mutual aid departments were requested and responded from Ridge, Manorville, and Sound Beach Fire and EMS departments, including Riverhead F.D. who were already on scene.
WADING RIVER MVA with Minor Injuries
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On January 7th, at approximately 1400 hours, the Wading River Fire Department and Riverhead P.D. responded to this MVA at the intersection of Route 25 and Wading River/Manor Rd. Three people were reported to be in the Honda CRV, one of which was transported to the hospital, and the driver and lone occupant of the Volkswagen Passat was also injured and had to be removed from the vehicle and transported to the hospital. An additional ambulance was requested to the scene from Manorville Community Ambulance.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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MEDFORD
One less Plow after Storm
Story, photos and video by Chris Sabella – On Scene Photography
Late Thursday morning, January 2nd, about 11:30am, a Suffolk PD unit pulled up on a truck fire on the westbound Long Island Expressway, just west of exit 64 [Rte. 112]. Suffolk police advised dispatch to have fire respond for a pick-up truck with a plow on fire in the right hand lane. Medford firefighters responded with 1 engine and a light crew under direction from 5-14-30 and pulled a 150 foot 1 ž inch trash line and went to work. SCPD closed all three westbound lanes while Medford firefighters made a quick attack knocking down the heavy fire load and extinguished the blaze quickly. No injuries were reported and the roadway was opened a short time later.
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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NORTH PATCHOGUE Tool Put To Work
Story and Photos by Robert Garofalo The North Patchogue FD responded to this two car collision on Thursday, January 2nd, at approximately 0915 hours. The incident took place at the intersection of North Ocean Avenue and West Roe Boulevard. Under the command of Chief of Department Dan Doscher [5-17-30], members from Engine 3 put the “Hurst Tool” to work while members from ES 16 and 20 provided medical attention to the two injured drivers. Before firefighters could remove the driver’s side “B” post and rear door of the Chevy Cavalier to extricate the driver, members needed to stabilize and push the vehicle forward to access the driver’s side that was wedged between a utility pole and traffic light pole. Once the task was accomplished, firefighters made quick work of the extrication. Both drivers were transported to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Click Here for More Photos of North Patchogue’s MVA with Entrapment
GLEN COVE Icy Training
Story and Photo by Mark Bellew – All Hands Fire Photo On the morning of January 5th, the Glen Cove Fire Department Rescue Company assembled in quarters and headed out into sub-freezing temperatures for an Ice Rescue Drill. Instruction and leadership were provided by Rescue Company 1st Officer Justin Valeo. The members were outfitted in Mustang Cold Water and Ice Rescue Suits and practiced approaching and rescuing a person who had fallen through the ice. After several evolutions, they packed it up and headed back to the station for some good ole' home cooked Ziti and Meatballs!
Click Here for More Photos of Glen Cove’s Ice Rescue Training FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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GLEN COVE
Crews Respond to Chimney Fire
Story and Photo by Mark Bellew – All Hands Fire Photo
At 4:45PM on January 6th, the City of Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a reported chimney fire. Chief of Department Joseph Solomito [5200] and 1st Assistant Chief Phil Grella [5201] arrived on the scene together and reported that they did in fact have an active chimney fire. Engine 525 was first due with Tiller 5211 quickly behind it. The truck was ordered to ladder the roof on the number two side and the engine to dry stretch on line to the 2/3 corner. Crews entered the house and emptied the fireplace of its contents and initiated suppression efforts. Further inspection showed no extension outside of the chimney, and once extinguished, the incident was placed under control.
Click Here for More Photos of Glen Cove’s House Fire
HOLBROOK
Lucky Driver After Hard Hit
Story and Photo by Robert Garofalo – ESA Photography
Click Here for More Photos of Holbrook’s MVA
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
The Holbrook FD responded to this MVA with reported Heavy Rescue on Wednesday, January 8th at approximately 1515hrs. The wreck between the Mazda 3 and a Ford F450 work truck happened on Lincoln Avenue near McCormick Drive, leaving the female driver of the Mazda trapped. Under the command of Chief Chris Heinssen [3-15-31], members from Rescue 7 and Engine 2 immediately went to work to extricate the driver with the “Hurst Tool”. EMS members on scene maintained patient care and contact throughout the operation. Once extricated, the driver was transported to Stony Brook University Medical Center in EMS Unit 18. Her injuries were considered non-life threatening. Also on scene assisting were Engines 5 and 6 as well as Fire Police 49 and a SCPD Emergency Service Unit.
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EAST NORTHPORT
Sub-Zero Weather and Heavy Fire Displaces 50 Residents Story and Photos by Jeff DiLavore Additional Photo by Anthony Guerne
Photo by Anthony Guerne
Click Here for More Photos of East Northport’s Building Fire On one of the coldest days in recent memory, the East Northport Fire Department received a call for a building fire at 376 Larkfield Road, shortly before 1500 hours on Saturday January 4th. First to arrive on scene was Assistant Chief Wayne Kaifler [2-10-31], who advised he had smoke showing from the taxpayer type building and a working fire [13/35] was transmitted. Chief Joe Ervin [2-10-30] then requested the Commack Fire Department to the scene for a RIT that was later put to work as a truck company. Northport was the replacement RIT. Commack wound up sending two engines to the scene as well. The building was a “T”-shaped classic “taxpayer” with businesses on the ground floor and apartments on the 2nd floor with an additional 2 story wing in the rear containing multiple apartments. The crew from Engine 2-10-4 steamered the hydrant in front of the building. Multiple handlines were stretched. An aggressive attack was made by the first lines into building and the heavy fire was knocked down in short order. Truck crews conducted searches on the second floor and also were assisted by Suffolk PD in evacuating residents of the apartments in the rear of the building. Greenlawn provided standby coverage at East Northport’s quarters.
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Photo by Jeff DiLavore
Photo by Jeff DiLavore
Due to the dangerous cold weather [5 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills of minus 15 degrees], residents who were evacuated initially took shelter in a dry cleaning store near the fire building and were later moved to a HART Bus that was brought to the scene at the request of the Fire Coordinators on scene. There was extension to the second floor apartments with fire in the walls but after extensive truck work performed in opening up the walls, the engine crews were able to stop the fire from spreading further. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Town of Huntington Fire Marshal. A total of 56 residents were initially displaced by the fire but due to the efforts of the Town of Huntington Fire Marshal, Suffolk FRES and the Suffolk County PD, that number was decreased to 12 as early as 1930 hours. Chief Joe Ervin stated, “The efforts and the cooperation of all agencies that responded to this incident was amazing.� He also stated that this particular building had been preplanned and was the subject of many training discussions in the past due to the type of construction, unusual layout and also the life hazard that exists with the multiple apartments in the building. That preplanning was key during this operation.
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE Bayville Chief Edward Orski confers with Assistant Chief Stephen Cogliandro at the command post of a recent fire Photo by Mark Bellew
A Dix Hills member gets a bottle check at a recent working fire
A member of Centerport overhauling at a recent house fire A member of Holtsville take a break at a recent MVA
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
- Photo by Mark Bellew
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE Wyandanch Fire Company Firefighter taking a break at their recent working fire on December 29th
Lindenhurst FD Chemical & Salvage Engine Company #2 Firefighter Glenn Bammann on the knob at a recent vehicle fire
North Patchogue Lieutenant Gene Spiotta taking a breather at a recent working fire
Members of Manorville on the scene of a recent MVA
Photo by Robert Garofalo
Photo by Tom Lambui
Farmingville member at a recent MVA Photo by Chris Sabella
TOB Fire Coordinator Thomas Moran [1-0-3] at his second fire as a Coordinator
Wantagh's Newley Elected 3rd Assitant Chief Ken Kelly While on Mutual Aid to Bellmore
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NORTH AMITYVILLE
Firefighters Battle Heavy Fire Load in Frigid Temperatures Story and Photos by Chris Colletti – LNBN
Click Here for More Photos of North Amityville’s House Fire
On January 6th, 2014, around 11:00pm, Suffolk Police 1st Precinct units and the North Amityville Fire Company were dispatched to 21 Emerald Lane South for a caller reporting of an odor of smoke with all occupants evacuating. SCPD Sector cars first to arrive on the scene advised there was active fire showing from the exposure 2 and 3 corner of the home and to notify FD of the situation. North Amityville Fire Company 3rd Assistant Chief Bobby Benloss [1-7-33] requested a re-tone for a working fire ]upon arrival. 2nd Assistant Chief Aaron Collins [1-7-32] established the command post and requested mutual aid from Copiague FD for RIT and Amityville FD for a ladder to the scene. Town of Babylon Fire Coordinators also responded to the alarm to assist in fire operations. Engine 1-7-1 arrived on scene with a heavy fire load showing throughout the exposure 3 side of the home and firefighters stretched a 1 ¾’’ hand line, temporarily on tank water as a hydrant was being secured for a positive water source. A second 1 ¾’’ hand line was placed into operation as additional manpower arrived on scene. Firefighters from the Amityville FD handled roof operations. The main body of fire was knocked down within 45 minutes. A decent smoke condition remained within as firefighters were overhauling and hitting any remaining pockets of fire. PSEG Long Island cut off the utilities to the home. All units operating were up within 2 hours while the Town of Babylon Fire Marshal’s remained on scene for an investigation into the cause of the fire.
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Fit Body Bootcamp Pound for Dollar Challenge Huntington and Smithtown Fit Body Bootcamp owners, Kathy and Ahmed Tafti did a fundraiser in 2012 to raise money for the Burn Center at Stony Brook University Hospital at their Þtness studio and it was a huge success. With the help of many local volunteer ÞreÞghters and their Þtness clients they were able to get the word out and get people to donate to the center. ÒWe feel that the burn center is so important in helping victims right here on Long Island and we are so grateful for all the men and women ÞreÞghters who volunteer and risk their lives every day to keep us safe. So this year we are going to fundraise and donate to the Suffolk County FireÞghterʼs Burn Center Fund.Ó states Kathy Tafti. Starting January 27th 2014 Fit Body Bootcamp is holding a 21 Day Pounds for Dollar Challenge. For every pound or percentage of body fat that a client loses, FBBC will donate one dollar to the fund. ÒWe want to raise a lot of money so we are opening it up to all of the Þre houses in Long Island and NYC to get them in on the challenge. Wether they are members of our studio or not we want to challenge them to get healthy, lose weight and body fat and raise money for an amazing cause. So for every ÞreÞghter who loses pounds and body fat we will also donate on their behalfÓ states Tafti. FBBC supports a different charity every month and is making the Fund the FBBC Charity of the Month for January and February 2014. For more information on how to participate in the challenge please contact Kathleen Tafti directly at 516-909-8347 or email us at KathleenTaftiFitness@gmail.com. Huntington Fit Body Bootcamp is located at 586 New York Ave Huntington NY 11743 and Smithtown Fit Body bootcamp is located at 253 West Main Street Smithtown NY 11787. www.Facebook.com/HuntingtonFitBodyBootcamp. www.Facebook.com/ SmithtownFitBodyBootcamp.
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE FF John Curley on the Pump of E 604
Hagerman FD “Father and Son” Pete Peretti Sr. and Pete Peretti Jr. on scene of a recent fire Photo by RobGarofalo
Brookhaven FD RIT ready to go to work at a recent working fire in Hagerman
Exchange Ambulance of the Islips standing by for Firefighter Rehab in Islip Terrace Photo by RobGarofalo
Photo by RobGarofalo
Roslyn Rescue members on the scene of the of a recent fire in Albertson
Photo by Mark Bellew
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
Members of Centerport during overhaul at a recent working fire
Photo by Mark Bellew
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Retirement Day for Nassau County Fire Inspector Story and Photos by Jeff DiLavore – FD Rant News
Several dozen members of the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office came together on December 20th to say farewell to one of their colleagues after 25 years on the job. In 1988, Robert “Bob” DiLavore, an Ex-Chief of the Lakeview Fire Department, was appointed to the staff of the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office and was assigned to the newly formed Hazardous Materials Division with badge number F.M. 90. The current Nassau County Fire Marshal, Scott Tusa, also an Ex-Chief from Lakeview, was appointed to the job at the same time as Bob in 1988. The Haz Mat Division was created in response to a growing number of incidents throughout Nassau County. Bob has always said that his time in the Haz Mat Division was filled with some of his best memories and it is also when he received several commendations for his actions. One of those came in 1989 when the All Boro Propane fire occurred in Westbury. Sometime around early 2002, Bob transferred to the General Inspection Division where he would conduct inspections, overcrowding investigations and a host of other day-to-day jobs. Then, in 2009, Bob once again moved into a new position where he stayed until his retirement. He moved into the Industrial Inspection Divison where he was responsible for reviewing building plans that included construction, sprinkler systems and fire suppression systems. He also had assignments with the Motion Picture Production Safety Unit that included fire safety on the sets of various television and motion picture film productions. At the luncheon Bob was presented with several items to recognize his service during his tenure in the Fire Marshal’s Office including a Citation presented to him on behalf of County Executive Ed Mangano by Chief Fire Marshal Tusa. Bob also received plaques on behalf of the Fire Marshal’s Benevolent Association of Nassau County from President Gerry Flower and another from Assistant Chief Fire Marshal John Priest on behalf of the Fire Marshal’s Office. On a personal note, I have to congratulate Bob for his dedication and professionalism during his tenure as a member of the Fire Marshal’s Office and also commend him on the great sense of pride that he took in his job. Throughout the course of my career in and around the fire service, I have never learned more about the job from anyone. I am proud of my big brother and I wish him well in his retirement. As this chapter in his life ends, another one is about to begin. Best of luck Bobby. I love you bro.
Chief Fire Marshal Scott Tusa presents Fire Inspector 90 Bob DiLavore a citation on behalf of County Executive Ed Mangano
Assistant Chief Fire Marshal John Priest presents Bob DiLavore with a plaque at his retirement party.
Division Supervisor and all around great guy Frank Dubins with Bob DiLavore at his retirement party
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FREEPORT
Stubborn Fire Leaves Firefighter and Civilian Injured Story and Photos by Fred Kopf
A firefighter and a civilian were injured and a family was left homeless after a stubborn fire raced through their North Freeport home in subzero weather on Tuesday afternoon, January 7th, 2014. At 15:13 hours, Nassau County Fire Communications dispatcher number thirty one alerted the Freeport Fire Department to a report of a house fire at 205 North Long Beach Avenue near Maxson Avenue in north Freeport. At the time of the alarm, the ambient temperature was five degrees with a wind chill of minus fifteen with a steady, strong wind out of the west. Responding units were advised that there was a report of occupants trapped. First arriving units found smoke pushing from the basement, first floor, second floor and attic a two and a half story, 50x25, brick, peaked roof colonial style private dwelling located at 40 Maxson Avenue on the corner of Long Beach Avenue. A signal ten, working fire was transmitted and the mutual aid plan put into effect. A FAST truck from the Baldwin Fire Department was called into the scene while stand by units from Baldwin, Oceanside, North Merrick and Point Lookout Lido Fire Departments were alerted to respond and cover the village. First due Wide Awake Engine Company One, manning E-216 stretched an inch and three quarter hand line to the first floor while members of Excelsior Hook & Ladder Company One, responding on L-218, entered the dwelling and attempted to locate the fire and search for the reported trapped occupant. The resident was located on the second floor and the disoriented person was assisted from the building and turned over to EMS for treatment of smoke inhalation. He was removed to a local hospital in stable condition. After a short search members located an advanced fire in the basement and an aggressive attack was commenced into the basement. As additional Freeport engine companies, E-211, E-213, E-214 and E-215 arrived and members were ordered to stretch additional lines to back up the initial line attempting to advance into the basement as well as to the first and second floor as fire was found on both floors and extending into the attic. Roof ventilation was initiated off the aerial of L-218 but was hampered by a slate roof and older wooden construction. As the vent hole was opened and expanded heavy brown smoke erupted violently from the
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opening. Due to fire now reported on three levels and extending the original FAST Truck from Baldwin was put to work for firefighting purposes and North Merrick’s ladder was ordered into the scene as the new FAST Truck. The standby engine from Baldwin was called into the scene to assist the Freeport companies. North Merrick’s ladder was ordered to go to work for firefighting and Oceanside’s ladder was brought into the scene as the FAST Truck. Fire and heavy smoke was now pushing from the initial ventilation hole in the middle of the roof and from the attic vent on the exposure four side of the dwelling as members continued to open up walls and pull ceilings attempting to get ahead of the fast moving, stubborn fire. Approximately thirty minutes in the suppression efforts a Mayday was transmitted. A ceiling had collapsed on the second floor in the rear of the dwelling and landed on a Freeport firefighter injuring him. The FAST Team was activated to help the distressed member. Members from Freeport removed the injured member to a rear setback roof to get him out of the fire area and members of the FAST Team along with firefighters from Baldwin, North Merrick , and Freeport collared and packaged the injured firefighter and removed him to the ground in a stokes basket via portable ladder. He was taken to a local hospital in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery. After almost an hour of battling high winds, subzero temperatures, heavy smoke and fire conditions crews had all visible fire knocked down and the fire was declared under control approximately ninety minutes into the operation. The stand by ambulance from Point Lookout-Lido, a ladder from the City of Long Beach, a rehab unit from the Rockville Centre and a cascade unit from the Island Park Fire Departments were called into the scene for relief purposes. Companies from Oceanside, Hempstead, and the Merrick Fire Departments stood by at Freeport’s headquarters to cover the village. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire which appears to have started in the basement. The Red Cross was requested to assist the four displaced residents and their family dog.
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TALKIN’ FIRE STUFF THE HURST WHAT?!? by Mike Capoziello
Being a member of the fire service for close to 30 years, as well as the second owner of an original 1972 Hurst Oldsmobile, I have always been aware of the relationship between the Hurst name on my car and the legendary Hurst Tool. Firefighter friends would often ask when they saw my car “is that the same Hurst as our Hurst Tool?!?” But how many of you remember or even knew the Hurst name also lent itself to an emergency response vehicle? That’s right an AMC Gremlin X no less. What may be one of the most unique and unlikely of choices ever to serve as an emergency vehicle was the idea of gear head George Hurst, the inventor of the Hurst Power Rescue Tool System, or as we know it the “Jaws of Life” in 1972. What makes this car even more special is that a department on Long Island actually ran one. That’s right, the Yaphank FD in Suffolk had one of these little monsters. But let’s start at the beginning. All firefighters know the success story of the Hurst Tool (Originally called the Power Pry in pre-production) and how it changed motor vehicle extrication operations forever, but for someone to actually slap a light bar on a AMC Gremlin!?! According to Jack “Doc” Watson who was the director of Hurst Performance research at the time, the HRS-1 (Highway Rescue System-1) Gremlin was developed to help their friends at American Motors with some publicity and to be a “media special” that would be used at race tracks to help showcase and market the Hurst Tool system. It was not designed to be a practical rescue vehicle. “Outrageous attracts attention.” FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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To say the Gremlin was packed with equipment is an understatement. Besides the complete Tool system the list included a Federal Signal model CTS 12 light bar, Federal Signal electric siren, Federal electric speaker system, 12V external electrical outlet for operating lights, tools or jumper cables, front and rear push bumpers, electric winch 1000lb capacity with 50’ of cable, trauma kit, aluminized rescue blankets, Ansul purple K extinguisher, light water tank with 25 gallons, an electrical firefighting pump rated at 12 GPM@90 PSI, hose and nozzle assembly with 25’ of ¾ inch hose, fog nozzle with electric push button on-off switch to control the pump and even 2 Bell-Toptex protective helmets. One of the more interesting items was the R.P.I multipurpose spine board. Literature describes it as a “short spine board for extrication with head immobilization collar and adjustable cervical block and lifting handle; long spine board with side rails, straps and sling for use as a stretcher for lifting accident victim in either the vertical or horizontal position with the sling. When used as a stretcher, the board is radiolucent so patients may be x-rayed without being removed from the board. A pole for intravenous fluids threads into the stretcher. A traction device is incorporated into the board for
Hurst was known for their eye catching paint schemes on their Hurst equipped special edition cars and the Gremlin was no different. All the Gremlins produced were Artic White with “safety” Orange reflective stripes running along the entire side of the vehicle. The rear hatch was also adorned with reflective chevron like stripes. The total cost for the Gremlin including the complete Hurst tool system was $12,000 quite a considerable amount when you consider a new 1973 Gremlin was less then $3000. FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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I researched many sources but could not find a definitive answer on how many were produced but a safe guess may be less than a dozen. Interestingly one of the buyers was the Yaphank FD in Suffolk who purchased one through Firematic supply in East Yaphank. In fact Yaphank was one of the first buyers of a Hurst Tool system in the United States. The Gremlin served until the late 70’s when it was sold and subsequently turned into a drag strip car. There is one sole survivor. The Murray County Rescue Squad in Chatsworth Georgia has what is thought to be the only surviving example of this unique vehicle. Sometime in 1973 the rescue squad contacted Hurst about giving a demo on the Hurst Tool system they not only brought the tool, but they brought the Gremlin and then left the whole package with the squad for a few months. After the trial period the squad decided that this was something they needed and purchased the complete package. This was the only Hurst Tool in Northern Georgia for many years and the Gremlin traveled to all parts of Georgia and even into Tennessee many times. It was a first due unit from 1974 until 2001. It then served in reserve status from 2002 to 2009. Squad Secretary Vadah Mullinax tells me “it only sees the good stuff now.” The Gremlin now enjoys life as a parade vehicle a well as a public relations show piece. Clocking in at just over 15,000 miles the Gremlin still sports its original paint. The water tank was removed years ago for more room, but besides that it still has all its original equipment. Well there you have it. I bet you will never look at a Gremlin the same way again. Until next time be safe and keep’em rollin!
Mike Capoziello is a 28 year member of Hook and Ladder Co.#2 and former Chief [2011-12] of the Elmont FD. He serves as a Department Training Officer, Public Information Officer and Historian. He has 20 plus years experience as a houseman and dispatcher in various Nassau County departments and is currently a Supervising dispatcher with Nassau County Firecom, training officer for the Fieldcom unit-Member of the Nassau County fire service Critical Incident Stress team for the past 11 years and is a liaison for the team to the Nassau County Fire Commission.
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APPARATUS OF THE FIRE SERVICE Engine 1-7-1 of the North Amityville Fire Company on scene at their working fire on January 7th
East Northport Engine 2-10-4 operates on the scene of a recent working fire
Photo by Jeff DiLavore. Freeport Engine seeing some action at a recent house fire
Bayville Quint 503 operates at a recent fully involved house fire
Photo by Mark Bellew
Photo by Fred Kopf
Albertson Engine 806 operates at a recent multi alarm fire
Albertson Ladder 809 in action at a recent multi alarm fire Photo by Eric Devine
Photo by Eric Devine
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APPARATUS OF THE FIRE SERVICE Copiague FD Engine 1-3-7 of the Vigilant Engine Company on scene at their recent working fire
Central Islip FD Engine 3-7-1
Copiague FD Engine 1-3-10 of the Eagle Engine Company arriving first due to their fire on Hawkins Blvd on January 26th
Centerport Ladder 2-6-1 operates at a recent house fire
Photo by Rob Garofalo Centerport Engine 2-6-2 operates at the scene of a recent working house fire
Photo by Jeff DiLavore
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
Photo by Mark Bellew
Brookhaven Rescue 3 responds to an MVA during a recent blizzard
Photo by Chris Sabella
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CORAM
Fully Involved Shed
Story and Photos by Christopher Sabella – On Scene Photography Additonal Photo By TJ Lambui - FD Rant News / LiHotShots
On January 9th around 730 pm, fire fighters from Coram were toned out for a signal 13, structure fire, on Mill rd. at High velocity paintball. Upon arrival, the first due Chief reported flames through the roof and began calling in mutual aid from Selden, Gordon Heights, Medford and Terryville. Firefighters from Coram went right to work on a frigid evening with temperatures only in the low teens; stretching multiple handlines and putting extension ladders to the roof, making an aggressive attack. The quick response of the firefighters on scene allowed for a quick knock down. SCPD arson and Brookhaven fire Marshalls responded to investigate the fire’s origin.
EAST NORWICH Overturned Auto
Story and Photo by Mark Bellew – All Hands Fire Photos The East Norwich Fire Department and Muttontown Police Department responded to this 1 vehicle rollover accident on Northern Blvd. near Wolver Hollow Rd on January 10th, 2014. According to a Muttontown Police Officer investigating the accident, the vehicle, which was traveling westbound on Northern Boulevard, overturned several times before coming to rest on its wheels. The Crew of Rescue-517 secured the vehicle and the driver was transported to an area hospital for evaluation aboard Ambulance 5141.
Click Here for More Photos of East Norwich’s MVA
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HAGERMAN Quick Stop at Vacant
Story and Photo by Robert Garofalo – ESA Photography The Hagerman FD responded to a reported residential structure fire on Saturday, January 11th, at approximately 2315 hours on George Street off of Roseland Lane. The call came from a passerby that saw flames from the roof of the vacant single story residence. Under the command of Chief Kenny Mudrack [5-10-31], a working fire was promptly transmitted for visible fire on the exposure 1 side. First due Engine 1 stretched the primary attack line to the front door while Truck 10 began vent, entry and search operations. Engine 6 dropped a 5” supply line from a nearby hydrant and supplied Engine 1. The fire was quickly extinguished with minimal extension and all searches were negative. The Bellport FD responded on mutual aid with an Click Here for More Photos of Hagerman’s House Fire engine and went to work assisting with overhaul operations. Also on scene was South Country Ambulance for medical standby and Suffolk County Fire Coordinator Bob Smith [5-0-2]. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Town of Brookhaven Fire Marshal.
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FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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DIX HILLS
Cesspool Truck Accident Leads to Multiple Fires Story and Photos by Ken Bradbury
On Saturday, January 4th, the Dix Hills Fire Department was activated for a Signal 13, Structure fire at 28 Randolph Drive. A cesspool truck servicing a home in Dix Hills set off a chain of events that set two homes on fire, damaged several others and shut the power grid on. The Dix Hills Fire Department responded to a report of a smoke condition in a house at 28 Randolph Drive. Firefighters arrived to find that a cesspool truck slid on the ice and struck an electrical splice box, creating a power surge which then set two homes on fire and caused electrical damage to four others. While tending to the fire at #28, members noticed smoke coming from the house next door at #26. Upon further investigation, the working fire was transmitted for that house as well. Dix Hills firefighters were assisted by mutual aid departments from Deer Park, Commack, Greenlawn, Huntington Manor, Melville, Hauppauge, East Northport, North Babylon and Commack Ambulance. About 100 firefighters were on the scene operating with 15 trucks to battle the blazes and check the homes. The fires broke out in the basements of both homes with one spreading to the first floor. The incident was brought under control within two hours, under the command of 1st Assistant Chief Robert Fling [2-8-31]. Operations were handled by 2nd Assistant Chief Tom Napolitano [2-8-32] and 3rd Assistant Chief Alan Berkowitz [2-8-33]. There were no injuries reported but multiple homes were evacuated for precautionary reasons. PSEG was requested to shut power to the neighborhood and the Suffolk Police Arson Squad and Huntington Fire Marshal are investigating.
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BAY SHORE
Responds to Reported Building Collapse Story and Photos by Ken Bradbury
On Saturday, January 4th, at 1500 hours the Bay Shore FD was alerted for a Signal 23, reported Building Collapse on Railroad Plaza off Fourth Avenue. The first responding Chief Ed Kunz [3-1-32], was advised by dispatch of a reported partial collapse of the third floor in one of the structures of a three story multi unit housing complex. Upon arrival at the scene, Chief Kunz observed water cascading out of the front door. Chief John Ippolito Jr. [3-1-31] also responded and upon his arrival, assumed command of the scene and directed Tower Ladder 3-1-4 to check the roof for further inspection. The first Engine Company gained access to the IO to investigate. All utilities were summoned as well as the Fire Marshall and Building Inspectors. The water source of the leak, a broken pipe, had caused severe damage to five units. The Bay Shore Brightwaters Ambulance also responded. Bay Shore units remained on the scene for approximately two hours securing the dwellings.
Click Here for More Photos of Bay Shore’s Building Fire
DEER PARK
Responds to Hit & Run MVA Story & Photos by Ken Bradbury
Click Here for More Photos of Deer Park’s MVA
FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
On Sunday, January 5th at 10:00AM, the Deer Park Fire Department was alerted for an MVA at Grand Boulevard and Half Hollow Road. All Deer Park Chiefs responded as well as two Ambulances, an Engine and the Heavy Rescue truck. Upon arrival, only one vehicle with extensive damage was at the scene as the other vehicle had fled the scene. Suffolk PD units, after further investigation, were able to locate the vehicle and occupant 14 blocks away. The persons involved where arrested and awaiting prosecution. Back at the accident scene the victim in the second vehicle was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital with non life threatening injuries.
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DEER PARK
Fast Response Equals Quick Knock Down Story & Photos by Brian Welliver - FD Rant News
On January 7th at around the Deer Park Fire Department was alerted for a structure fire at 35 Arcadia Drive. Upon arrival of Assistant Chief Phil Scarfi [1-4-33] a working fire was transmitted for a fire on the second floor of a two story private dwelling. Engine 1-7-7 came in first due, followed by Ladder 1-4-10, and crews quickly went to work making an aggressive attack. The Dix Hills Fire Department was automatically sent for mutual aid as per the day time response plan and quickly went to work stretching a second hand line. Mutual aid was requested from several other surrounding departments as well. The North Babylon Fire Company was requested to the scene for a ladder as well as West Babylon Fire Department for FAST. The West Islip Fire Department was also alerted to stand by at Deer Park’s quarters. Because of the quick response crews were able to contain the fire to just one room of the second floor. Command was in control of Assistant Chief Scarfi and was later turned over to Chief of Department John Giammarino [1-4-30]. Also on scene to assist with the operations was newly elected Fire Coordinator Thomas Moran [1-0-3] operating at his second fire as a Coordinator.
Click Here for More Photos of Deer Park’s House Fire
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MERV Visits
Photo by
Suffolk County FRES MERV Unit FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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BRENTWOOD
y Chris Sabella
t at a recent fire in Brentwood FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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CENTEREACH Cold Afternoon Worker
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On a chilly Sunday afternoon, January 12th, at approximately 1500 hours, the Centereach Fire Department responded to a reported house fire at 28 Jay Road. First arriving units transmitted a 13/35 for a working structure fire with heavy fire blowing out the front and rear of the dwelling. Centereach’s Chief Anderson [5-530] was in charge of the scene and coordinated an aggressive attack which had Centereach’s Bravest quickly knocking the main body of fire down and bringing the fire under control in about thirty minutes. Mutual was provided by Farmingville, Ronkonkoma, and Selden.
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FLANDERS
Blood Drive Helps Give Gift of Life
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots
On Saturday, January 11th, from 13:00-19:00 hours, the Flanders Fire Department held their 8th annual blood drive at their Firehouse Lane quarters [Flanders F.D. hosts two blood drives every year in January & July]. F.F.D. members were on hand to help guide donors and provide post-donation food and refreshments while technicians from the N.Y. Blood Center handled registration and blood collection. While the weather was uncooperative that night, with torrential down pours and localized flooding, the blood drive had at least 65 donors by 18:00 hours. Mark your calendars and keep your eyes open for the blood drive in July.
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HEMPSTEAD
Heavily Pinned Driver Extricated in MVA
Story and Photos by Lauren Foschino – You’re My Focus Photography
On January 7th, 2014, the Hempstead Fire Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Lincoln Road and Crowell Street. Upon arrival of 1st due units, it was determined that the driver of the black Mercedes was heavily pinned. The driver of the black BMW was treated for minor injuries. With members working in frigid temperatures, 6 hydraulic tools were put into operation during the extrication that required the removal of three doors and the roof of the vehicle. Both victims were transported to local hospitals by North Shore University Hospital ambulances. The operation was under the direction of Chief Scott Clark [80].
Click Here for More Photos of Hempstead’s MVA
BELLMORE
Quick Push Puts Out Hot Car
Story and Photo by Paul Krussmann - LNBN On Tuesday January 14th, the Bellmore Fire Department was notified for a vehicle fire in the King Kullen parking lot, south of the shopping center, shortly before noon. Bellmore's Tower Ladder 606 arrived first on scene and advised there was a fully involved truck fire at that location. The crew from Ladder 6 quickly stretched a 1 and ¾” hand line while a water supply was secured. Bellmore Engine 603 arrived on the scene and helped stretch a second 1 and ¾” hand line off of 606. The fire was quickly extinguished by the Bellmore Fire Department. No other cars in the lot were damaged.
Click Here for More Photos of Bellmore’s Car Fire
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VALLEY STREAM Auto Repair Nightmare
Story and Photos by Dominic Orlando – South Nassau Fire Photo The late evening hours of January 11th were anything but quiet for the Valley Stream Fire Department as they were dispatched to a report of a building fire in an auto repair shop on West Merrick Road. In normal Valley Stream style, the members of the department arrived on scene to find a working car fire inside the repair shop with extension into the roof. With the Chief transmitting the working fire (Signal 10) upon arrival, units went to work and mutual aid from Elmont, Hewlett and Woodmere Fire Departments was requested. Fast action led to a fast knock down with an interior hose team attacking the fire and a roof team inspecting for further extension. With a professional manner which led to a fast stop and no further incidents, the Valley Stream Fire Department once again put their expertise on display to their community further insuring their peace of mind and safety.
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KINGS PARK
Overturned Auto Takes out Pole and Injures One Story and Photos by Jim LoDuca – KPFD Photo Unit
On a bitter cold evening of Tuesday, January 13, the Kings Park Fire Department received a call for an auto accident with overturn and a pole down at the intersection of Fort Salonga Road [Route 25A] and Soundview Drive. Chief Mark O’Brien [4-1-30] was advised by Smithtown Communications [4-2-0] that Suffolk PD was on scene requesting a rush. Upon arrival, Chief O’Brien advised that the car had snapped the pole and requested PSE&G to respond. The crew from Heavy Rescue 4-1-9 secured the vehicle and one victim was treated by Kings Park EMS and transported to Huntington Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. All units were secure within 40 minutes and the road remained closed for several hours while the pole and wires were repaired.
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LYNBROOK
Cockloft Fire to Go, Please
Story and Photos by Dominic Orlando - South Nassau Fire Photo Additional Photos by Kevin Madigan What at first appeared to be a smoke condition got serious quickly as the Lynbrook Fire Department responded and started to investigate a haze of smoke inside the Lynbrook Diner on the evening of January 13th. With the chiefs on scene and first due engine 421 arriving, the smoke condition was visible from the street. 421, upon arrival, stretched a dry 2 ½� line to the door and proceeded to hit a hydrant. The truck team began opening ceiling tiles to investigate the origin of the smoke condition. With a hose team in place and ready, a roof team began opening sections of the roof over top of the main entrance while firefighters with hooks began pulling at the metal façade from the ground. As the two teams worked, smoke began pushing from the cracks in the metal work and before long after a roof opening was cut flames began to push out. At this time, Chief Mike Hynes [429], transmitted the working fire [Signal 10] and requested mutual aid from East Rockaway, Malverne, and Rockville Centre Fire Departments. With fire now pushing through the roof opening, the hose team entered the diner and began to fight the fire from underneath as a second hose line was stretched and brought up the extended tower ladder in place for the roof team. With water on the fire from two different angles, the fire was knocked down quickly and expertly with little time wasted. The members of Lynbrook, after a very fast response and even quicker strategy and operation, managed to prevent further damage to the structure and with no injury to firefighters or civilians on scene. At the time of the fire the diner was open for business with patrons inside. First to arrive on the scene was Lynbrook Police officers who reported the smoke condition inside the restaurant. Bravo to the members of Lynbrook and the mutual aid companies that responded for a job well done.
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RONKONKOMA
Quick Knockdown at Basement Fire Story and Photos by Robert Garofalo
The Ronkonkoma FD responded to this reported residential structure fire on Tuesday, January 14th at approximately 2145hrs on Brunswick Road off of Walnut Street. First arriving Chiefs transmitted a working fire for a fire in the basement. Under the command of Chief of Department Tim Blewett [5-24-30], first due Engine 5 being supplied from a near by hydrant stretched an “Ultra High Pressure” attack line through the front door to the seat of the fire. Members from Ladder 11 handled vent, entry and search operations simultaneously. With the fire quickly knocked down, overhaul operations were underway and the alarm was placed under control a short time later. Mutual aid came from the Centereach FD for RIT as well as the Farmingville and Nesconset fire departments. The Lakeland FD handled standby at Ronkonkoma’s headquarters for the duration of the alarm. No injuries were reported.
Click Here for More Photos of Ronkonkoma’s Basement Fire
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Time and Sacrifice By Don Prince
Doing what we do is an amazingly rewarding sacrifice of our time and for the commitment that we make when we sign up to be a part of something that, over time, grows within us and becomes part of who we are. Time spent helping strangers, time spent training and being a part of a family outside of your home. Time away from your home and loved ones which, at times, can put a stress on those relationships. Time away from your regular job (or second job) which for some can even put the pressure of a financial burden on us at times. Add in to the equation the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD] which is always a possibility lurking in the shadows of what we do. We all handle these pressures differently. For most of us it’s all in a day’s work and we can deal with it and move on to the next day with little or no impact on our regular routine. There are, however, some stresses that affect different people in different ways and letting go of what is going on in our heads isn’t so easy. It can build and build until we need an escape; something to help us let go even if only for a few hours. And it works for a while. It did for me. But then you start to realize that being numb isn’t the answer and how much of a waste of time it is. The fact is that by the time some of us come to this realization it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to quit on our own so we continue to try and control what we are doing which is very seldom successful and our lives start to change for the worse. Trying to hide this condition and the embarrassment that goes along with it from our families, co-workers, and our brothers and sisters at the firehouse becomes even more of an added stress that compounds our situation to a breaking point sooner or later. These are just a few of the responses I got from my first installment from all over the country as a result of this publication being shared… “Hello sir. I read your story on the firefighter page. I too am suffering from alcoholism. I too was a closed door alcoholic. I lost my job at an EMS service for missing days. I was lucky to keep my volunteer firefighting gig. I overdosed while on a heavy four day binge. I ended up in a hospital for a few days and a week in detox. You never think it is an issue until reality hits you in the face. I know of alcoholism being an issue in emergency services but yours is the first story I’ve ever come across. I wish you the best my friend. Thank you for sharing. It helps a lot of us struggling to stay afloat.”…..Patrick T. “It’s almost impossible to explain how devastating it is to lose our careers, our identity. I had to hit a horrible bottom just like you in order to ask for help. That’s something I just didn’t do. Until I could do that and talk about the devastation of losing my career I was a chronic relapser. My sobriety date is 4-13-12.”…John H. “I have felt many times that it is my fault. I must be doing something wrong in our marriage where he’s not happy and that’s why he drinks at home. I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around this as I don’t drink at all and don’t understand the addiction.”…..Mary S. The amazing thing about all of this is that none of us has to let it go to the point of losing our wives, husbands, families, jobs or the bond of the brotherhood that we cherish so dearly. All that is required of us is to take one step out of that cage that holds us captive and realize that we don’t have to live this way any longer and that we can recover. It’s a bold, brave move to make but ultimately the vast majority of us wish that we would have changed things sooner than we did. I am one of those people. Please take a moment to think about what is going on in your life today and how you are living day by day and ask yourself if you are living life to the fullest or are you just getting by because of regret and that feeling of hopelessness. Help is available to anybody at many different levels in order to get us back on the beam and be there for those who depend on us…. Please stay safe and God bless you all.
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About the Author: Don Prince is an Ex-Chief of the Brookhaven FD who served 16 years with the department. He was a member of the Rescue Squad, a rescue diver, served as Station Lieutenant, First and Second Assistant Chief. He was also a member of Shirley Community Ambulance. Since moving to South Florida he now works with some of the leading addiction treatment facilities specializing in first responder treatment and also does community outreach to help others get help with addiction throughout the country. He can be reached at 561-282-8685(c) or 877-926-3498 (toll free) anytime day or night. Editor’s Note: The very nature of working in Fire and EMS services brings many stressors upon members. Dealing with human suffering and tragedy can cause people to seek shelter in the world of drugs and alcohol to easy the mental anguish they may be feeling. Often times what begins as a ‘quick escape’ from a bad day can rapidly turn into extended periods of time where mind altering substances take the place of social interaction, meaningful rest and relaxation and worst of all, can begin to affect the performance of one’s job and relationships with family and friends. Don opened the door to his past experiences in the hopes that others may benefit from his struggles and ultimate recovery. If you, or someone you know, may benefit from this article, then please be a friend to them and help them get into a recovery program. Nobody says it will be easy, but if you really care enough about someone then you will be there for them in the darkest hour no matter what. I would like to thank Don for having the courage to tell his story and I look forward to more of his articles in the future on this subject – Jeff D.
Trailer 3 Highlighting The Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Pittsburgh, PA
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HAGERMAN Early Morning Job
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots
At approximately 0340 hours on January 13th, the Hagerman Fire Department was banged out for a reported structure fire at 644 North Dunton Ave. in North Bellport. Upon arrival, units were met with a heavy smoke condition and a 13/35 was transmitted for a working structure fire. Hagerman’s Bravest performed a quick 360 (finding fire had auto exposed), made entry and discovered the fire was located in the exposure 2/3 corner. After a quick knock down and extensive overhaul, the fire was placed under control with no reported injuries.
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WANTAGH
Security Vehicle goes up in Flames Story and pictures by Paul Krussmann
On Monday, January 13, 2013 the Wantagh Fire Department was called for a motor vehicle accident on the Wantagh Parkway. When Assistant Chief Joe Gross [6903] arrived on scene he told incoming units that there was a one car mva into the guard rail with one aided. Ambulance 6917 was first due on scene and started treating the patient. Engine 698 and Engine 692 were also on scene to handle with checking the car. 6917 transport one male to NUMC requesting the trauma team do to the damage to the car.
Click Here for More Photos of Wantagh’s Car Fire
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WOODMERE Fire Above, No Sweat
Story and Photo by Dominic Orlando - South Nassau Fire Photo
The Woodmere Fire Department makes no exceptions when it comes to late evening into early morning hour calls and this was proven true on the morning of January 14th. With a report of smoke in the house and a possible attic fire, the members of Woodmere in true fireman fashion responded and put a quick knock down on what could have easily been a tragic loss of a house. With the Chiefs arriving on scene after Nassau Police reported a smoke condition in the home, a small fire was discovered in the attic of a 1 story residential house on Hazel Dr. Woodmere members quickly stretched a line and got a team to the roof to check for extension. With the fire knocked down and minimal damage to the home, the members saved the structure from what could have easily grown into a fully involved house fire. The members of Woodmere acted and performed like true professionals and managed to resolve the incident without injury or issue.
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HOLTSVILLE Early Morning Overturn
Story and Photo by Cameron Wilken The Holtsville Fire Department responded to a motor vehicle accident with overturn in the early morning hours of January 15th. The call was dispatched at 6:23 a.m. and occurred on Express Drive North between Blue Point Road and Waverly Ave. Ambulance 5-11-17 was first due and confirmed the overturn. Rescue 4 arrived soon after where they realized all patients were self-extricated. Fire Police 9 and 6th Precinct sector cars helped to redirect traffic in another direction. Two patients were transported to Stony Brook Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
FARMINGVILLE
Loss of Power Causes Car to Hit House Story and Photo by Chris Sabella
On the afternoon of Monday, January 20, 2014 the driver of this car appeared to lose power in her car as she was driving on southbound Waverly Avenue in Farmingville. The sudden loss of power steering forced the car to make a hard left, crossing oncoming traffic, knocking over a light pole then continuing onto a lawn into a house. Farmingville responded with a rescue truck and ambulance to the scene and secured the car. Brookhaven town officials were notified to respond as was PSE&G to repair the electric pole which still had power and needed to be secured and replaced. The driver and young passenger received minor injuries and were transported by Farmingville ambulance for treatment at a local hospital. No one in the home was injured at this time.
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The Radio Room
By Phil Lichtenberger – Monitor Long Island, Inc. & W2LIE.net
Building your Monitoring Post Splitting your signal It has already been a year since I started the “Building Your Monitoring Post” series. Over these last issues, we have covered topics related to the exterior side of your station. We are now starting to work our way slowly down the coax and inside your home, and closer to the actual listening end of the signal. We have a few more items to cover before we seek shelter. By that time, it will be nicer weather and you will have everything you need to start climbing the ladder and upgrading the station. The next few topics will have you working both sides of the coax, so this is a great time for a transition in the series between indoors and out. I am routinely asked how to put up multiple antennas. So one of the last external items to cover have to do with combining multiple antennas between a single receiver, or by combining multiple receivers to a single antenna. The idea isn’t as simple as running a single coaxial cable and adding T connectors. Multiple Antennas / Phasing / Spacing:
As discussed in the 4th installment of the Antenna series, which ran in the June 2013 copy of FDRN, placement of antennas in relation to another antenna or structure is very important when building a monitoring post. Placing your new antenna too close to existing antennas is bad practice. You should try to space your antennas as far apart as possible and at different heights to increase their isolation. One should not think that because their chimney has 4 corners, they can mount 4 antennas on there. Structurally you are most likely exceeding the wind load capacity of your chimney, but the antennas physically too close. Each antenna may react to the other antenna in some way. If one antenna were to transmit, it would most likely desensitize a receiver on another antenna. Having antennas too close can also make an omni directional antenna directional. One common practice is to place antennas no closer than 1 wavelength to each other. If placing separating antennas by a full wavelength, then VHF antennas should be placed approximately 6’ apart, and UHF antennas should be placed about 2’ apart. This image shows sine waves that are shifted out of sync. In this example, imagine A and B are different antennas. The sine wave is the singal received by each antenna. The odds of A=B perfectly are very slim. Image: ibiblio.org
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Placing multiple antennas with the same frequency coverage could cause signals to be received out of phase. What does that mean? If you recall from earlier topics, RF wavelengths are sine waves, with high points, low points, and mid points. Should two or more antennas be used, and one antenna receives at the high point, and one at the low point, you have the opportunity to have both antennas actually negate one another and nullify the signal. Does this mean you cannot use multiple antennas on the same frequency to achive more gain? No. If engineered correctly, an antenna array with very high gain is possible. Arrays are usually composed of multiple Yagi antennas, and the trade off for gain is a very narrow beamwidth on the antenna. Because of this, antenna arrays are common when you need all the gain you can get. Earth Moon Earth (EME) is a common mode where multiple Yagi antennas are stacked in a pattern to increase the transmit and receive gain. The purpose of EME is to bounce a signal off the moon and hear it come back to earth. The HAARP antenna array in Alaska is another example where multiple antennas are arranged to get as much gain as possible. The purpose of the HAARP array is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance[1]
http://www.monitorlongisland.comCombining Signals: So what if you still have the desire to put a VHF and UHF antenna up on the house, or a VHF UHF dual band antenna combined with a second VHF “Low Band� antenna? This is where special combiners called Duplexers come into play. In simplest terms, a duplexer allows you to either combine antennas on diferent bands into a single radio, or combine a single antenna for multiple radios on different bands. Essentionally, a duplexer is a filter. The filter will allow frequencies within the specified range to either pass through a specific port, or become regected by the duplexer.
MFJ Duplexer
Placing multiple antennas with the same frequency coverage could cause signals to be received out of phase. What does that mean? If you recall from earlier topics, RF wavelengths are sine waves, with high points, low points, and mid points. Should two or more antennas be used, and one antenna receives at the high point, and one at the low point, you have the opportunity to have both antennas actually negate one another and nullify the signal. Does this mean you cannot use multiple antennas on the same frequency to achive more gain? No. If engineered correctly, an antenna array with very high gain is possible. Arrays are usually composed of multiple Yagi antennas, and the trade off for gain is a very narrow beamwidth on the antenna. Because of this, antenna arrays are common when you need all the gain you can get. Earth Moon Earth (EME) is a common mode where multiple Yagi antennas are stacked in a pattern to increase the transmit and receive gain. The purpose of EME is to bounce a signal off the moon and hear it come back to earth. The HAARP antenna array in Alaska is another example where multiple antennas are arranged to get as much gain as possible. The purpose of the HAARP array is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance[1]
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http://www.monitorlongisland.comCombining Signals: So what if you still have the desire to put a VHF and UHF antenna up on the house, or a VHF UHF dual band antenna combined with a second VHF “Low Band” antenna? This is where special combiners called Duplexers come into play. In simplest terms, a duplexer allows you to either combine antennas on diferent bands into a single radio, or combine a single antenna for multiple radios on different bands. Essentionally, a duplexer is a filter. The filter will allow frequencies within the specified range to either pass through a specific port, or become regected by the duplexer.
MFJ Duplexer
In our example, let’s imagine we have a VHF antenna and a UHF antenna on the roof. We want to combine each antenna and feed it into a radio. The VHF antenna would connect to the VHF port on the Duplexer, and the UHF anteanna would connect to the UHF side of the duplexer. The combined singal would exit the duplexer from a single port to the radio. Since the duplexer is filtering the frequencies, that means that any VHF signal received by the UHF antenna, will not be fed into the radio. The same idea is applied on the VHF side, the UHF signals received by the VHF antenna are not passed through the duplexer. This eliminates any out of phase signals. Now, if you flip the duplexer around, you can take a dual band antenna that will receive and transmit on two bands, and feed it into two radios that will receive and transmit on a single band each. Example: A VHF/UHF combo antenna is fed down on a single coax run. The coax is fed into a duplexer. The VHF side of the duplexer is sent to a radio that only works on VHF. The UHF side of the duplexer is sent to the UHF radio. There are some examples where you would want to combine and/or split 3 frequency ranges into a single coax. For those examples you would need a triplexer. These are very simple examples of combining signals through a single coax. One could very easily install multiple triplexers and duplexers (and even diplexer) if one needed to filter the RF into certain directions. Keep in mind, the duplexer or triplexer can be on either end of the coax as well. Duplexers are also found on a repeater system where you use a single antenna for both transmit and receive. These duplexers are normally tuned for a specific frequency pair within the same band, and on frequencies that are relatively close to eachother. These duplexers are also commonly called “Cans” or cavities, because some duplexers are made of cylanders which are tuned with threaded rods. A common antenna port is filtered into a transmit side and a receive side. These duplexers are found in the radio room.
http://www.longislandfirephotos.comMulticouplers
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Let’s turn our attention now inside the shack, and at this receving end of the coax. I say receiving end, because not like the duplexer or triplexers, you cannot transmit through a multicoupler. Multicouplers allow you to take a signal and split it evenly across multiple outputs. This allows you to plug 2, 4, or even 8 receivers into the same antenna system. It is important to purchase the correct multicoupler for the frequency ranges you wish to monitor. Multicouplers come in two flavors, passive or active. A passive multicoupler requires no external power and typically has loss. Typically, you can expect to lose a few db’s across each port. To overcome this, you can purchase an active multicoupler. An active multicopuler typically runs on 12v for those available for the scanner radio hobby. If they don’t give you a 1:1 input vs output, sometimes there will be some amplification on the system. Effectively, it is like plugging each radio on the output directly to the antenna without loss and sacrificing performance. Passive multicouplers are more affordable than their active counterparts. Also, the more output ports you have, the more the multicoupler will cost. The other benefit of a multicoupler is there is isolation between each output. Multicouplers also help you keep proper impedance on each output. Remember, radios look for a certain impediance on the coax in order to have proper VSWR and tuning. In the scanner world, we look for 50ohms of impediance. T connectors – I pitty the fool! Coaxial T’s are very affordable, typically only a few dollars. These allow you to take a single coax, and split it as many ways as you need. I’m not saying I’ve never used this method in the past to share an antenna line between scanners, but it isn’t something I use for a long term solution. Sometimes radios have a way of ‘talking’ to eachother if they share a single coax line. They may also desensize other radios on the antenna system. That is why we never use a “T” to split our signal. Putting it all togetherNow that you have the correct hardware, what to do next? This spring, take your scanner antenna, run it into your shack, and hook it up to an active multicoupler. Now you can plug in 2 or more scanners into the same antenna, without sacrificing any signal. Or – take a high gain VHF antenna and a high gain UHF antenna with proper separation, and combine them with a duplexer. Run the common side of the duplexer into your house and then into the input on the multicoupler. Now you can run multiple antennas off the same high gain antennas.
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If you have any question about the contents in this column, or have suggestions for future articles, please feel free to contact me at w2lie@w2lie.net Until next month, remember you can follow my updates on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/w2lie.net and keep up to date on some of my projects on Instagram at http://instagram.com/w2lie and twitter http://twitter.com/w2lie 73 (Best Regards) Phil / w2lie [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Frequency_Active_Auroral_Research_Program
http://www.w2lie.net/sales
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http://www.monitorlongisland.com/radio-programming
The Long Island FD Rant News/W2LIE.net Log Book brings you the latest scanning updates for Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the surrounding areas. This monthly column focuses on radio and communication issues as they relate to emergency services agencies. The column contains tidbits of information for all types of users from novice to professionals. All questions can be submitted to the email address below and I will address them in the subsequent issues. About the author— Phil Lichtenberger is the owner of Monitor Long Island, Inc. which owns W2LIE.net ,LongIslandFirePhotos.com and manages several other sites. Phil has been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since 1994 and has been listening to scanner and short-wave for 20 years. Phil also writes a quarterly column for the Scanner Digest Newsletter Do you have any scanner related questions, tips or ideas for this column? Please submit them to: w2lie@w2lie.ne
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www.monitorlongisland.com
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NORTH MERRICK Family Escapes Overnight Fire Story and Photos by Fred Kopf
A sleeping North Merrick family was awakened in the middle of the night by smoke filling their Lednam Court home and sent fleeing into the night to escape the smoke and fire. At approximately 3:15AM, the Nassau County Fire Communications Center, Fire Com, alerted the North Merrick Fire Department to a report of a house fire at 1277 Lednam Court off Meadowbrook Rd, just south of the Southern State Parkway. The Fire Com Dispatcher advised the responding Chiefs that multiple calls were being received and that it sounded like they were going to work. Units from the Nassau County First Precinct arrived at the location and reported a working fire with all occupants evacuated from the home. North Merrick Assistant Chief Jim Rogers [6701] arrived on scene and transmitted a signal 10, working fire, for fire on the first floor of a two story, 40x40, wood frame, split level, peaked roof private dwelling. Mutual aid requests for a FAST Team from East Meadow as well as standby units to North Merrick’s Headquarters went out to surrounding departments. Engine 672 pulled into the block first due and members deployed an inch and three quarter hose line to the main entrance of the dwelling and advance inside to attack the fire. Members of first due ladder 673 entered the dwelling and tasked themselves with conducting searches and opening up for the engine as it knocked down the fire. The original FAST Truck from East Meadow and the stand by engine from the Merrick Fire Department were put to work at the scene and the Freeport Fire Department was called in to operate as the new FAST Truck. All visible fire was knocked down in short order by the first line before it could extend to other floors. One civilian was transported for smoke inhalation while the remaining residents refused medical attention. The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office.
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OCEANSIDE Works Garage Fire
Story and Photos by Fred Kopf The quick, aggressive actions of Oceanside’s bravest saved three homes from being damaged after fire broke out in an Amos Avenue garage and rapidly spread to a second garage on Wednesday afternoon, January 15th, 2014. At 13:15 hours, Oceanside Fire District Dispatcher number four alerted the department to a report of a garage fire in the vicinity of Amos Avenue and Oceanside Road. Responding chiefs, 2400 and 2403 were advised by the dispatcher that multiple calls were being received. Former Chief of Department Tom Bettes arrived on scene and reported a working detached garage fire in the rear of 180 Amos Avenue. After further investigation, he reported that a second detached garage was involved as well on Elizabeth Avenue which backed up to the original involved garage. He also reported numerous small explosions coming from the structure. 3rd Assistant Chief Kevin Klein [2403] arrived on scene and transmitted a signal 10 [working fire]. He confirmed former Chief Bettes’ report of two garages involved. On the transmission of the signal 10, the mutual aid plan was implemented. Chief of Department William Madden [2400] arrived on scene and assumed incident command and ordered a two front attack on the fire. He divided his companies to attack the fire from Amos Street and Elizabeth Avenue. Several lines were stretched and put into operation and had the fire in both structures knocked down before it could extend to the three occupied private dwelling exposures. The original fire building was destroyed and the second garage was significantly damaged by the fire. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Haz Mat Unit was called to the scene to evaluate four bar-b-q propane tanks that were damaged by the fire. The Baldwin Fire Department provided a FAST Truck and an ambulance to the scene along with an additional truck to the scene for firefighting from the Rockville Centre Fire Department. The Lynbrook and East Rockaway Fire Departments covered Oceanside’s district during the alarm. No injuries were reported and no damage to the any of the adjacent occupied private dwellings was reported. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. All operations were under the command of Chief of Department William Madden. Publisher’s Note: The Oceanside Fire Department changed the identifiers for their chiefs effective on January 1, 2014 adopting the “00”, “01”, “02”, and “03” designations that many other Nassau Departments already use.
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CORAM
Mill Road Battle of Pickups
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On Wednesday, January 15th at approximately 1530 hours, the Coram Fire Department and units from the SCPD 6th pct. responded to a two car MVA in front of 441 Mill Road. Upon arrival, Coram’s Bravest were confronted with two pick-up trucks that had wrecked each other with one crashing into a telephone pole and the other flipping on its side coming to rest against the same pole. The occupants of both cars were able to self-extricate and only two injuries were reported, one serious. Under the command of Chief Gandolfo, the two vehicles were stabilized and patients were treated. One patient was transported to Stony Brook Hospital due to their injuries, and it was undetermined where the 2nd patient was going to be brought at this time.
MANORVILLE Car vs. Motorcycle
Story and photos by T. J. Lambui-FD Rant News/LiHotShots On Wednesday, January 15th, at approximately 12:20 pm, the Manorville F.D. and units from SCPD Hgwy. Patrol responded to reports of a car vs. motorcycle on the westbound LIE, just west of exit 69. The female driver of the Toyota RAV4 reportedly struck the motorcyclist, throwing him off the motorcycle, and running over the bike causing significant damage to both vehicles. Miraculously, the operator of the motorcycle was up and walking around. The operator of the motorcycle was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.
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TERRYVILLE
Frigid Temps While Battling House Fire Story and Photo by Chris Sabella
On Wednesday, January 22, 2014 just after 9pm, Terryville Fire Department responded to a reported house fire on Champlain Street in Port Jefferson Station. First arriving units were met with smoke and visible flames pumping from a second floor window above the garage. Mutual aid was requested from additional departments due to the sub-zero temperatures. Selden responded for R.I.T., Port Jefferson for 1 ladder truck and Setauket for 1 engine. An ambulance was covered by Port Jefferson Ambulance Corps. After a quick attack, the main body of fire was out and the overhaul began. Units remained on scene for at least another hour before taking up.
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BAYVILLE
Fully Involved On Arrival
Story and Photos by Mark Bellew – All Hands Fire Photos
Click Here for More Photos of Bayville’s House Fire Just after 1:00 am on January 16th, 2014 the Bayville Fire Company was dispatched to a bonfire on the beach off of Jefferson Ave. Upon their arrival, they received notification from FireCom of a reported house fire in another neighborhood. The bonfire fire was quickly put out and units responded to the next call. Upon arrival of 1st Assistant Chief Kevin Viteritti [508], the Signal 10 was transmitted for heavy fire in a two and 1/2 story 15' x 40' vacant private dwelling. First due Engine 504, and Locust Valley Tower Ladder 546 would be the F.A.S.T. truck. The crew of Engine 504 stretched one line and immediately began flowing water. There was a hydrant directly across the street from the fire building, however it was old, and only had two 2 ½“ connections and poor water pressure. The incident commander, Chief of Department Edward Orski [507], requested Oyster Bay Company 1 Engine 552 to respond to secure another hydrant and lay into the scene. Chauffeured by 2nd Assistant Chief Stephen Cogliandro [5504], the crew of Engine 552 secured a viable water source approximately 500 feet away on Mountain Ave.
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Once that line was secured, Bayville Quint 503 raised its ariel, and the ladder pipe was put into operation. The Atlantic Steamer Fire Company, Engine 557 driven by 1st Assistant Chief Robert Walles [5501] was also requested to respond to the scene and secure a third hydrant and stretch handlines in from the rear of the property off of Wansor Ave. The ladder-pipe and numerous handlines were in operation for quite some time before the fire began to darken down. Towards the end of operations, Tower Ladder 546 was moved to the front of the fire building and its 77’ Tower with a smooth bore master stream was put to work to knock whatever fire remained hidden within the unstable structure. Nearly 5 hours after operations began, the fire was placed under control and units packed up and cleared the scene; leaving the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Nassau County Police Arson & Bomb Squad to seek out the cause and origin of the massive blaze.
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FD Rants News - Volume 3 Edition 1 - January 2014
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FLORAL PARK
Frigid Conditions, Frozen Hydrants and Roof Collapse all are Challenge Story and Photos by Dominic Orlando
The evening of January 23rd was quite frigid with the melted snow of the day’s prior freezing into black ice and making very hazardous conditions all across Long Island. This did not stop the Floral Park Fire Department or slow them down when they were called to the scene of a roaring house fire at 236 Whittier Avenue. Upon arrival Floral Park Police reported a working fire as Floral Park members were mounting apparatus and preparing to go to work. The chief upon arrival quickly transmitted the working fire (signal 10) and requested mutual aid from Elmont, New Hyde Park, Garden City Park, and Stewart Manor Fire Departments to the scene with Franklin Square, Bellrose Terrace and Manhasset Lakeville Fire Departments on standby. First due Engine 126 pulled up in front of the fire building and members quickly attempted to establish a water source while stretching the first attack line. Their efforts were somewhat halted upon discovering the hydrant nearest to the scene was frozen. Knowing this, Engine 123 was tasked to relay water to Engine 126 to alleviate relocating the engine. In the long run after evacuating the building due to structural instability and 5 handlines with multiple ladder pipes and a deck gun all flowing water the fire was knocked down and an extensive overhaul was begun. The whole incident came and went without a single injury and at no time were the members of Floral Park Fire Department or the mutual aid that assisted ever at a loss of control of the scene. The chiefs and command post operators did a phenomenal job of controlling the scene and running the operation which trickled down through the officers and firefighters who tirelessly fought the cold and wind and knocked the fire down on a very terribly winter evening. Outstanding job to the members of the Floral Park Fire Department and those that assisted.
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HUNTINGTON Ex-Chief Jimmy Martin, Sr.
Story by Ron Schankin Photos by Mark Bellew Additional Photo supplied by Huntington Fire Department Jimmy Martin Sr., a 45 year member of the Huntington Fire Department, answered his last alarm January 14th after a battle with a brief illness. He was 68. Jimmy was well known in the town as someone you could ask for help but also as his title of a practical joker. Jimmy joined the fire department in December of 1969. He was elected Lieutenant in 1976 and Captain in 1978. He was elected to the 3rd Deputy spot in 1986 and finally Chief of Department in 1991. Jimmy was very involved in the fire department sports scene as well; playing softball and heavily involved in the drill team. Jimmy helped many fire departments on the island getting their drill teams started. He was also elected to the Town of Huntington Softball Hall of Fame. Jimmy is survived by his wife Carol, daughter Cheryl and sons Jimmy Jr. and Tony who both followed their dad’s footsteps into the Huntington Fire Department. Rest in Peace brother you will be missed!
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CENTERPORT
Daytime Wind Driven Working Fire in Icy Conditions
Story and Photo by Jeff DiLavore Additional Photos by Mark Bellew and Ex-Captain Greg Schmidt
Photo by Jeff DiLavore Photos by Mark Bellew
Photos by Greg Schmidt Click Here for More Photos from All Hands Fire Photos Click Here for More Photos from FD Rant News On Thursday January 23rd at 1401 hours, the Centerport Fire Department received a call for a house fire at 4 Harbor Park Drive. The first unit on scene was Centerport Assistant Chief [2-6-31] who advised the Centerport dispatcher of a working fire on the second floor of a private dwelling. First due Engine 2-6-2’s crew stretched 1 ¾” handlines and made an aggressive push on the fire while Ladder 2-6-1 took the front of the building. Due to extremely cold conditions and with the fire being wind-driven, the operation went from interior to exterior for a brief period of time. Mutual aid brought Greenlawn, Halesite, and Northport to the scene initially and then East Northport later on. A total of 4 handlines were in operation as the fire was darkened down. Extensive overhaul was performed before the fire was placed under control within an hour. Huntington Fire Department provided an engine and Cold Spring Harbor an ambulance to standby at Centerport’s headquarters. The Town of Huntington Fire Marshal and Suffolk County Arson were investigating the cause.
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MANHASSET-LAKEVILLE
Experiences “Close-Call” With Lightweight Wood Construction Story by Kirk Candan Photos by Lee Genser, David Slotnick and Tracy Dolan
On Saturday, January 18th, 2014 at 8:05PM, Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department Companies 1, 2, 3 and the Ambulance Unit were dispatched to 32 Stone Hill Drive South for a reported house fire. Deputy Chiefs Candan [8704], Kiess [8701], Farrone [8705] and Chief Pisani [8702] all responded within seconds of one another and were all informed that the caller stated their house was on fire. While en route, units received updated information that a second call had been received reporting fire. Meanwhile, N.C.P.D. units were on the scene asking for fire department units to “step it up” with the automatic fire alarm for the residence coming over as well. Immediately following that transmission, Chief Pisani requested that the Port Washington Fire Department be notified to respond as a F.A.S.T. team. Deputy Chief Kiess was the first unit to make entry to the house and advised Deputy Chief Candan everyone was out of the house and accounted for. He also stated he had a smoke condition on the first floor and an even heavier smoke condition in the basement with a very strong burning odor. Engine 8740 had a crew in quarters and was the first piece of apparatus on the road. They arrived on the scene with Engines 8711 and 8735. All three Companies stretched two 1” ¾ hose lines to the front door of the 5,000+ square foot 2.5-story house. After the hose line was charged, the crews of Engine 8740 and 8711 began to advance into the basement where they encountered high-heat and visible fire. After knocking down what they believed was the main-body of fire, crews began opening up the surrounding areas of the basement and realized that they in fact had a well-developed advanced fire which was already in the walls and ceiling before their arrival. At the same time, crews operating inside the house on the first floor now had visible fire extending through the floor boards.
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They also realized that the first floor was becoming spongy and starting to sag in certain locations. In the front foyer, the floor actually began to tear away from the wall. After observing this, Deputy Chief Candan transmitted an “urgent” message and had all members evacuate from the structure immediately. It was at this time it became obvious that the light weight wood construction of the house was beginning to fail and the results would be catastrophic. Seconds after the last member exited the structure; the entire front foyer area of the first floor collapsed into the basement and was engulfed in flames. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the entire first floor failed and the fire rapidly began to consume the rest of the structure. Members re-positioned their hose lines and began a defensive attack. Tower Ladders 8724 and 8744 were setup in front of the fire building along with Ladder 8743. The three master streams operated along with several 1 ¾” and 2 ½” hose lines which were positioned on all four sides of the very large structure. Eventually, due to the tremendous fire load, there was a complete structural failure and the house collapsed on all four sides. Even after the collapse, it took several hours to bring the raging fire under control. Due to the amount of hose lines being operated, it was necessary to call for mutual aid from several neighboring departments. The Port Washington F.D., Great Neck Vigilant Fire Co., Great Neck Alert Fire Co., Plandome F.D., Mineola F.D. and Albertson Fire Co. all operated at the scene, while several other departments provided stand-by coverage in the Manhasset-Lakeville firehouses. All units were released from the scene by Chief of Department Pisani at 2:45AM the morning of Sunday, January 19th. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office was called for an immediate to investigate the cause of the fire. As a precaution, Engine 8711 and Tower Ladder 8724 remained on scene performing a watch line with alternating crews until about 12:30PM on Sunday, January 19th, at which time a construction crew arrived to begin dismantling the collapsed wreckage.
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Publisher’s Note: This fire is yet another example of the dangers associated with lightweight manufactured wood construction. What appeared to be a “minor” fire rapidly progressed to a major incident that put members operating in danger. The fact that the Chief officers recognized the hazards and had the command presence to remove the members from harm’s way cannot be overstated. It is important for members of the fire service to look closely at this fire, understand how conditions deteriorated rapidly, and also how the members who were operating on the interior were in danger of being seriously injured. Education and preplanning cannot be taken for granted. It is imperative that members are familiar with the types of building construction in their districts. From an operation standpoint, I cannot give enough credit to the Chiefs of the ManhassetLakeville Fire Department for being prepared and making a command decision that probably saved the lives of many of their members. Nice work gentlemen. – Jeff D.
Click Here for More Photos of Manhasset-Lakeville’s House Fire
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FACES OF THE FIRE SERVICE
Gordon Heights Chief Rudder on scene at a recent fire in Coram Photo by Chris Sabella
Saftey Officer and 2 Fire Police members from Selden at a recent fire
Farmingville Probie at a recent MVA Photo by Chris Sabella
Mineola Officers on the scene of a recent fire in Albertson Photo by Mark Bellew
Members of Woodmere take a breather after a recent attic fire
Medford 1st Assistant Chief at a recent fire in Coram
Photo by Dominic Orlando
Photo by Chris Sabella
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ALBERTSON
Condo Fire and Cold Conditions Create Difficult Operation Story, Photos and Video by Mark Bellew
Shortly before 6:15pm on January 24th, a Nassau County Police officer from the 3rd Precinct that happened to be patrolling down IU Willets Road took notice of smoke coming from a structure and notified his dispatcher. At 6:18pm, The Albertson Hook & Ladder, Engine & Hose Company No. 1 was dispatched to the reported structure fire in a row of condos on IU Willets Road. They were also told that the construction of the building consisted of lightweight wood truss. Upon arrival, 1st Assistant Chief Jason F. Lasek [802] reported he had a fire in a 20' x 45' 2 1/2 Story, end of the row townhouse. The first in crew from Engine 806 located the fire in the rear unit on the second floor in the bathroom area, but it had already extended upward into the wood truss attic and void spaces. Engine 814 from East Williston and Tower Ladder 862 from Williston Park were requested to the scene, and Mineola Rescue 1610 would be the assigned FAST unit. Approximately 30 to Photo by Chris Sabella 45 minutes into the operation, Chief of Department Carl D’Antonio [801] arrived on scene and assumed the role of Incident Commander. Shortly thereafter, a 3rd Alarm was transmitted for heavy fire throughout, and additional resources were called to the scene. With the assistance of these mutual aid departments, the fire was brought under control.
Click Here for More Photos of Albertson’s Condo Fire
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Numerous large diameter supply lines were stretched from several area hydrants, including one across the Long Island Railroad tracks that resulted in a full stop of service on the Oyster Bay branch between the East Williston and Roslyn stations. No injuries were reported, and there was no extension into the adjoining units. In all, 14 units were evacuated, and temporarily deemed unlivable. Throughout the night and next morning, units would return to hit some flare-ups that were concealed by the interior collapses, with the final result being demolition by heavy machinery. Mutual aid companies on scene and standing by included: Williston Park, East Williston, Mineola, Garden City Park, New Hyde Park, Roslyn Highlands, Roslyn Rescue, Manhasset-Lakeville, Carle Place, Great Neck Vigilants, Westbury, Plainview, Nassau County FireCom FieldCom, Nassau County Fire Marshal’s Office, Nassau County Executive’s Office, Nassau County 3rd Precinct, MTA Police, Nassau County Police Emergency Ambulance Bureau, Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Glen Cove EMS, Long Island Railroad Fire Marshal’s Office, Nassau Inter County Express [NICE] Bus, and The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Services.
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APPARATUS OF THE FIRE SERVICE South Country Ambulance Unit 5-42-26
Wyandanch Tower Ladder 1-10-5 operating on scene at their working fire on Straight Path on December 29th
North Merrick Engine 672 in operation at a recent house fire
North Babylon Fire Company Ladder 1-8-6 on scene for the RIT in Wyandanch on December 29th
Photo by Fred Kopf. Lindenhurst FD Engine 1-6-1 of the Chemical & Salvage Company #2 on scene at a recent vehicle fire
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Wyandanch Engine 1-10-1 from the North House on scene of the working fire on December 29th
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COPIAGUE
Sunday Morning Wake-up Call
Story and Photos by Chris Colletti – LNBN
On January 26th, Suffolk County 911 operators and Babylon Central Fire alarm received a call around 5:15am from the homeowner reporting their detached garage was on fire at 995 Hawkins Blvd in Copiague. Copiague FD 2nd Assistant Chief Charlie Fitch [1-3-32] with 3rd Assistant Chief Mark Rosenberg [1-3-33] arrived on scene and reported a fully involved detached garage with multiple propane tanks within the structure. Chief of Department Justin Holzwarth [1-3-30] established the command post upon his arrival. Engine 1-3-10 of the Eagle Engine Company was first due into the scene, stretching 2 – 1 ¾’’ hand lines, temporarily operating on tank water. Engine 1-3-7 of the Vigilant Engine Company, the second due engine into the scene, hit the hydrant a short distance away and stretched a 5’’ supply line into the scene. An aggressive attack was made by firefighters as the main body of fire was knocked down within 45 minutes of the alarm. Firefighters had pockets of fire extend within a small storage house that was attached to the remaining structure of the garage which was quickly knocked down. A restoration project vehicle also was lost in the fire. The Town of Babylon Fire Marshal’s were requested to the scene as well as the SCPD Arson squad with a priority 5 response for a pending investigation into the cause of the fire. There was no mutual aid requested for the alarm. All Copiague FD Click Here for More Photos of units operating on scene were back in service within 2 hours of the alarm.
Copiague’s House Fire
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LONG BEACH
High Winds and Low Temps Fans House Fire Story and Photos by Fred Kopf
A fast moving three alarm fire, which injured one firefighter, destroyed a Long Beach home and damaged two others in zero degree temperatures on Friday morning, January 24th, 2014. At approximately 0123 hours, City Of Long Beach Fire Dispatcher number eleven alerted the department to report of a house fire at 522 East Beech Street near Franklin Blvd. Multiple calls were being received as the alarm was transmitted. Former Chief of Department Scott Kemmins, [Car 239], arrived on scene moments after the alarm was alerted and transmitted a signal 10, working fire. He reported a fully involved two story private dwelling with exposure problems. Seconds later a second alarm was ordered. Chief of Department Antonio Cuevas [Car 231], arrived on scene and based on conditions transmitted a third alarm. Arriving units found challenging conditions on arrival. The main fire building was a heavily involved two and a half story, peaked roof, wood frame 50x75 private dwelling. Fire was extending to exposure two and four, both occupied wood fame two story private dwellings. A steady wind was blowing fanning the fire and making the ambient temperature of twelve degrees feel like minus five degrees below zero.
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Several hand lines were stretched and put into operation on the original fire building, to protect exposures two and four and to extinguish fire in the attic of exposure four. Both of Long Beach’s tower ladders took up position in front of the fire building and were put into master stream operation as soon as they were supplied with water. After approximately forty five minutes all visible fire was knocked down in the original fire building and exposure four. Only the outside of exposure two was damaged from the radiant heat. At the height of the fire over half a dozen hand lines and two tower ladders were in operation. No injuries to civilians were reported and one firefighter suffered minor injuries when he slipped and fell on the ice. Mutual aid from Baldwin, Freeport, Island Park, Oceanside, Point Lookout Lido, Inwood, Lawrence Cedarhurst, East Rockaway, Lynbrook, and Rockville Centre responded to the fire scene or covered Long Beach and Island Park stations. The Nassau County Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
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LONG BEACH
Unusual Occurrence with Bucket Possibly Caused by Sub Zero Temperatures Story and Photos by Kevin Madigan – K2M Photography
Many of those on the scene of the multi-alarm fire on East Beech Street in the City of Long Beach had their attention drawn to the home that had been badly burned beyond recognition and the exposures that bore signs of intense heat and fire around it. What many may not have noticed on the morning of January 24th while at that incident was the bucket of Long Beach Ladder 2372 suspended some twenty feet in the air. Raised to assist in the operation, the bucket on the Seagrave based apparatus did not come down in the same fashion it went up. No, something was noticeably different. Due to the intense cold down in two-three-zero [230], crucial elements of the ladder froze causing it to malfunction and the bucket lock it in at an angle dangerous to those inside it. The sight of the bucket at such a perilous state was a sight rarely, if never, seen by even the most veteran members of the fire service. What exactly happened during those early morning hours is still up for debate. Perhaps the best explanation is that the oil inside the pendulum [designed to keep the bucket level] froze as a result of the pendulum believing the bucket simply was straight. Regardless, action needed to be taken as the members in the bucket were found to be in a bad position. Despite so much going on, the operator of Ladder 2372 sprung in to action and was able to swing the bucket to the second floor exterior balcony of exposure four. Once brought to the balcony, other firefighters were able to offload their brothers. The quick actions of those involved with rescue [and yes, I would by all means consider this a rescue] helped ensure that no one was injured. As for the apparatus, it was said that with some time back in quarters the oil would thaw and the bucket return to its normal position.
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APPARATUS OF THE FIRE SERVICE Wyandanch Fire Company Heavy Rescue 1-10-8 on scene at their working fire on December 29th Locust Valley Tower Ladder-546 operating at a recent fire in Bayville -
Wyandanch Fire Company Heavy Rescue 1-10-7 on scene at their fire on December 29th
Photo by Mark Bellew.
Williston Park Ladder 862 in operation at a recent fire in Albertson
Wyandanch Fire Company Engine 1-10-4 on scene at copy.
Photo by Mark Bellew.
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SUPPORT OU We hope you have enjoyed viewing Long Island FD Rant News. I would like to say thank you to all of our wonderful contributors and encourage all of you to visit their websites and also to contact our authors to discuss their articles. To show how our new model is better than any other fire news publication out there, each month we will be grouping all of our contributors together on this page, making it easier to locate and connect with all of the month’s contributors; authors and photographers.
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UR SPONSORS
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Jeff DiLavore is a past Chief of the Lakeview Fire Department [1999-2000], a Registered Nurse and a former E MT-CC.
He is also the owner of Nassau FD Rant and Suffolk FD Rant websites and the publisher and editor of Long Island FD Rant News. He can be reached at 631.766.3287 or via email at: FDRantNews@verizon.net
Jim McNamara (Jimmy Mac) is a 25 year member and Ex-Chief of the North Bellmore Fire Department, served as the
Department’s Training Coordinator, and is a founding member of both North Bellmore’s and the 6th Battalion Technical Rescue Team. Jimmy worked for the Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office for 14 years spending the last 12 as a Specialist on the Hazardous Material Response Team. He also spent 9 years as a 2nd Deputy Chief Instructor a t the Nassau County Fire Service Academy where he taught Technical Rescue, Vehicle Extrication, Haz Mat, WMD a nd numerous other classes. Chief McNamara is currently the Adjunct Instructor for Distant Learning for the N assau FD.
Phil Lichtenberger is the owner of Monitor Long Island, Inc. which owns W2LIE.net, LongIslandFirePhotos.com, a nd
manages several other sites. Phil has been a licensed Amateur Radio operator since 1994 and has been listening to scanner and short-wave for 20 years. You can contact him at w2lie@w2lie.net.
Dominic Orlando is a member of the East Rockaway Fire Department with experience in the fire service ranging from volunteer service in the states of North and South Carolina and here in New York. He has been involved in one way or another with the fire service since joining the junior fire department in 1997. He is a veteran of the US Marine Corps, spending 8 years on active duty and having completed 4 separate combat tours overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. He still remains active as a reservist with 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines out of Garden City, N.Y. as their intelligence section chief.
Mike Capoziello is a 28 year member of Hook and Ladder Co.#2 and former Chief [2011-12] of the Elmont FD. He
serves as a Department Training Officer, Public Information Officer and Historian. He has 20 plus years experience as a houseman and dispatcher in various Nassau County departments and is currently a Supervising dispatcher with Nassau County Firecom, training officer for the Fieldcom unit-Member of the Nassau County fire service Critical Incident Stress team for the past 11 years and is a liaison for the team to the Nassau County Fire Commission.
Duane Welliver is a 25 year member and former Fire Captain of the East Farmingdale Fire Department.
He currently serves as the Technical Rescue Captain and a Training Officer for the Department. He is a N.Y.S. Certified Fire Instructor II. Also has 10 years experience as a full time Instructor with the New York City Police Department. He can be reached at 631.505.3778 or via email at: FRSTraining@aol.com.
Jeff O’Toole joined the Fire Service in 1977, belonging to four different Nassau Departments. Presently a firefight-
er/ EMT-CC in Bethpage Engine & Ladder Co. 4, and an Assistant Decon Team Leader. He is active with the Hazmat/WMD Committee of the Nassau County Fire Commission. You can contact him at nchazmat@optonline.net.
Tim Ivers has been a Police Officer for 30 years. He has been with the NCPD Emergency Service Unit since 1995.
Prior to working in the NCPD he was a Police Officer with the NYPD. He is a past member of the Levittown Fire Dept. In addition to the usual training and certifications necessary for the police department, he is a Haz-Mat Technician as well as a WMD Technician. He holds a NYS Certification in Vehicle Extrication and is trained and certified as a Hurst Extrication Tool instructor. Tim can be reached at: ESU2422@gmail.com
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