Multiple Calls

The first call came at 1807 hours, when a first alarm assignment was dispatched for a residential structure fire on Edgehill Drive in Westmont. Responding units arrived to find a working fire and requested Station 5 for the Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC). Upon arrival, Truck 5-1 set up and stood by as the RIC in front of the structure until released. This fire occurred during a major thunderstorm.

While operating at the first fire, a first alarm assignment was dispatched to a lightning strike on Hipp Street in Cover Hill (Truck 5-1 is normally due on this call). Responding crews arrived to find a working structure fire. Upon being released from the Westmont fire, Truck 5-1 contacted Chief 13 to see if the truck company would be needed at their incident and was requested to respond. Upon arrival, the crews from Truck 5-1 and Squad 5-6 stood by in a manpower staging area until released a short time later as the fire was quickly knocked down by on scene crews.

Finally, at 2322 hours, units were dispatched to a vehicle accident with a vehicle rolled over on Bonair Street. Chief 5 arrived first to find a single vehicle on its side near the intersection with Arthur Drive Extension and nobody around the vehicle. Truck 5-1 checked for hazards and stood by until the vehicle was towed.

Federal Grant Received For Gear Washer

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded an $8,550 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) to the Franklin Borough Fire Department. The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) will assist with the purchase of a gear washer/extractor to clean firefighters’ personal protective clothing that was purchased in 2003 through the aid of a federal grant.

Nationally, the AFG awards, which will be distributed in phases, will ultimately provide approximately $490 million to fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations throughout the country.

AFG awards aim to enhance response capabilities and to more effectively protect the health and safety of the public with respect to fire and other hazards. The grants enable local fire departments and emergency medical services organizations to purchase or receive training, conduct first responder health and safety programs, and buy equipment and response vehicles.

“The Assistance to Firefighters Grants program has been instrumental in building capacity and providing needed resources for our nation’s firefighters,” said FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison. “From the purchase of equipment to first responder training, the AFG program has helped improve response capabilities and saved lives and property in communities throughout the United States.”

Since 2004, AFG has provided almost $3.1 billion in grants to fire departments and first responder organizations to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment, vehicles and fire prevention activities. AFG is administered cooperatively by two FEMA components: the National Preparedness Directorate and the United States Fire Administration.