MVC in Brennan Estates.  On March 11, 2008 Stations 1 and 27 were alerted to an MVC with injuries in the Community of Brennan Estates.  27-5 was returning from a cover up assignment when the call came in and proceeded to respond.  Upon arrival it was discovered a silver Acura sedan had rear ended a blue Ford SUV.  The person driving the SUV was transported to Christiana Hospital via Delaware City B-15.  The officer of 27-5 placed the situation under control at approximately 1620 hours.  Units responding to the incident were 27-5, B-15, B-1, A-27, A-1, Rescue 27 and New Castle County Police. 

 

Story and pictures by Christopher Cullis
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Special Press Conference At Volunteer Hose to announce awarding of Homeland Security Grant.

 

On Friday, March 7, 2008 The Volunteer Hose Co. of Middletown welcomed U.S. Representative Mike Castle, Garth Spencer of Sen. Carper’s office, Middletown Mayor Kenneth Branner, several Middletown Town Council members, fire company officers, members and media to the firehouse for a press conference in celebration of receiving a Department of Homeland Security Grant in excess of $119,000.  Representative Castle explained that the particular grant awarded was a merit based grant and that it took a lot of time and hard work to accomplish. Chief Frank Bailey, and Deputy Chief Paul Watts informed the guests that the money will be used to purchase new turnout gear for firefighters and EMT’s at Volunteer Hose Co.  Following the press conference Rep. Castle was given a tour of Station 27 by Chief Frank Bailey. 

 

Story and pictures by: Christopher Cullis

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Person injured from a long fall in the Villagebrook Community.

  On Monday afternoon, February 18, 2008 at 1424 hours, Stations 1 & 27, New Castle County EMS Medic 5, Trooper 4, and The Middletown Police Dept. were alerted to the Villagebrook community for a report of a person injured from a long fall.  First arriving units found the patient on her deck complaining of severe neck and back pain due to falling off a ladder.  Due to the severity of the injuries and distance to the nearest receiving facility, Medic 5 made the determination to utilize the State Police Helicopter for transport to Christiana Hospital.  The patient was assessed and treated and upon being immobilized on a backboard was transferred to the State Police Helicopter with help from medical personnel on scene.  All units were clear of this incident at 1452 hours.

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Working House Fire on Emerson Court in Middletown Crossing 

Monday morning, November 5^th at 06:43hrs, Stations 1&27, Engine Company 4&24, and Engine and Rescue 26 were dispatched for a L3 Residential Fire at 4 Emerson Court in the Middletown Crossing development.  While units were enroute, New Castle County fireboard upgraded the response to a working alarm due to receiving numerous calls, adding Station 29 for the RIT assignment, Engine and Ladder 44, NCC Medic 5A and Station 15 for an additional BLS unit to stand by the fire scene. 

Rescue 27 arrived on scene with smoke showing and the crew placed one 1 ¾” hand line in service.  A quick size up of the incident determined a basement fire, with the crew making an aggressive attack and having the bulk of the fire knocked down within the initial stages of the incident.  Additional crews from Middletown and all of the mutual aid companies completed various fire ground activities, with all units clearing the fire scene by 09:00hrs. 

Units responding were Rescue 27, Ladder 27, Rescue 1, 27-5, Rescue 26, 4-5, 24-3, 29-4, Ladder 44, 44-3, A-1, A-15, NCC Medic 5A and Middletown Police.  The stations were covered by Chesapeake City and Galena during the incident.  The Delaware State Fire Marshals office is investigating.

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Working House Fire on Vincent Circle in Middletown Village

Saturday morning, September 22^nd at 06:41hrs, Stations 1&27, Engine and Rescue 4&24, and Engine 26 were dispatched for a L3 Residential Fire at 322 Vincent Circle in the Middletown Village townhouse neighborhood.  New Castle County police arrived on scene soon after dispatch and advised of smoke showing, adding Station 29 for the RIT assignment, Engine and Ladder 44, NCC Medic 5C and Station 15 for an additional BLS unit to stand by the fire scene.

Rescue 27 arrived within eight minutes of the initial dispatch with heavy fire conditions on side A of two townhouses, with the fire extending into the first and second levels and also the attic space of the homes.  The crew placed two 1 ¾” hand lines in service working each house and making a quick, aggressive knock down of the fire.  Ladder 27 was the next unit arriving on scene and placed the aerial into service and the crew went to the roof for the ventilation assignment.  27-5, 26-3 and 24-3 arrived on scene simultaneously, completing the secondary hydrant assignment, placing ground ladders to the structures and also initiating the secondary search of both residences.  During the secondary search of one of the residences, crews located four cats in the basement and turned over to the BLS crews from A-27, A-15 and Medic 5C, where they were administered oxygen and transported to a local Veterinary hospital for further treatment by A-15.   Additional units assisted with various fire ground activities, with all units clearing the fire scene by 09:00hrs.

Units responding:
Rescue 27, Ladder 27, Rescue 1, 27-5, AIR-27, 24-3, 4-5, 26-3, 26-2, 29-4, Ladder 44, 44-3, A-27, A-15, NCC Medic 5C, ALS-21, ALS-17, EMS-3 and NCC Police.  The American Red Cross also mobilized to assist the families affected.

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  The Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown's annual picnic was held at the St. Andrews picnic grounds.  The picnic is held each year to say thank you to all the  volunteers and the career staff  for their outstanding contributions to the Town of Middletown and surrounding communities.  This event is not only to thank the Fire Fighters and EMTs, but also to thank their families for their support and sacrifices. 

2007 is turning out to be another record breaking year.  As of June 30, members responded to 372 fires and 1,029 EMS runs.  We are on track to hit 800 fire calls for the year; and from an EMS perspective, we will most likely exceed 2,000 responses..

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  On a recent trip to the Pierce facility in Appleton, Wisconsin, Chief Bailey and Deputy Chief Watts took a tour of the aerial factory to gather additional information and ideas for the new ladder tower.  While there, we were able to view many new tower ladders in production and to see the process of building and testing in real time.  Some of the new apparatus were being manufactured on the new chassis that are offered by Pierce.

The apparatus replacement committee is approaching the final stages of developing the specifications for a new Mid-Mount Tower ladder.  The group has held several meetings over the past few months to plan the unit and its features.


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  The Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown recently placed into service a 2006 Pierce Mini-Pumper.  The unit was built on a Ford F550 chassis with seating for 5, along with a 300 gallon tank and a 300 GPM diesel pump.  There are SCBA for the personnel on the unit, along with miscellaneous hand tools, a portable generator, Hurst power unit with a Hurst combination tool and RAM, 150’ of 1” booster line, 150’ of 1 ¾”  pre-connect, 50’ of 3” supply line, a full LED warning light package and a 5KW power inverter for scene lighting and miscellaneous power needs.  The new piece has been designated as 27-1 and will respond on a variety of alarms.


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  On Sunday, the Apparatus Replacement Committee invited several area fire companies to display their aerial gems for all to see.  Ladder's from Lafayette, PA, Voorhees, NJ, Smyrna, Christiana, and Laurel were on display, as well as Odessa's new heavy rescue truck.  This was the second event held by the committee for the Volunteer Hose members.  The main goal of this event was to allow everyone to see and operate the various types of ladder trucks and representatives from Pierce and American LaFrance were on hand to answer any questions.

Special thanks to all the participating fire companies for making this event happen.


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  Saturday evening, March 10, 2007 at approximately 22:59 hrs, Stations 1&27, NCC Medic 5A and Trooper 4 were alerted for a MVC with Entrapment and a vehicle on fire located on RT 301 in the area of Maryland Line Road.  Following the initial alert, Station 26 – Townsend was added for an engine assist as per the NCC dispatch guidelines.  At 23:03 hrs, A-27 and B-27 were on scene reporting a vehicle involved confirming a subject trapped.  Rescue 27 arrived a minute following the ambulances and immediately extinguished the fire and began extrication of the second vehicle, with crews from 27-1 and Rescue 1 assisting with the extrication as well upon arrival.  Townsend engine 26-2 was re-directed to Station 27 until units cleared the scene.  The accident is currently under investigation by the Delaware State Police. 

Units responding:  A-27, B-27, A-1, 27-8, Rescue 27, Rescue 1, 27-1, NCC Medic 5A, Trooper 4, Delaware State Police, Del-DOT, NCC Police.

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  Planning the new Ladder 27 - On Saturday, March 3rd, the apparatus Replacement Committee visited the American LaFrance aerial factory located outside of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.  The committee is in the process of planning a new aerial to add to the VHC fleet, in addition to the 75' Pierce Lance we currently operate.  With the fast pace of growth over the past several years, our needs to increase the ladder size becomes more and more apparent with the new dwellings serving the community and the best piece of equipment possible to continue providing our truck company services to the citizens of Middletown and all of our neighboring fire departments.  Our overall goal is to plan this unit to be as efficient and functional as possible for many years to come.

In addition to the truck committee, several Officers, Directors and Members attended the tour to see the equipment first hand, to learn about the different types of aerial devices available to the fire service, and to gather input from the membership to assist the committee with the planning of the new unit.  Many options were seen and discussed while touring the facility, especially pertaining to storage capabilities and overall features available using current technology.

The purpose of the trip was to look at the features and storage space on 100' aerials, including straight ladders, rear mount platforms and also mid-mount platforms.


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  On Saturday morning, March 3, 2007 at approximately 04:26 hrs, Stations 1&27, NCC Medic 5 and Trooper 4 were alerted for a MVC with a Roll-over in the area of RT 301 and Maryland Line Road.  The actual location of the incident was a mile north of the initial report, at RT 301 and Warwick Road, in front of the Hoober Equipment store.  Once on the scene, crews found a tractor trailer and a small pick-up overturned and rolled off of the roadway.  One of the drivers was treated for injuries and transported to CER by A-27.  Crews remained on scene until 07:00 hrs to assist DSP with lighting, patient recovery and also to assist DNREC and HAZ-MAT 30 with containment of spilled fuel oil.

Units responding:

A-27, A-1, Rescue 27, Rescue 1, 27-1, NCC Medic 5, Trooper 4, DNREC, HAZ-MAT 30, Delaware State Police, Del-DOT, NCC Police

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  On June 20, 2006, the Volunteer Hose Company hosted the Delaware State Fire Chiefs Association press conference to kick off the 2006 Firefighter Safety Stand Down.  Several officers and members were on hand as reporters came to the station to learn about the stand down.  The day began at 0900 with an explanation of the stand down and a gear check.  At 1000, we began to check all of the apparatus for fluids, warning lights, etc.  Next, each firefighter was required to demonstrate proficiency in donning an SCBA while wearing a seatbelt.  We stopped for lunch around 1130 and then began the main event, which was a truck rodeo.  Members drove the apparatus through a cone maze based on the Volunteer Fireman's Insurance Service safety course.  Volunteers that were not able to attend during the day were given the opportunity to participate at 1900 hours.  In all, 45 volunteer and career firefighters participated.

 

  On May 23rd at 12:19pm -Stations 1, 27, 15 for 15M2, 20 for the dive team, Medic 6, Trooper 4, ALS 24 were dispatched for an MVC reported with wires down, brush fire and occupied vehicle in the water at 1068 Howell School Road.  Trooper 4 along with Medic 6 were first on the scene followed by 27-8.  15-5 was directed by 27-8 to handle the brush fire and Medic 6, ALS 24, B-15 and Station 27 united handled the patient from the vehicle who was transported by DSP Trooper 4.  The NCC Dive Team was returned as their services were not needed and 27-8 placed both scenes under control shortly before 13:00.

Units responding: B-27, 27M2, Rescue 27, 27-0, 27-8, 15-5, B-15, 15M2, 20M2 & Dive Team, Medic 6, ALS 24, DSP, DSP Trooper 4
 

  On Sunday, May 21st at 05:06 hrs, Stations 1 & 27, NCC Medic 6D and Trooper 4 were alerted for an MVC with a patient not alert on the top of the Summit Bridge.  Medic 6 and Deputy 27 were the first units responding and were advised by the fireboard that this was involving a Delaware State Trooper.  Units responding assessed 5 patients total, with 2 trauma alerts and 1 patient trapped.  Both the northbound and southbound lanes of the bridge were closed by DSP and a 2nd ALS Unit was requested to assist with patient care.  Rescue 1 and Rescue 27 arrived on the scene simultaneously and both crews went to work with the extrication process.  Extrication was completed within 15 minutes of the rescues arriving on scene.  The scene was turned over to DSP for further investigation.

Units Responding: Rescue 1, Rescue 27, 27-0, A-1, A-27, B-12, B-15, A-24, NCC M-6D, M-5D, EMS-3 & DSP Trooper 4
 

  In late March, the Volunteer Hose Company hosted an in-house vehicle rescue class.  It was an opportunity to get to use the New Holmatro rescue tools in a non-emergency setting and let the junior members get some hands on training.  Both Rescue 27 and Rescue 1 participated and crews were able to switch between the Hurst system on Rescue 1 and the Holmatro system on Rescue 27.  As you can see from the pictures it was a very productive evening.

Photos and story by: Richard Wing
 

Caution urged with any outdoor burning

Dry conditions and spring winds have prompted the Office of the State Fire Marshal to remind Delawareans to use caution with any kind of outdoor burning.

State Fire Marshal Willard F. Preston III asked that extra effort be used to limit use of outdoor fires as long as weather conditions continue to include low humidity, lack of a consistent rainfall and high wind.

A statewide ban on burning was lifted last week, but Preston said conditions remain dry statewide, especially in Sussex County.

Source: News Journal
 

  Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown Opens Fire Station,  The second station for the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown opened on February 11.

The new $1.5 million, 7,900-square-foot Station 1 resides on two acres.  It features five bays that hold one engine, one rescue pumper, and one ambulance.  A brush truck will be added soon.  It also offers two administrative offices, a kitchen/lounge area, and sleeping quarters for nine people.  The firehouse is located at 711 Churchtown road, behind Summit airport.

People interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter and\or EMS provider with Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown can call (302) 378-7799 or visit www.vhc27.com.
 

  At 08.19 on Friday March 10th,  Stations 1 & 27 along with Medic 5 and Trooper 4 were dispatched for an MVC with a rollover involving a tractor trailer at Rte 301 and Strawberry Lane.  DNREC 711 and 709 were the first on scene followed by A-27, B-27, Medic 5, Rescue 27, 27-0 and Trooper 4.  Due to the severity of the accident IC requested DELDOT and MDOT to shut down 301 north and south and Strawberry Lane east and west for the duration. 

A simple door pop was needed to extricate the driver and the patient was stabilized in A-27 before being transferred to Trooper 4.  Cecil County Station 1 responded with Rescue Pumper 115, Ambulance 191 and a Paramedic unit to assist.  The engine was assigned the task of stabilizing the tractor trailer before cleared by the IC.  Route 301 remained closed until 3pm Friday for clean-up and investigation.
 

  New Rescue truck put in service...  On Sunday February 19th the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown placed into service their new 2005 Pierce Rescue Pumper.  Rescue 27 will be the trucks call sign and the old Rescue 27 (relocated to Station 1) will now be called Rescue 1. 

Rescue 27 seats eight fire fighters and holds 750 gallons of water and 30 gallons of pre-piped foam.  The truck has 1500 GPM pump and is equipped with 1000' of 5" supply line.  It has 4 pre-connected 1 3/4" hand lines with one off the front bumper, two crosslays and one off the rear.  In addition there is also a 2 1/2" pre-connected blitz line off of the rear of the truck.

Rescue 27 is equipped with a full complement of Holmatro rescue tools utilizing the new Core Technology, 3 rams, high & low pressure airbags, various ropes and harnesses, water rescue equipment and structural firefighting tools.

Rescue 27 will run as the first due engine on all structural fires in district and first due on all MVC's.
 

  Top Volunteers Honored at Annual Banquet, Two top performers were honored at the Volunteer Hose Company of Middletown Annual Banquet on January 28th.  Tim Hoffecker was name Firefighter of the Year and Jeff Ong achieved recognition as EMS Person of the Year. 

Hoffecker, who joined the Middletown Company in 2002 and has been a volunteer firefighter for 3.5 years, stated, "I am happy to be recognized by the Chiefs, it makes me want to continue to put forth all the effort that I