March 2005

March 3. Box 195 was struck at 0041hrs this morning for a house fire on St Rt 327 North. 1921 Chief Dan Gill assumed command on a 1 story residential with an apparent chimney fire. FFs immediately started fire attack and salvage operations. Crews from E5 & E6 made quick work of the fire and after some ventilation the assignment was scaled back to just Wellston units. After some overhaul, units were placed back in service. The last Wellston unit cleared the scene in just over a half hour. This is only the 3rd call for March, but we've already had 2 fires. We've now had 12 working house fires for the year. With the mutual aid that is starting to pick up in the county, we're sure this number will steadily increase throughout the year.

E1905 - Chief Dan Gill, FF Billy Witt, FF Brian Dunn
E1906 - A/C Tom Helm, FF Bill Denney, FF Chris Waugh

March 7. 5 new firefighters have been hired and are currently going thru their basic recruit training. One of our "new" recruits was a full-time firefighter in the Franklin County area and already has his training, but he's still sitting in for a refresher. These new members should improve our response time during low staffed areas and will be greatly appreciated by current firefighters and citizens alike. Congratulations again to our new "probies" and you'll be hearing more about them in the future!

New FFs - Rick Callebs, Gary Hagen, Jeremy Janey, Richard Kisor, Ben Matthews (former Cadet Chief)

March 12. Apparently, one of our new recruits has brought a white cloud with him. We've only had 15 calls so far this month, and 5 of them came in the first 2 days. This may be changing though, as we've had 6 calls in the last 24 hours. It always seems when you get something new (helmet, gloves, probie), you have a dry spell before you get to try it out. We're sure the calls will come back up. We know the recruits will be glad to hear that. The only "real" call we've had in the past week came during Recruit Training, and the new firefighters had to sit in the classroom and watch the trucks drive away. It was a possible fire at the north end laundry mat. Crews arrived on scene to find a water break with some steam behind one of the washing machines. The engine cleared and was back at the station within just a few minutes. Basic is rolling right along. Our probies already have 12 hours of training under their belt. Their class will be completed in another 2 weeks, and they'll be sitting for the State Test. Good luck to all our new firefighters, and hopefully they'll get to go to work soon.

March 1. Crews were woke up for a car fire around 0630hrs this morning. E1905 was on scene in about 3 minutes with an engine compartment fire, with possible exposure. 5's crew made a quick knock and A/C Tom Helm held the call with 1 engine. There was no damage to the truck which was only 3 feet away. Several spectators were on hand to cheer on crews. The driver of the truck was relieved to see us!

E1905 - A/C Tom Helm, FF Roman Brandau

March 15. Crews started the morning off with 2 medical calls. Then, just after 1300hrs, the tones dropped for a confirmed structure fire in the 500 block of West A St. E1905 was on scene in less than 4 minutes with a 14x60 premanufactured home with light smoke showing. E5's crew made entry and determined the furnace had caught fire. Crews quickly extinguished the small fire and E1906 began ventilation. The assignment was scaled back to Wellston units within 3 minutes. All crews cleared the scene around 1400hrs.

E1905 - A/C Tom Helm, FF Ashley Phillips, FF Roman Brandau

E1906 - Chief Dan Gill, FF Billy Witt, FF Jeremy Janey

March 17. Congratulations FF Rick & Ann Marie Callebs on the birth of your baby boy. 8lb 12oz John Clayton was born earlier today. Good luck to mother and child, and you too Rick! We look forward to seeing him around the station.

March 18. The tones dropped around 1440hrs today for a large brush fire off of No. 12 Hollow Road. Units gained access from Rumpke off of St Rt 32. 1922 A/C Tom Helm assumed command on a field/brush fire with about 20 acres off. Several brush trucks and a bulldozer were special called to the scene. In all, 9 trucks, a dozer and 25 FFs fought the fire for almost 2 hours before marking in contained. The last units were back in service at 1730hrs. Thanks to all the crews who assisted. The amount of FFs on scene made this fire much easier to control. Thanks also to Rumpke for the use of their dozer.

E1905 - A/C Tom Helm, FF Ashley Phillips

B1909 - FF Darrell Wright, FF Ben Matthews, FF Billy Witt

SRU1910 - FF Roman Brandau, FF Bill Denney, FF Gary Hagen

R1117, B1216, R1217, C-H1, B-H6, B-MJ9

March 27. Another Dupree is amongst us. FF Aaron Dupree and wife Dana had their baby girl, Erynn Bailey, this evening. She was 7lbs 3oz and 19 inches long. We won't know what to do with another female Dupree running around. We're just wondering if she's going to carry on the family tradition. I guess we'll find out in 18 years. Congratulation Aaron & Dana and welcome to the family Bailey.

March 28. E1905 & R1908 responded with Medic 081, Medic 082, & Medic 092 to the intersection of St Rt 32 and CR 39 (Mulga Road) this afternoon for a 2 vehicle MVC with 1 reported in the swamp. Crews arrived on scene a few minutes later to find a truck in the swamp and a car in the roadway. All 7 patients were out of the vehicles. R8's crew secured both vehicles while the Engine's crew assisted with medical treatment & packaging of the patients. 5 of the 7 patients were transported to HMC-Jackson. All were Priority 3 patients with the other 2 patients signing refusuals. All crews cleared the scene in about 40 minutes.

March 30. The street assignment was sent to the end of Candlelight Dr today at 1023hrs. E1905 arrived on scene of a 1 story wood frame single family dwelling with nothing evident from the street. As E1906 was pulling up, the fire broke out a window and E5's crew reported a room off in the rear. E6's crew started an aggressive search while 5's crew stretched a preconnect. 6's operator set-up a PPV fan in front to limit extension. The search crew reported negative on the primary & confirmed the fire was being contained by the fan in the utility room with some minor extension to the kitchen. Crews made entry and the fire was knocked in less than 10 minutes. Crews on scene completed salvage and overhaul until clearing around 1143hrs. 1145hrs. While enroute back to the station, the street assignment was sent to Jenkins Memorial Nursing Facility for the commercial fire alarm activation. Units were on scene in about 2 minutes and found a malfunctioning detector. Crews cleared that scene and made it back to the station just after 1200hrs.

E1905 - A/C Tom Helm, Capt Dennis Dupree, FF Barry Lambert

E1906 - FF Aaron Dupree, FF Roman Brandau, FF Darrell Wright, FF Ashley Phillips

March 30. Crews were kept busy today with a total of 5 calls including 2 working fires. After the 1st due house & alarm (below), FFs went on a brush fire in Washington Twp. Then, at 1928hrs, the street assignment was sent to Kisor Rd for a boat on fire next to a structure and a car. E1905, E1906, & R1908 responded with a total of 12. E5 arrived on scene with a fully involved boat within feet of a large garage and a car. E5's crew started fire attack, while E6's crew searched the garage and checked for extension. R8's crew stood by and provided manpower for the incident. E-H4 was special called for area coverage. Crews departed the scene in about 35 minutes. But the evening wasn't over. Before the end of the night, crews handled another brush fire in Milton Twp off of Buckeye Furnace Road. Crews were out on this incident for about 45 minutes.

E1905 - A/C Tom Helm, Capt Dennis Dupree, FF Ashley Phillips, FF Bill Denney
E1906 - FF Roman Brandau, FF Chris Waugh, FF Barry Lambert, FF Ben Matthews, FF Brian Dunn
R1908 - FF Aaron Dupree, FF Darrell Wright, FF Gary Hagen