2008 Insidents

12/14/08 - MVA w/entrapment - Early evening call for a crash in front of CV High School. Arriving units discovered two vehicles had hit partial head-on, with entrapment in the red vehicle. Crews from 31 and 33 work together to perform a two-door lay down on the driver's side and a roof cut to extricate a patient. Two patients were flown via Life Lion to Hershey Med.

12/04/08 - Mobile Home Fire - Crews respond to a daylight call in Leiby's Mobile Home Park,arriving to find heavy smoke issuing from a single-wide mobile home. The first line from E133 went in the front door, and our crew from Engine 31 took a second line to the back door. The two lines made short work of the fire and crews overhauled as the lines were picked up. Not much to save, but excellent knockdown on a mobile home! Good teamwork with New Kingstown Fire Company and several other responding units. Shawn and Scott, Mighty Twins, Activate!

11/17/08 - Oven Fire - Crews respond to and quickly control an oven fire. If you store items in the oven while not in use, please be sure to remove them before starting the oven.

11/07/08 - House Fire - House fire strikes in Silver Spring Township. The patron was at home mowing his grass when a passerby informed him of smoke coming from the garage. After trying to extinguish the blaze, the elderly resident made the proper decision to evacuate. Crews had a quick knockdown and were able to contain the fire to the garage, but there was substantial smoke damage in the house. State Police Fire Marshall determined cause to be electric in nature.

10/30/08 - House Fire Hampden Township - A morning crew travels to Hampden Twp for a fire in a home under construction. The first crew in from another dept. encountered a mayday situation when one member of the crew fell from the interior stairwell. The stairwell was fully exposed to the foyer below with no railings installed yet, creating a highly dangerous situation in the dense smoke. We wish a speedy recovery to the injured firefighter. Two evacuations and a second alarm were ultimately reached before the fire was brought under control.

10/27/08 - Overturned camper trailer - In this bizarre incident, crews are called to Interstate 81 for a propane leak, request of State Police. Arrival finds a completely demolished and overturned travel trailer (camper) strewn through the median, but no tow vehicle or patron in sight. We quickly secured the small propane cylinders and decided no other services were needed. Quite a mess.

10/20/08 - MVA w/ confinement - A young man puts himself in quite a predicament on Commerce Drive after launching off the roadway down a 10 foot bank, then landing in a rough rock field, coming to rest precariously on the biggest boulder there, of course. This type of rescue presents quite a challenge for rescuers, who must stabilize the vehicle before removing the patient in unstable footing 50 yards off the road at zero dark thirty. Good use of the Rut Struts and the often overlooked come-a-long. Not surprisingly, alcohol and drugs are suspected contributors in the crash.

10/09/08 - MVA w/ entrapment - Hogestown Road just north of the Growler. Tractor trailer vs passenger vehicle. In this "sideswipe" type incident one of the vehicles apparently crossed the center line and contacted the other. First arriving Rescue 27 called for an upgrade to entrapment as Engine 31 responded from a fire prevention detail at Silver Spring Elementary. Chief 131 added Company 33 for the upgraded box. Responders took the roof, laid down the driver's door and had to ram the dash to gain access to the patient, who was flown via Life Lion to Hershey Medical Center. The extrication went very well and was performed rapidly with the assistance of good communication between the units. Thanks to all who assisted on this high-intensity call. Note to responders: When setting up a landing zone near a bar, provide heavy security to the LZ. One overzealous patron nearly ran onto the LZ to "get a better look at the helicopter". The debris field was so long we used the engine to wash down the roadway.

10/02/08 - MVA - Wertzville Road - Our second of three calls within 1 hour's time. In this apparent rear-end style crash, the driver of this pickup came in contact with another vehicle, then left the roadway to end up in this precarious position. Fortunately the occupant self-extricated prior to our arrival with no injuries. Very close to a rollover in the ditch!

08/20/08 - Garage fire - First arriving units find a smoke condition coming from the garage and quickly extinguished the small fire in the rear of the garage. Witnesses stated a neighboring child threw a smoke bomb into the garage as a prank. The smoke bomb found the only combustible material in the garage and promptly caught it on fire. Aggressive response and attack are the only things that saved this from being a full-blown house fire. Nice "V" pattern demonstrated on the garage wall.

Unknown location - some pretty nifty pictures of Engine 31 on the scene of a transformer explosion.

08/20/08 - Crash at Route 114 at I-81 - The ole' under-the-airbag-surprise! Of interesting note, after the driver of this Blazer refused treatment and left the scene in a personal vehicle, further investigation revealed he had impacted the steering wheel so hard it was snapped in two. At least, we can't figure out another reason for the wheel to be deformed and broken, underneath the airbag. I would have liked to interview the patient and checked his chest before he left. Check your mechanisms of injury before releasing patients.

08/23/08 - Tragedy strikes in Silver Spring Twp as a mobile home erupts in flame on a Saturday morning. First arriving units found the home heavily involved with no possibility of entry, and a frantic mother in the front yard. Tragically her fears were confirmed only after she was taken by Life Lion to Hershey Med, when her 24 year old son was discovered inside the charred home. Note in the photos the heat was so intense it buckled and twisted both frame rails under the kitchen area. Responders contended with rural water movement, a lengthy 5 inch hoselay, restricted access, a ruptured burning oil tank nearly full, and heavy fire load inside the home. The mother was eventually flown to Lehigh Valley Burn Center in critical condition, and the State Police Fire Marshall as well as the coroner's office are conducting an investigation. Many thanks to the various mutual aid companies who assisted us at this tragic event.

07/14/08 - The good news is you live in a pretty safe community when we don't have a high-intensity call for almost two months. I-81 southbound, Tanker 31 assists Company 30 with a vehicle overturned. Reported with multiple ejection, arriving crews found only one patient ejected. Life Lion was brought in directly on the Interstate, blew our cones past the guardrail and down the hill. Chief 2, move your head, the LZ can't see the helicopter for the glare...

05/20/08 - Overturned vehicle in Wal-Mart parking lot? Did I hear that right? Sure did. First arriving units found that the driver of the vehicle fled the scene after somehow managing to roll his vehicle in a parking lot. Both the driver and a passenger were apprehended nearby a short time afterwards. Yes, that is a Mercedes folks.

05/15/08 - Carlisle Pike in front of Lawrence Chevrolet, motor vehicle crash. Debris and horizontal victims everywhere! Command 31 works with the medic and other responding units to sort it all out. In the end, all minor injuries, but at one point we had 6 BLS and 2 ALS responding and aeromedical on standby. We ended up combining transports and only using 5 BLS for 7 patients. We're still not clear on what happened, but it is believed that one vehicle lost control and caused all the damage. Note utility pole sheared off. Many thanks to Medic 86 for assisting in the restoration of order at this chaotic scene.

05/07/08 - Aspiring Firefighter Sam beats us to the punch, knocking down this garden tractor fire behind his shop prior to our arrival with a 120 year old dry chem extinguisher. I just wish I was there to see the bucket brigade that followed. Light overhaul from 31/33 completed the extinguishment. Good work Sammy. By the way, membership is only $12 to apply.

04/18/2008 - Major Incident! Chief 131 witnessed a dump truck loaded with soil cross the center line and t-bone into a tanker truck carrying 8000 gallons of gasoline. A massive gas spill ensued, and the driver of the dump truck was confined. Upon gaining consciousness, the driver managed to free himself from the wreckage, with slight assistance. First arriving crews secured a safety master stream on the incident, followed by a foam blanket. The area was secured, and the haz-mat team arrived to mitigate the spill. Both drivers were transported with minor injuries. This was one spark away from being a national headline!

03/28/08 - 2008 may very well be the year of the Class 4. In this horrific crash a single vehicle lost control on State Road just prior to the 90 degree turn, causing the third fatal crash in the township in as many months. The vehicle left the road and struck the corner of a large stone barn, overturning and careening across wood and stone portions of fence. One of the occupants was flown, one was not. One witness stated the vehicle was racing another car.

03/27/08 - After a slowdown in calls, things heat up when Chief 131 gets a ribbing for arriving with "a bunch of stuff on fire", turned out to be true! Crews quickly extinguished the dump truck, contained the blaze and maintained a perimeter until heavy equipment arrived to break apart the burning round bales. Many thanks to Souders Farms and Stoner's Landscaping for very prompt delivery of their equipment to help out. Once the tractors commenced, a layer of Class A foam was applied for good measure. Lots of hose to clean up! Thanks also to the various mutual aid departments who responded for tankers, and for brush trucks when we thought the Mini-Pumper was stuck. We won't mention any names, Bob.

03/01/08 - Snow. Rollover. Again. Please slow down people. The only thing this driver managed to do different is miss the utility poles. Driver was GOA (gone, out of the area) on arrival. On a side note, boy is that one ugly Deputy Chief. Good thing he's smart...

02/27/08 - A roof flap is the order of the day for this overturned on Wertzville. No major injuries, but yet another snow related crash, and another sheared utility pole. Keeping score? Since 02/02/08 that's three sheared utility poles, and more importantly, solid objects 4, cars 0.

02/23/08 - Crews responded to a report of a truck fire and actually found a truck on fire! First in POV personnel stretched a line from Engine 31 upon its arrival, and attack ready members of Company 33 made short work of the cab fire. Great teamwork for fast knockdown!

02/18/08 - Route 114 - Life is crazy on the street-Non-injury debris removal call, as we were set up a driver waffled a traffic cone, nearly backed into our traffic unit, and almost hit our Fire Police Captain. Shortly thereafter the Silver Spring Police ordered the individual out of the car somewhat more forcefully than we felt was warranted for running over a cone. Turns out the Kwik-Fill gas station had been robbed, and they felt this driver may have been fleeing the robbery, through the accident scene. After yanking the hapless individual out of the car and hooking him up, it was discovered that he was just another happy drunk in the wrong place at the wrong time. The beer cans in the photos are from his vehicle, not the vehicles involved in the original accident. The cone was fine, but we had to dispose of SP31-1, as he had tire tracks all over him and a busted wheel.

02/16/08 - Second time we waived the helicopter off in two weeks. Bernheisel Bridge Road, 33 box, another fatal. New Kingstown was good enough to cover a call for us on our banquet night, so we were very happy to return the favor Saturday night when the call comes in for this overturned vehicle, somewhere in left field in the softball fields off Bernheisel. Vehicle destroyed the pole, compromising high tension lines that fed the Pike from I-81 to nearly 114. The outage compromised traffic lights, businesses and homes for quite a distance. From the picture of the pole, you can just barely see the roof of the vehicle way over the horizon. Obviously speed was a factor. Frankly, for a Fiero, it held up pretty well considering the massive forces at hand. Get the hint folks. SPEED KILLS. Solid Objects 3, Cars 0.

02/12/08 - Wertzville Road, vehicle overturned, single occupant, no injuries, except of course the pole. Patron was on his way home for lunch in snowy conditions, and being a great guy he left the four wheel drive vehicle home for his family to use. Solid Objects 2, Cars 0. Getting the hint yet? These trees and poles will really ruin your day folks.

02/02/08 - Hogestown Road - In this fatal crash, an elderly gentleman is suspected of having a medical issue prior to glancing off a tree, then colliding head on into a large tree. Note steering wheel displacement and damage to dash. Incredible amount of displacement in engine compartment as well. Solid objects 1, Cars 0.

01/02/08 - Route 114 at Technology Drive Crash with dual entrapment- One party in each vehicle required extrication on this serious incident. 4 patients overall with two Class 1 trauma patients kept us busy! One occupant flown out on Life Lion. VERY quick extrication.