Greetings, Everyone!
During the month of April, 2012, your North Stonington Volunteer Fire Company (NSVFC) volunteers responded to a total of twenty-three emergency 911 calls for assistance. These calls amounted to a total of 234 man-hours donated in service to the Town of North Stonington.
Of these twenty-three calls, eight were fire/smoke alarm activations; six were brush fire alerts; one was a hazardous material investigation; four were motor vehicle accidents (one an I-95 fatality); three were search and rescue calls; one was a response to downed power lines.
These emergency 911 calls occurred as follows: five were daytime calls (Monday-Friday, 0700-1600 hours) and were attended to by an average of eleven volunteers; eighteen were evening/night and weekend calls attended to by an average of nineteen volunteers.
Your volunteers also actively participated in over forty hours of in-service training to help keep their emergency skills honed. These drills covered fire engine company operations; ladder types (operation and placement); fire and smoke ventilation equipment and procedures.
Several drills are scheduled during May with other area fire departments involving tanker and shuttle operations, as well as "burn trailer" training.
Some "extracurricular" activities during the month of May also include NSVFC's participation in the North Stonington Memorial Day Parade (28 May), and hosting a community grill-out event afterward. We invite you to come share food and refreshments with your volunteers!
NSVFC is also in the midst of their annual fund-raising raffle. The first prize is a John Deere riding mower; the second is a Stihl backpack leaf-blower; the third prize is a Stihl weedwacker. Raffle tickets are only $10 apiece.
While the raffle prizes are important, the most important reason for this raffle is to raise enough money to buy a sorely needed piece of equipment used in search and rescue operations - a specialized "All Terrain Vehicle" (ATV).
This ATV will be outfitted with equipment necessary to help locate and extricate persons lost or injured in some of North Stonington's remote wooded areas that are not accessible by conventional rescue apparatus. This ATV will also provide a means of transporting volunteers and equipment (chain saws, lights, water supply system, specialized tools, etc) to fight fires in wooded areas and clear roads of trees/debris to facilitate passage of emergency vehicles (during Hurricane Irene, for example).
In the recent past, NSVFC has needed to borrow ATV's and personnel from surrounding fire departments during emergency calls, which can greatly increase response time. With an ATV dedicated for immediate use by your volunteers from NSVFC, it can literally make the difference between life and death.
Volunteers are now selling raffle tickets at various venues: the NS Garden Club plant sale; the Stop&Shop (Pawcatuck); Chelsea Groton Bank and the NS Agricultural Fair. If you cannot locate a volunteer at these locations, please stop by the fire house or call Gary Baron at (860) 535-0091, and he will ensure you get a raffle ticket. Thanks for your support!
NORTH STONINGTON VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY NEWS
