August 30 - The new Hurst Transformer has been placed in service on Squad 21. It is in the same location that the old 32A's were in. The 32A's are now O.O.S. The new MSA Thermal Imaging Camera and its charger have been installed on Engine 21. They are in the crew cab in the same location as the old TIC. The old TIC is temporarily in the Engineer's compartment on the Squad. Its permanent location will be decided at a later date.
ASSIST EMS
August 27 - Station 21, Rescue 22, called to assist 313 lifting & transporting a 700 lb female. Crew of Chris Millay, Mike D., and Dan Gilbert followed 313 to HUP to assist lifting at the hospital. Thanks to John Mick, they also got a quick tour of PennStar's landing zone.
CONFINED SPACE CLASS
August 25 - For this week's drill, the members from
Station 21 continued with a Confined Space class brought to us by the Montgomery County Fire
Academy. The topic of the class centered around forming the rescue basket, and the setup and
implementation of an A-frame support made from two ladders and some rope. 17 members from
Station 21 attended.
WORKING JOB IN FIRST DUE
August 21 - At 2:07am, Station 21 and Station 26 (Narberth) for Ladder 26
were dispatched to 407 Oakwynne Drive for a building fire with the homeowner reporting their dryer was on fire. Within minutes, 21-51
(Deputy Chief Ted Schmid) was on scene and reported smoke showing from the exterior, and requested Station 26 full company, the FAST
team (Engine 23 - Bryn Mawr), air truck (Air 24 - Gladwyne), and EMS (Narberth Ambulance). Engine 21 arrived
first and stretched an 1 3/4" through the front door of the ranch home. Engine 21's crew quickly located
the fire in the laundry room and made a quick knock of the fire, with the fire being placed under control at 2:28am. Station 21 and 26 crews conducted overhaul
measures by removing the washer/dryer combo from the residence and pulling the burnt ceilings surrounding
the dryer. Crews made themselves available at 3:46am. A job well done by all!
ROOF FIRE AT THE SAUNDERS HOUSE
August 11 - At 9:37pm, just as the members from Station 21 were about
to depart after training, a call came in for smoke in the kitchen at 100 Lancaster Ave. (Saunders House
Nursing Home). Engine 21 with 21-5 were first on scene and upon entry reported a light smoke condition in the
kitchen with a smell of something burning. Engine 21's crew took down a couple drop ceiling tiles, but could
not find the source of the smoke. Saunders House maintenance personel arrived at this point and advised a new
roof was installed over the kitchen. Station 21 and 26's crews then proceeded to the rear of the building where
smoke could be seen coming from the roof. A ground ladder was positioned to access the roof and crews started
opening up a large 20' x 3' section where the roof was burning. An 1 3/4" line was pulled to the roof from
Squad 21 and the area was soaked down. A great job was done by Station 21 and 26 crews in the hot weather for
around 2 hours it took to complete the job. Also, a big thank you to Narberth Ambulance for bringing bottles
of water to keep the crews operating on scene hydrated.
HOSE ADVANCEMENT TRAINING
August 11 - For this week's drill, the members of Penn
Wynne took Engine 21 to the Llankenau Hospital parking garage to practice hose advancements up flights
of stairs. Members split up into two teams, with the first team advancing the regular cloth 1 3/4" hose with a
smooth bore nozzle up to the top level of the garage, and the second team advanced a rubber 1 3/4" hose
with a smooth bore nozzle. The second team noticed much less kinking of the hose using the rubber hose once charged, which
is a big problem when operating a smooth bore nozzle due to the decrease in pressure needed to operate.
Thanks to Station 25 (Merion Fire Company of Ardmore) for letting us try out their rubber hose and to 3rd
Assistant Chief Dave Watrous for setting up the drill.
DOWNPOURS FLOOD THE KINGDOM
August 1 - Throughout the morning hours, monsoon-like
rains flooded Lower Merion and the surrounding areas. With the downpours brought numerous
water rescues, house fires, fire alarms, and utility shutoff calls that kept the volunteers from Penn Wynne and
the rest of the Lower Merion Fire Department busy well into the evening hours.
