December 31 - While many employees have New Years Eve off due to the national holiday, the fire service takes no days off.
This was particularly the case for the 21 House, on this, the last day of 2004. The day started out at 2:35pm with Engine 21
under the command of 21-51 (Deputy Chief T. Schmid), responding on a FAST team call to 516 New Gulph Road, to assist Station
23 (Bryn Mawr) on a working detached garage fire. The boys with the green and yellow trucks from Bryn Mawr made a quick knock
on the fire, returning the 21 House shortly after arrival on scene. Next, at 4:41pm Station 21 was dispatched on a building fire to 1245 Knox
Road, to investigate an odor of smoke. Engine 21 under the command of 21-53 (2nd Assistant Chief P. Daly), investigated and
found a faulty electrical outlet with a charred nightlight. The homeowner smartly shut off power to that section of the home
where the problem occurred prior to the arrival of "Fast & Furious". Engine 21's crew utilized the thermal imaging camera to
check for possible extension, and returned shortly thereafter. The final call of 2004 came at 7:58pm when Station 21 was
struck out for a building fire at 14 Trent Road, with a report of a gas grill fire on the patio. Engine 21 arrived on location
with nothing showing, investigated, and was able to mitigate the problem promptly.
ROBERT D. OWENS 1950-2004
December 28 - The Penn Wynne Fire Company is sorry to report
the passing of Life Member Robert D. Owens who died at Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital in Cape May after suffering a heart
attack. He was 54. Rob grew up in Penn Wynne and graduated from Lower Merion High School in 1969. He
worked for Bell Telephone in Bryn Mawr for almost 30 years. For many years he was a dedicated volunteer
firefighter and Life Member with the Penn Wynne Fire Company, and volunteer firefighter at Bryn Mawr Fire
Company. He was active in local politics. He also served as a Deputy State Constable before moving to
New Jersey in 1998. Rob is survived by his son, Robert M., his daughter, Susan, and a granddaughter.
Services will be Tuesday, January 4, 2004 at 2pm
at Penn Wynne Presbyterian Church (Haverford & Overbrook Pkwy).
The family has invited friends and family to a reception at the
Penn Wynne Firehouse following the service.
WORKING BASEMENT FIRE IN FIRST DUE
December 25 - At 9:30pm, Station 21 (Penn Wynne) was dispatched to 245 Trent Road for a house fire, with the homeowner reporting smoke
in the residence. Upon hearing this, the assist company, Station 26 (Narberth) was requested along with Air 24 (Gladwyne)
and Medic 313 (Narberth Ambulance). Engine 21 and 21-51 (Deputy Chief T. Schmid) arrived first on location and reported a
2 1/2 story twin with smoke showing. Automatically, this brought Engine 23 (Bryn Mawr) as the FAST and Rescue 22 (Belmont
Hills) for the air cascade. The crew from Engine 21 pulled the 1 3/4" hose line and conducted a search of the residence,
finding a working fire in the basement. Once the hose line was stretched, the bulk of the fire was knocked down and crews
checked for extension. 21-51 placed the fire under control at 10:01pm. Extensive overhaul and checks for extension were
conducted due to the balloon construction of the house and high heat showing on the thermal imaging camera. Station 21 was
made available at 11:47pm. Excellent work was done by all companies on scene.
SANTA SUNDAY 2004
December 19 - Once again, the volunteers from the 21 House chauffeured
Santa around the neighboring communities of Station 21. Along the way, Santa greeted everyone that came out, and the
Penn Wynne firefighters handed out candy canes to all. As expected, Scooby and some his pals were outside walking too,
so they were treated to some dog biscuits. We would like to thank all the residents that came outside despite the
inclement weather at times, to make this another successful and enjoyable event for everyone.
ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY
December 18 - Many past, present, and future members of the
Penn Wynne Fire Company came out with their families to kick off the holiday season. Delicious hors d'oeuvres,
dinner, and dessert were set out for everyone to indulge in. Also, Santa made a surprise visit and distributed
presents to the kids. As always, where there is good times, there is Pat D. (lower right) showing his immense muscles too.
Everyone who came out, had a good time meeting up with old friends and their families, and of course, enjoying
the great food as well.
PLAYGROUND FIRE
December 4 - At 9:41pm, Station 21 was dispatched to South Ardmore Park for a playground equipment fire. E-21 arrived on location under the command of 21-53 (Paul Daly) to find a plastic sliding board melted and smoldering. The area was wet down and the scene was turned over to fire marshal LM 59-2 (ChaS McGarvey).
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SETUP
December 4 - Today, members from the 21 House followed in the
footsteps of the great Clark W. Griswold, Jr., by hanging Christmas lights on the firehouse. Instead of
creating a fiasco by adorning the house with 25,000 twinkle lights and blacking out the neighborhood as
Clark did, 2nd Assistant Chief Paul Daly, 3rd Assistant Chief Dave Watrous, Engineer Chris Millay,
Firefighter Mike DeHoratius, Firefighter, Pat DeHoratius, Firefighter Dan Gilbert, Firefighter
Mark Gilbert, and Junior Firefighter Glenn Montgomery outlined the station with traditional, multi-colored Christmas lights. Also, for those
who might be wondering, unlike what happened with the Griswold family, Cousin Eddie and family did not
show up with the RV.
MEMBERS PASS NATIONAL FF1 CERTIFICATION
December 3 - Congratulations to all members who took and passed
the FF1 National Certification. The following members should be commended for their efforts: FF Tim Contino,
Engineer Dom Crimi, Asst. Chief Paul Daly, Chief John Fallon, Asst. Chief Mike Gilbert, Engineer Steve Kaercher,
FF Tony Kopicki, Engineer Sean Reilly, Deputy Chief Ted Schmid, and FF Tony Van Dyke (Station #25).
