By John Sly - Fire Chief

1. By John Sly - Fire Chief

2. 2005 was a very productive year for the Fire Company. This program will highlight specific incidents, training, and other accomplishments performed within 2005 by the 100% volunteer staff we have at our Company.

3. This past year we saw a wide variety of emergencies and dispatches for our assistance. We are very proud of our members who give up their time away from families and friends to lend a hand on an all volunteer basis. Not only do our members respond to calls on a 24/7 basis, we also rely on them to help raise funds to keep the Fire Company operating as a cost effective service to our Community.

4. One of the first major incidents in 2005 was a boiler explosion in the early morning hours of February 14th at the Lambert Spawn Company on Valley Road in the Westwood Section of Valley Township. Two employees were injured when a valve ruptured and burned the two gentlemen. One patient was severely steam burned and required transport by Sky FlightCare helicopter for specialized care at Crozer Chester Burn Center. Both employees survived.

5. The second major incident we responded to was a plane crash in the Westwood Section of Valley Township. On Sunday, March 6th, reports came in of a small passenger plane which had apparently crashed into a field just South of Valley Road. Westwood Fire & EMS personnel as well as mutual aid from surrounding departments responded and arrived to find two passengers who had apparently succumbed to their injuries upon impact. Our firefighters secured the area and enacted an emergency plan to notify Federal, State, and Local Officials.

6. Just two weeks following the plane crash, we were dispatched for a report of a house fire in the Country Club Valley Development in Valley Township. The end unit of a 4 unit row was well involved in fire upon our arrival less than 10 minutes from the time of call to 911. Crews from Westwood and Sadsburyville Fire Companies contained the bulk of the fire to the unit of origin. Several other fire companies were called to the scene for additional manpower. The fire was placed under control less than 45 minutes after our arrival and damage to the ajoining homes was minimal. The cause of the fire was determined by the Chester County Fire Marshal’s Office to be lint backup in a dryer vent. No one was injured. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $660,000 - TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $305,000 ** PROPERTY SAVED: $355,000 **

7. On April 1st, 2005, we celebrated our 58th Year of Service by honoring our volunteers at our Annual Appreciation Banquet held at the Coatesville Moose Lodge. Our firefighters, EMS personnel, Fire Police, Administrative Officers, Bingo Volunteers, and their families enjoyed an evening away from the day to day operations of the Fire Company. Various members were honored with special awards for their dedication to the Fire Company and Community we protect. While we gave our volunteers a “night off,” our Community was still protected with Fire & EMS services. The Union Fire Company of Oxford, Gordonville Fire Company and Christiana Community Ambulance Association both of Lancaster County provided protection to our area.

8. A car wash and bake sale was held on May 28th to help raise funds for our Engine Room renovation project. A total of $400 was raised despite the rainy afternoon weather.

9. On June 4th, the Fire Company attended the Lancaster County Fireman’s Parade in Columbia. Ambulance 44 was awarded 1st Place Best Appearing and Equipped Ambulance.

10. In June, for the first time in the history of the Fire Company, all of our Active Members were fitted for a full Class A uniform. The appearance of our personnel in uniform has a provided a much more professional presence. The funding to provide each member a uniform came partially from a grant and our Ambulance Division. Each past Fire Chief, EMS Chief, and Fire Police Captain was provided with a uniform to keep at no cost to that member.

11. On June 11th, the Company participated in the 100th Anniversary of the Hershey Fire Department and Dauphin County Fireman’s Convention and Parade. While at the parade, our apparatus and equipment was judged for prizes and awards. We were given the 1st Place Award for the Best Appearing Fire Engine in the 1990-1994 category for Engine 44-5, as well as the 3rd Place Specialized Unit for our Ambulance. Our Ambulance was the only Ambulance of those present to win an award. For our awards, we received $700 in cash prizes. Again, while we were away, our Community was protected by the Gordonville Fire Company.

12. On June 19th, the Fire Company was dispatched for a report of a house fire on Hillcrest Road in the Quiet Village Section of Valley Township. Our crews arrived to find a garage attached to the home fully involved in fire. A homeowner, who was sleeping at the time of the fire, was awoken by her smoke detector which clearly provided her with a notice of the fire so that she could safely evacuate the residence. The fire was contained to the garage with minimal smoke damage to the living area of the home and no one was injured. Additional tankers from as far away as White Horse were called to the scene to assist. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $300,000 TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $100,000 ** PROPERTY SAVED: $200,000 **

13. On July 16th, we were dispatched for a house on fire on Lafayette Street in the Hayti Section of Valley Township. Our personnel arrived on scene to find a home with fire conditions showing from the front and left side of the residence. Westwood & Sadsburyville firefighters had the fire officially under control just 24 minutes after the time we received the call from 911. The destruction of the fire was limited to only two rooms. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $190,000 – TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $90,000 ** TOTAL PROPERTY SAVED: $100,000 **

14. On July 30th, our Tac unit participated in a parade and housing ceremony for the Gibralter Fire Company of Berks County. Tac 44 was awarded as the 1st Place Quick Response Service Unit in the entire parade. The piece of apparatus has also received numerous awards since we purchased it new in 1995, including the 1st Place Quick Response Service Unit in the State of Pennsylvania back in 2000. We are proud of our volunteers who take care and have great pride of our apparatus and equipment.

15. In the early morning hours of August 7th, when most people are sleeping, over 100 volunteer firefighters from all over the area were busy fighting a house fire on Park Avenue in East Fallowfield Township. The call was received by 911 at 3:47AM and our apparatus arrived on the scene just 9 minutes later. Wires down across the roadway from a previous incident hampered the efforts of the initial arriving firefighters, however our personnel were able to drive through a yard and up a long driveway to position apparatus in front of the home on fire. One resident had been injured while trying to escape from the home and was quickly treated and transported to Brandywine Hospital by Westwood EMS personnel. One firefighter from the Modena Fire Company was also injured while fighting the blaze. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $800,000 – TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $500,000 ** TOTAL PROPERTY SAVED: $300,000 **

16. In August, we became the 28th Ambulance Service in Pennsylvania to be awarded the “Ambulance Service of the Year” award.

17. Each of our Active EMTs traveled to the Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services Conference and Awards Ceremony in State College to attend the ceremony. The award is presented to an Ambulance Service who demonstrates consistent rapid response times, devotion to training and professional development, and participation in public activities and education. This was a monumental occasion for our “new” Ambulance Service.

18. For our Award, the Ambulance Division received Congressional Honors presented at the Valley Township Meeting in December, as well as a presentation by the Chester County Commissioners. Members were presented with declarations from Congressman Jim Gerlach, Senator John Rafferty, and Representative Tim Hennessey.

19. On September 16th, we launched a brand new redesigned website to inform our members and our Community of our activities and responses using today’s technology. To date, we have had over 50,000 visitors on our new website.

20. At 5:06AM on September 24th, Westwood & Sadsburyville Fire Companies were dispatched for an apartment building fire on Lincoln Highway in the Hayti Section of Valley Township. Unattended cooking was the cause of the fire which destroyed a kitchen, with some minor damage to the living room and porch of one unit. There were no working smoke detectors in the unit of origin. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $650,000 - TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $50,000 ** TOTAL PROPERTY SAVED: $600,000 **

21. On October 2nd, we held a “Bingo Marathon” to raise funds for our Engine Room Renovation project. Almost all of our active Fire, EMS, Fire Police, Administrative, and Bingo personnel worked together to make this event a huge success.

22. Tac 44 again won an award at the Union Fire Company of Oxford’s Parade & Housing in the Quick Response Service category on October 8th. Members spent many hours cleaning and preparing to participate in one of our neighbor’s events. We remain proud of our Quick Response Service we provide to our Community.

23. In October, we began renovations on our Engine Room project. Much of this work was done by Buck Run Builders of Parkesburg, however a total of 43 hours was spent by OUR OWN volunteers making repairs on our own to save money. Painting was completed by one of our Fire Police Members, Bob Law. Many other firefighters also lent a hand with portions of the project.

24. BEFORE AFTER

25. On October 15th, we were invited to attend the East Fallowfield Township October Park Day. Westwood & Modena Fire Companies displayed our apparatus and handed out fire prevention materials to children in attendance. Throughout the year, we attended 18 community functions in our primary district, including birthday parties and block parties, parades, and displays. The fire company does this as a free service to the Community.

26. On November 2nd, the Company voted to sell the 1979 Pumper/Tanker and 1985 Pumper/Rescue to the Stewart County, Tennessee Fire/Rescue Department. These two pieces of apparatus served the Community for more than 20 years.

27. For the first time in more than 5 years, the Company held two successful “Boot Days” in November to raise money towards the purchase of our 2006 Pumper/Rescue.

28. On Saturday, November 5th, the City of Coatesville Fire Department and Westwood were simultaneously dispatched to Route 82 and Lumber Street for a vehicle accident. Less than 5 minutes after we were dispatched, Westwood Ambulance was the first Ambulance on scene. Our EMS personnel found that a total of 7 patients were complaining of injuries. Through a group effort between Westwood & Coatesville personnel, we worked with the assistance of neighboring Ambulance Services to treat and transport all 7 victims to area hospitals.

29. In November, production finally began on our new Pierce Dash Pumper/Rescue. This unit would be later delivered to us in early 2006. Currently, the new Rescue is still having equipment mounted.

30. At close to 2AM on November 29th, the three fire companies that serve East Fallowfield Township were dispatched for a garage on fire in the Newlinville area of East Fallowfield Township in Westwood Fire Company’s territory. Firefighters arrived to find a garage well involved in fire, with a nearby home as an exposure. The fire was contained to the garage with some of the belongings inside saved from complete destruction. TOTAL PROPERTY AT RISK: $30,000 TOTAL PROPERTY LOSS: $18,000 ** TOTAL PROPERTY SAVED: $12,000 **

31. December was a month filled with serious automobile accidents. The first major accident was dispatched at 5:07AM on Monday, December 12th. Two vehicles had violently collided on Airport Road near Robinson Avenue in Valley Township. A total of 4 seriously injured patients were trapped in two separate vehicles. Our first personnel at the scene arrived 7 minutes after the call to 911. Since our Rescue is currently being replaced, we had additional help from our neighboring Fire & Rescue Companies in addition to our units. 4 patients were successfully cut from their vehicles using the “Jaws of Life” hydraulic rescue tools by Westwood & Coatesville firefighters. Four medical helicopters were called to the scene to rapidly transport all 4 victims to area trauma center. All 4 victims survived.

32. December 17th was a busy day on the roadways of East Fallowfield Township. At 12:28PM, our Fire & EMS units were dispatched to Doe Run Road just south of Newlinville Road for a vehicle accident with victims trapped. Even while our Rescue is out of service for replacement, we have carried sufficient equipment on our other apparatus to operate at our incidents. Our crews went to work extricating two victims from a vehicle using the “Jaws of Life.” Within 28 minutes of our dispatch time, both subjects were extricated and in the hands of EMS personnel. Later that same day, at 10:07PM, we were once again out assisting the Modena Fire Company at a serious accident on Buck Run Road in the area of Youngsburg Road. One patient was trapped in a vehicle after a head on collision. Our personnel and Coatesville Rescue personnel worked together to extricate this victim. Westwood EMS personnel arrived first and transported the patient to Sky FlightCare helicopter for air medical evacuation to a local trauma center.

33. The end of the year was also filled with hard work for our volunteers. While we were busy fundraising with a special New Year’s Eve Bingo session at our firehouse, our personnel were called to assist the Coatesville Fire Department for a house fire on Valley Road in Coatesville City. Our crews spent the bulk of their New Year’s Eve working for the firehouse in one way or another to serve our Community. Even later on New Year’s morning, we were once again out for close to 2 hours fighting a house fire just hours after the first one. 23 Westwood volunteers spent New Years Eve hard at work, away from their families, so that others could enjoy the holiday.

34. The highlighted emergencies shown in this report were calls that we responded to in our primary designated response areas of Valley, East Fallowfield, and Highland Townships. In addition, we also provided assistance to our neighboring Fire Companies on many other major emergencies in Chester and Lancaster Counties. Fatal Accident in West Sadsbury Township House Fire in East Whiteland Township Two Alarm Fire in Coatesville City Farmhouse Fire in West Brandywine Township Tanker relocate to Oxford Serious Tractor Trailer Accident in Caln

35. In December, we lost a major part of our fundraising efforts at the firehouse when a big portion of the men and women who have worked our weekly Bingo Sessions for more than 25 years decided it was time to “retire” from the full time task of weekly Bingo. While many of them continue to frequent Bingo each week, and provide a helping hand and guidance at times, we will never be able to replace them or account for the countless hours they have spent making the fire company what it is today. In addition, we suffered from the loss of one of our longtime Bingo callers this past year, Al Olonovich, who lost his battle with cancer.

36. In May and October, we visited schools in our area to provide education to students on fire prevention. A total of 14.5 hours was spent by volunteers who were available on a weekday to attend these events. Special thanks to Firefighter Kim Warren for helping us with these events.

37. TRAINING!

38. TRAINING! Training was a major focus in 2005. Our members spent time at our weekly regular training sessions throughout the year, in addition to numerous special training sessions we held.

39. With the move to encourage all paid and volunteer firefighters across the United States to achieve National Certification, training has become a very difficult, exhausting, and frustrating part of our fire company for our volunteers. However, the amount of members who have taken the initiative to be a step ahead of many other fire companies has made a very positive mark at the Westwood Fire Company. Each and every active member has participated in training of some sort this year, ranging from in house training to National Certification. This is an accomplishment which was set as a goal in the beginning of the year and has become quite rewarding for our members.

40. In house joint vehicle rescue training with the Sadsburyville Fire Company Search & Rescue Training at our Firehosue

41. Vehicle Rescue Training at the Sadsburyville Fire Company Car Fire Training at the Firehouse

42. Drafting and Water Supply Training at the Firehouse

43. 6 members took the time to complete the full 132 hour “Essentials of Firefighting” class in the fall at the Chester County Fire Training School. Westwood Fire Company had the most representation of any Company in the County at this class. Firefighters spent two 4 hour evenings per week, as well as 16 hour weekends every Saturday & Sunday from the beginning of October until the first week in November to complete the course. The class includes an Introduction to Fire Service Training, the Essentials of Firefighting modules, National Incident Management training, a Structural Burn Session, Basic First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogens training, Hazardous Materials Awareness, and culminates with a certification test for National Firefighting I.

44. A full Hazardous Materials Operations Level training class was conducted at the firehouse as well. This is a yearly class required by State Guidelines. Some members were taking this class for the first time, some were refreshing their skills, and others were upgrading from the basic “Awareness Level” of training. Special thanks goes to Westwood member and State Fire Academy Instructor John Weer for teaching this class for our personnel to gain more knowledge.

45. EMS TRAINING “The bad trip” EMS members of the Company were given the opportunity to attend Local and National Training Conferences to further their education. Other members attended the Colorado State EMS Conference in Keystone, Colorado. Even more members received training at the Pennsylvania State EMS Conference. “The Good Trip” Some members attended the National EMS Conference in New Orleans the week Hurricane Katrina hit. Our members were on the last flight out of New Orleans before the airport was closed.

46. TRAINING TOTALS:

47. TRAINING TOTALS: • 45 Weekly Worknight Trainings

48. TRAINING TOTALS: • 45 Weekly Worknight Trainings • 734 Personnel Completing Training Sessions

49. TRAINING TOTALS: • 45 Weekly Worknight Trainings • 734 Personnel Completing Training Sessions • 213 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES SPENT TRAINING! • (Does not include out of area conferences)

50. FUNDRAISING TOTALS: