March Recap

Incidents

Crews assist with a working structure fire in Franklin Park.

March was a relatively quiet month in comparison to other months with 57 calls. Thirty-four (34) incidents involved fire and rescue-related responses and twenty-three (23) responses were for quick response medical emergency calls.  March was an active month for fires. There were five (5) structure fire responses between Pine and mutual communities. We also assisted with a vehicle fire threatening a structure in Marshall Township. A total of thirty (30) members responded to calls in February. Our average turnout time (dispatch to the first unit on the road) was two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Our average response time to emergency incidents was seven minutes and nineteen seconds.

Here is a breakdown of our incidents for March by major incident type:

Fire- 8
Fire Alarm- 6
Good Intent- 14
Rescue & QRS- 28
Service Call- 1
TOTAL – 57

Training

Members work on individual hose line management skills

The weather gave us some breaks to get outside for training. Members worked on single-person hose line management skills as shown in the picture. We often run into situations where one firefighter has to start a fire attack until others arrive to assist. Being able to handle the backpressure and work the nozzle is a critical skill for firefighters to master. Members also participated in a Traffic Incident Management class through Butler County Community College.

A group of members spent a weekend in March learning situational awareness, de-escalation, and self-defense skills. We are at risk of arriving on a scene with individuals who could be anything from irate to dangerous. Members learned how to take in and scene and take cues that could indicate an unsafe situation as well as skills to defend and get away from hazardous individuals. Members in attendance got a lot out of the class and enjoyed the experience.