December Wexford VFC Recap
Incidents
Crews work to clear a crash on Warrendale Road
December of 2021 was our most active month in the history of the organization with ninety-two (92) total calls. Sixty-one (61) incidents involved fire and rescue-related responses and thirty-one (31) incidents were for quick response medical emergency calls. Incidents of note include a vehicle accident with entrapment in Pine and smoke in a house in Franklin Park that was from a contained cooking fire. A total of forty-two (42) members responded to calls in December. Our average turnout time to emergency incidents (dispatch to the first unit on the road) was 2 minutes and 29 seconds. Our average response time to emergency incidents (dispatch to the first unit on the scene) was 7 minutes and 17 seconds.
Here is a breakdown of our incidents for November by major incident type:
Fire- 1
Fire Alarm- 18
Good Intent- 21
Hazardous Condition- 6
Overpressure Rupture/Overheat (no fire)- 1
Rescue- 40
Service Call- 5
TOTAL- 92
Community Outreach
Santa gives a wave before heading out on the Express
We continued a long-standing community tradition with our annual Santa Express event on December 18. We escorted Santa around to Pine neighborhoods in the fire trucks to greet children and pass out chocolate treats. Over one thousand chocolate bars were provided. Our members always enjoy interacting with the community during this annual holiday tradition.
We are always looking to improve our community events. One challenge with the Santa Express is knowing where Santa is located and when we will pass your street. For 2022 Santa Express, we are working to provide a Santa tracker feature to help resolve this issue.
Training
Members are always active with training and December was no exception. One training topic included scene size-up of motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are a common incident for us but can be far from routine. To provide for motorist and responder safety, crews must quickly assess for hazards, determine injuries, initiate patient care, and set up traffic control. If someone is trapped in a vehicle, scene management is even more complicated as we must set up tools and equipment to begin extrication in addition to all the tasks mentioned above. Members practiced scene size-up by using pictures and videos of actual incidents to discuss how the incident would need to be managed.