Fire Department
| Fire Chief: | James DiPaolo |
| Assistant Fire Chief: | Robert "Skip" Bell |
Click Here to Access the Watchung Fire Department Website
Contact Information:
Watchung Municipal Building
57 Mountain Boulevard
Watchung, NJ 07069
(908)
561-9389
During the first half of 2007, the Watchung Volunteer Fire Department responded to 113 calls and held 13 training drills totaling over 1400 man-hours. Casey Kostick completed Firefighter I training. 13 members were certified/recertified in CPR and 14 members completed the Incident Safety Officer training program through the National Fire Academy.
20078 Fire Prevention Week 2008
PRACTICE YOUR ESCAPE PLAN
October 5 - 11, 2008
Plan Your Escape
 | Sit down with everyone in your home and talk about the best ways to get out quickly in the event of a fire. |
| Draw a floor plan of your home that shows TWO ways out of each room. Post the plan on the refrigerator where everyone can see it. |
| Agree on a meeting place outside the home – away from the building – where everyone can gather after escaping the fire. That way, you can count heads and make sure everyone is safe. |
In A Real Fire You Must Move Quickly, Carefully and Calmly
Practice Your Escape
· Most fatal home fires happen at night, so send everyone to his or her sleeping areas and sound the smoke alarm.
· Close off some exits and pretend they’re blocked by smoke or flames.
· Make sure everyone leaves the home and gathers at your meeting place.
· Practice your plan by staging a home fire drill every six months.
Children may need assistance escaping. Make this part of your plan
Be Prepared
| Make sure everyone in your home (including visitors) can here and recognize the sound of your smoke alarms. |
| Have everyone in your home memorize the Fire Department Emergency number |
( 9-1-1 ) so they can call for help from a neighbor’s home or a cell phone.
| If windows or doors have security bars, make sure the bars have quick-release devices installed. |
| Make sure the street number for your home is clearly visible from the road. |
| If there are infants, older adults or people with specific needs in your home, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency. |
| Keep stairwells and exits clear and free from clutter. |
Survive a Fire in Your Home
Escape Tips
| Test doors before opening them. Feel the door if it’s cool, open it slowly, if smoke pours thru, close the door and use your second way out of the room. |
| If you must escape thru smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your exit. |
| Close doors behind you as you escape. Fires spread more quickly thru open doors. |
When the Smoke Alarm Sounds, Get Out and Stay Out
Fire Prevention Week Activities
The Watchung Fire Department and the Bureau of Fire Prevention will be holding assemblies at the local schools during Fire Prevention Week. Bayberry has already scheduled for October 12th. The school art classes will participate in the annual poster contests. There will be an Open House at the Firehouse at 57 Mountain Blvd. on Sunday October 14th at 12:00 noon.
SMOKE ALARMS – There is a Difference
A tragic fatal fire occurred in Manville N.J. early this year. Could the outcome of this fire been avoided???
There are (2) two types of Smoke Alarms …
An “Ionization Smoke Alarm” has a small amount of radioactive material that ionizes the air in the sensing chamber. When smoke particles enter the ionization area, they decrease the conductivity of air attaching to the ions causing the detector to respond and activate.
A “Photoelectric Smoke Alarm” operates on a light scattering principle. They contain a light source and photosensitive device arranged so that the light rays normally do not fall into the device. When smoke particles enter the light path, light strikes the particles ands is scattered onto the photosensitive device, causing the detector to respond and activate.
What does this mean ???? In smoldering type fires involving synthetics, the photoelectric detector operated quicker. There are different types of smoke. These different kinds of smoke can affect ionization and photoelectric detectors differently since they operate on different principles.
When purchasing smoke alarms consider the combination photoelectric ionization smoke alarm and follow the manufactures installation instructions.
SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES
| Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. For the best protection interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. |
| Test your smoke alarms at least once a month. |
| Replace alarm batteries twice a year or consider installing smoke alarms with a “long-life” (10-year) batteries. Alarms with long-life batteries also must be tested once a month. |
| Never “borrow” batteries from smoke alarms. |
| Replace any alarm that is more than 10 years old. |
| Install smoke alarms with strobe lights for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. |
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Carbon Monoxide is called the “Silent Killer”. Carbon Monoxide is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, gas which emanates from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
It is RECOMMENDED that a carbon monoxide alarm be installed on each level on the home and more particular outside of each sleeping area.
Fall and winter safety tips
· Please have fireplace and wood burning stove chimneys cleaned regularly. Store wood a safe distance from the fireplace and wood burning stoves.
· Use space heaters with adequate ventilation. Store the fuel safely and clean up all spills before starting the heater.
· Holiday lights – Use the proper number of extension cords. Do not use cords that are frayed, never run cords under carpeting or where they can become worn and short out, and do not overload electrical sockets.
· Never start your car in an enclosed garage. This will lead to carbon monoxide poisoning and could be fatal.
Home Fire Safety
Fire Safety in the home is very important. Here are some things you can do to prevent fires in your home and help you get out safely if you have a fire:
· Perform a home safety inspection. Examine every room of your house. Check all electrical cords for loose, frayed wires, make sure combustibles are far enough away from heat sources, gasoline and flammable liquids are stored properly in metal cabinets, clean up leaks and dispose of the rags properly.
· Check your smoke detectors regularly.
· Have at least 1 fire extinguisher on each floor of your home.
· Plan and practice EDITH (Exit Drills In The Home). Make an escape plan of your house with 2 ways out of each room. Have a common meeting place outside. Hold practice drill so everyone knows what to do in case of emergency.
Resale of Homes or Change of Occupancy in Rental Properties
It is required to have a minimum of 1 smoke alarm and 1 carbon monoxide detector on each level of the home. Additionally - the kitchen area is required to have an installed portable fire extinguisher. The fire extinguishers must be mounted in the kitchen area, away from the stove / oven area but in direct access to the escape exit passage. The fire extinguisher should be a minimum 5 – 10 pound ABC type.
Safety Reminders
Help us find you in case of an emergency. House numbers should be clearly visible to all emergency services. Numbers should be a minimum of 3” and reflective. It is recommended that these markings be on a mailbox or lawn marker at the street. Valuable time can be lost trying to determine the correct address for our response.
Remember on November 4th, when you change your clocks, change your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries. Detectors of each type should be properly installed on each level of your home for your safety. Test your detectors at least once a month. As a family, prepare an evacuation plan with 2 ways out of each room and a meeting place outside your home. Practice your plan so you are prepared in case of an emergency.
Do you have a hydrant on or near your property? During the winter, hydrants can be buried by snow and in the spring and summer, they can be hard to find when grass and plants start to grow. You can help us by keeping these hydrants clear and visible to us. Shovel them out during the snow season and cut back new growth in the warm weather. Being able to quickly find a hydrant can save us precious time in an emergency. Please adopt a hydrant and help out!
If you planning major renovations or rebuilding your house or business, you can help the fire department by allowing us to train at the structure prior to demolition. We can perform search, rescue, ventilation, ladders, hose line advancement and other valuable training in a real setting. Information is available at the Construction office at the time you apply for the demolition permit. In the spring of 2007, we were given permission to train at a one residents home in town. Please help us in our training efforts so we can better serve the community.
Members Urgently Needed
The Watchung Volunteer Fire Department is always in need of new members. Any person, 16 years of age or older with a desire to serve their community, can join. We have many responsibilities to perform from firefighters to drivers and pump operators. Training is provided at no cost to you. If you would like to know more about membership, please stop down at the firehouse at 57 Mountain Blvd., on Sunday mornings between 10:00 AM and 12:00 noon or call (908) 561-9389 and leave a message with your name and phone number.
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IAFC Members: Please note that the news release below was provided
to national and fire service media today.
IAFC NEWS ALERT:
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fire Chiefs Appeal for Help in Reducing Fire Fatalities
Fairfax, VA, May 25, 2007… Six people were killed in a Baltimore row house fire this week (May 22). Detroit is reporting its seventh fire fatality in the city in five days. Saginaw, Michigan is mourning the death of a man and five children killed in a house fire early Thursday, May 24th. Two weeks ago, a Kentucky mom and her two children perished in a blaze.
“Something has to be done. Someway, somehow, we have to get the word out to people to protect themselves. We now have more protection available for our homes than ever before and yet people are losing their lives because they are not taking this protection seriously,” said International Association of Fire Chiefs President, Chief Jim Harmes.
The U.S. Fire Administration cites the following statistics: · Eighty-two percent of all fire deaths occur in the home. · Having a working smoke alarm reduces one’s chance of dying in a fire by nearly one-half. · Nearly one-third of the residential fires and two-fifths of residential fire fatalities occur in homes with no smoke alarms.
“These deaths are not just numbers; they are personal tragedies that each of us as a fire chief feels every time a life is lost,” said Harmes. Please, help us pass along these life-saving suggestions:
· Check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to be sure they are working properly. · Have an escape plan with a meeting place. · Once you exit your home, DO NOT return. Too many people lose their lives going back into a burning home. · Stoves are not made for heating homes. · Supplemental heating devices should be used and maintained in accordance with manufacturer recommendations. Keep combustibles clear. Do not leave supplemental heating devices unattended. · If you are burning wood in your fireplace, make sure your chimneys are properly maintained. That goes for your furnace, as well. · If candles are necessary, use them in a safe environment in a fireproof container and away from children. Do not leave them unattended. · And for the long term, consider getting a residential fire sprinkler. According to statistics, the risk of death by fire is reduced by 82 percent when smoke detectors are accompanied with residential fire sprinklers. |
