Shortly after 12 noon The Chester City fire department stations 81 & 82 were dispatched to the 100 block of East Avon Rd for a building fire with entrapment. Engine/Ladder 82 arrived on scene reported heavy fire showing from a 3 story s/f/d. A second alarm was requested by Chester 11, bring Engine 65, Tower 14 (Swarthmore), Rescue/Air-bank 52 (Brookhaven) and Rescue/RIT 63 (GreenRidge).  Engine 65-2 responded with a staffing of 10 under the direction of Lieutenant Rick Bailey. Crews were quickly deployed to assist with fire suppression and overhaul on divisions I & II and assisted the RIT team with placing ground ladders on sectors B & C sides of the structure. The fire was placed under control within 45 minutes with extensive salvage & overhaul.  

Tonight the Garden City Fire Company #1 held its annual installation of Officer’s for the New Year 2012. The purpose of the evening is to officially swear in the newly elected and the re-elected officers for the upcoming year. Prior to the start of the ceremony, Company President Lou Didomenico expressed his gratitude for the dedication and hard work displayed by the officers and members of the department throughout the previous year. He also noted that the residence of Nether Providence Township, are very fortunate to have you serve them. This year our Master of Ceremonies for the evening’s installation wasJoseph ”Brother Joe” Delia. Joe is a 50 year life member and has serves in many capacitates throughout his years including Asst. Fire Chief. The evening concluded with Dinner & refreshments for everyone in attendance to enjoy. Good Luck to all in 2012.

Administration Officers
President - Lou Didomenico
VP/Treasurer - George Moore Jr.
Secretary - Nicole Bailey
Fin. Secretary - Rob Sammel
Trustees - Mike MacCall, Jake Hamilton (Chairman), Mike Bailey Sr.Willl Smith,Tom Artingstall
 
Tactical Officers
Fire Chief - Joseph M Lombardo Jr. (65-9)
Deputy Chief - Patrick M O’Rourke Sr. (65-9A)
Asst. Chief - Brent Hopkins (65-9B)
Battalion Chief - George Moore III (65-9C)
1st Captain - Joseph McCauley Jr (65-12)
2nd Captain - Wayne Kuehler (65-12A)
3rd Captain - Jon Curtis (65-12B)
1st Lieutenant - Bill Chism (65-13)
2nd Lieutenant - Ricky Bailey (65-13A)
Engineer - Dewey Burnett (65-14)
Engineer - Alex Fischer (65-14A)
 

The Officer's and Member's of the Garden City Fire Co. # 1 wish everyone a Happy & Heathly New Year.

At 06:08hrs Ladder 65 was dispatched to cover Station 63 Green Ridge. Rescue/Ladder 63 were operating on a two alarm house fire in Concord Township. Ladder 65 responded with a staffing of 10 under the direction of Deputy Chief Pat O’Rourke Sr & Lt. Bill Chism. The Company was in service for approximately 2 ½  hours.

At 06:26 hrs the Swarthmore (Sta.14), Springfield (Sta.44), Morton-Rutledge (Sta.13) and Broomall (Sta.53) fire companies were dispatched to the 500 block of Yale Ave, for a building fire. Chief 14-9 (B.Jones) arrived on scene and reported a working fire. An interior attack was attempted, but with conditions starting to diminish quickly crews were ordered to evacuate and prepare to go into a defensive mode. Command requested a 2nd alarm assignment bringing Garden City (Sta.65), South Media (Sta.51), Brookhaven Air Bank (Sta. 52) and the canteen from Chester Township (Sta.47). Second alarm companies operated on the upper floors with salvage & extensive overhaul operations.

At 08:26hrs the Garden City (Sta.65), South Media (Sta.51) Fire Companies along with Media EMS (Sta.23) were dispatched to the intersection of E. Baltimore Pike & I-476 for a overturned truck with entrapment. Chief Ed Kline (51-9) arrived on scene to find a overturned dump truck hauling dirt blocking the westbound lanes of Baltimore Pike with all occupants out of the vehicle and (1) minor injury.  Crews from Engine 65-2 & Rescue 51 secured the truck battery power and controlled a small leak from the passenger’s side saddle tank.  Units remained on scene for traffic control until the truck was up righted and towed away. While on scene of the accident a second township emergency was received for a smoke investigation in the area of Berkshire Drive & Kent Rd, Chief Joe Lombardo (65-9) differed the call bringing Parkside Fire Company (Sta.45). Tac 45 checked the area with negative findings.  

At 15:15hrs Ladder 65 was dispatched to cover Station 63 Green Ridge. Engine/Ladder 63 were operating on a three alarm townhouse fire in New Castle County Delaware. Ladder 65 responded with a staffing of 8 under the direction of Deputy Chief Pat O’Rourke Sr. & Asst. Chief Brent Hopkins. The Company was in service for approximately 2 hour.

As families and friends get together over the holidays, the Garden City Fire Company # 1 says a few simple steps will ensure a happy and fire-safe season.

Holiday gatherings often mean an increase in home cooking, which according to local firefighters is the leading cause of home fires.

Alcohol consumption also tends to increase this time of year.  Add candles, holiday decorations and heating equipment to the mix and the potential for disaster increases.

But, you can protect your home and family from fire by exercising common sense and safety.

Here are some tips from the Garden City Fire Company:

• Be on alert! If you're sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop;

• Look while you cook. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires.  

• Check the food you're cooking regularly, remain in the kitchen while cooking and use a timer for a reminder.

If you have a cooking fire:

• Just get out and, when you leave, close the doors behind you to help contain the fire;

• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave;

• Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Never attempt to remove the burning material from the stove;

• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

Some holiday decorating safety tips:

• Keep Christmas trees away from fireplaces, furnace vents, space heaters and radiators;

• Decorations and Christmas trees should have a flame retardant label and not block any exits;

• Buy fresh natural trees and keep the base of the trunk in water at all times.  When the tree starts to dry out it is time to throw it out.  Make a fresh cut, one to two inches from the butt of the trunk, for better water absorption;

• Check all lights and electrical cords.  Broken lights and frayed cords should be replaced immediately;

• Never leave candles unattended and keep candles in a non combustible holder away from children, pets and combustible materials.  Snuff them out  before leaving the room;

• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged

• Develop a fire escape plan for your family and make sure any guests know your plan;

• Ask smokers to smoke outside, provide large deep ashtrays for smokers.  Wet cigarette butts with water before discarding;

• Turn off all lights before leaving the house or going to bed.

The Garden City Fire Company # 1 wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

This past weekend was a trying time for the residents of Nether Providence Township. Hurricane Irene traveled up the eastern coast and paid us all a two day windy visit, dumping a large amounts of rain on the already rain soaked township.
While township residents were concerned with preparing their homes in anticipation of the storms wrath; starting the week prior to the storm, the officers of the Garden City Fire Co. lead by Chief Joe Lombardo (65-9) started preparing the township for emergency situations. 
The Fire Department leadership set up an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the township in Garden Cities’ Fire house. Computers, TV’s, maps of the township, and an emergency phone bank transformed our conference room and training center into a first rate operation center. The EOC was commanded by Deputy Chief Pat O’Rourke Sr. (65-9A). The EOC was powered with backup emergency electrical power from the fire house’s emergency generation system. Along with fire company personnel, the township commissioners, police, and other township emergency leadership personnel staffed the EOC. Volunteer operators manned the EOC’s phones throughout the storm.  Contingency communication plans were made in the event we lost contact with the 911 center; to assure township residents would get a real person on the phone in case of an emergency need. 
Emergency evacuations centers and transportation were established with the help of the Wallingford Swarthmore School Districts.
Volunteers from the school district were organized and sent out to notify residents of flood prone areas to leave those areas for safety.
Fire company personnel walked narrow streets in the area just prior to the storms arrival. These people knocked on doors to advise residents to move cars parked on the street. Moving these cars provided better access to the area in case of downed trees. Downed trees on roads blocking access did become an issue during the storm in some areas of the township. The Wallingford Swarthmore School District provided a parking area for resident’s cars at Nether Providence Elementary School.
As the storm arrived calls quickly started coming into the 911 center and the EOC. The Garden City Fire Co. had several apparatus on the street. Each apparatus was staffed with a chief officer, a crew officer (Captain or Lieutenant) and a full crew of firefighter-emergency medical technicians From Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening the fire company ran non-stop answering over 50 ??? calls. A partial list of types of calls ran included; arcing wires, trees into houses and buildings requiring evacuations, tree into the roadway with a report of a car under the tree with people trapped, trees down with wires on the ground, fire alarms, building fires, and carbon monoxide alarm calls. Power outages which rendered sump pumps inoperable became a big problem on Sunday as rain water began flooding basements. Basements with rising water threatening the electrical outlets became a pump out priority.
On Sunday afternoon firefighters could finally take a quick break and assess the storm damage to their own homes. Some of our firefighters arrived home to; no power, and flooding basements.
The officers and members of the Garden City Fire Company would like to thank all who supported us by volunteering, moving cars off the streets, evacuating flood prone areas, and donating food for the weary firefighters. Your efforts were very much appreciated!!