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The Making of Wyndmoor Hose Co #1

Many people in our community of Springfield Township wonder how Wyndmoor Hose Co. #1 came to be. Throughout my paper it will be learned when the Wyndmoor Hose Company was established, what we do as firefighters, and firefighter statistics. The type of gear that is used, different kinds of fire trucks, and other fire company’s in Springfield Township will also be discussed. Benjamin Franklin, the establisher of the first volunteer fire company, created the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia on December 7, 1736. This company originally had thirty men in the department. Franklin decided to create the fire company after his visit to the city of Boston. Their equipment included leather buckets, with strong bags and baskets, which were to be brought to every fire. Wyndmoor Hose Company is one of three Fire Companies in Springfield Township. The other two companies are Flourtown and Oreland. Wyndmoor Hose Company is the oldest of the three companies it was established in 1907. The formation of the Wyndmoor Hose Company was an industrial base located at Mermaid Lane and Queen Street in Wyndmoor PA. There, the Nelson Valve Company began an in-house fire brigade. The residents volunteered recognizing the communal benefit; and with help from the valve company the two wheeled hand cart was purchased along with 500 feet of hose. By 1909, the shed used at the valve company was expanded as were the hose carts to four wheels drawn by horses. The next big move to the fire services was the touring cars. These cars were fitted with tanks of water and tools and soon Wyndmoor was no longer a two-horse outfit. In the twenties Wyndmoor Hose Company got a new home on Queen Street, closer to Willow Grove Ave. It still stands and serves as a firehouse for nearly 50 years. In 1927, Wyndmoor Hose Company purchased two Hale Pumpers and in 1940 a city service ladder truck. Firefighters do a lot more than fight fires. Firefighters also do vehicle rescues, gas/odor leaks outside, gas/odor leaks inside, fire alarms, down wires, and a lot more. When the fire company responds to a vehicle rescue it is because the person driving the vehicle got into a car accident and they are trapped or the car is smoking or on fire. Our main goal is to get the person out of the car fast but make sure not to injure them more than they already are. To do that we have hydraulic tools commonly known as “the jaws of life”. They are use to cut open the door, roof, and to stabilize the car. We may not need to cut off anything, but if we do we have the tools to do so. For gas/odor leaks inside and outside of a building we have to be extremely careful. Every fire company should have a gas meter on every apparatus. Some gas meters can detect different gases. The kind we have at the Wyndmoor Hose Company is one that is Capable of monitoring LEL, O2, H2, and CO with Motion Alert. Not a lot of gas meters have the motion alert. The motion alert is a special feature that detects if you as in firefighter or victim are moving. If you are not moving for a certain amount of time you will hear a beep beep that will get louder and louder, and it will begin blinking red so the other firefighters can hear you and see you if you need help. The most common fire call is the fire alarm. This happens when a smoke detector goes off and the people inside don’t know why it is going off. So when we respond to a fire alarm we go in and investigate the reason why it went off. The reason why the fire compamy respond to down wires or arching wires is because people immediately dial 911 and the fire company, respond to keep the area clear and safe until PECO comes out to take care of the situation. We don’t know if the wire is live or dead, but our main responsibility is the safety of the people around. Most of the down wire calls are during a storm with the wind bringing down trees and limbs with wet ground. Firefighters wear lots of different gear to protectselves them from the heat. You basically have two main things to wear; they are the helmet and bunker gear. The helmet protects the firefighters head from heat and falling debris. There are also special ear flaps which protect the firefighter’s ear from the extreme heat. In 1836, when H.T. Graracap invented the first helmet in America. It was made from leather. The helmet has a sloped back so the water rolls off the back of them. It was added when the Cairns brothers made a badge to go on the front of the helmet to tell which fire company you belong to. As years past they began. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) laid down standards for the design of the firefighting helmet. In the 1970’s brought great change to the fire helmet. The main change to the fire helmet is the hood to cover the ears and the neck, one other thing is the flip down face shield to protect your face. There are many different kinds of helmets. The two main helmets are leather and metro. Firefighter’s helmets usually weigh around five pounds. Firefighters need protective gear to go into a burning building. In the 19th century the firefighters responded to fire calls in pants and a shirt made from wool. The wool helped keep the firefighters warm in the winter. A new outer layer that protected the firefighters from heat up to 500 degrees. Later in 20th century the temperature protection went up to 1200 degrees. Bunker gear is made up of boots, pants, and jacket. The jacket weighs around 15 pounds without anything in the pockets and flashlight. The boots come with a steel sole so when firefighters are in a building they don’t get stabbed through the sole of the boot, the boot is also steel toe that way any debris falls it does not crush the firefighter’s foot. The pants are made of the same material as the jacket. The pants and the jacket have three layers. The outside layer has reflective stripes and is heat. The shell is tear resistant. The middle layer removes moisture, such as sweat, so the firefighters do get overheated. The inner layer is a vapor layer that keeps the firefighter safe. The pants and the boots can weigh as much as 30 pounds. To help firefighter’s breath in smokey conditions firefighters wear what is called a SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus). There are many different brands of SCBA. For example there is Scott which the Wyndmoor Hose Company uses, and there is also Drager SCBA. The firefighters wear this on their backs. They can breathe for 30 minutes before changing their SCBA. On average a SCBA can weigh around 30 pounds. To completely outfit one firefighter with the protective clothing and breathing apparatus costs approximately $3,500. The U.S Fire Administration estimates that as of 2007, there were 1,148,800 firefighters in the United States. Out of those, nearly 72 percent of them were volunteers. Three-quarters of all the firefighters are between the ages of 20 and 49. (Alex Vega-Singer). At the Wyndmoor Hose Company they have 47 members in their department. Just think 47 people volunteer their time, their effort, and put their life on the line to help their community. Not only is it a huge commitment on the part of the firefighter, but also his or her family members. The family member will have to do many things without the volunteer being home, such as family parties, missing a child’s sporting event and just missing out on the family dinner because he/she was out taking care of the neighborhood. Volunteer firefighters are trained to respond to emergencies such as fires, car accidents and rescues. Depending on the location of the fire house, volunteers may cover a large urban area or a small rural area. Not all volunteer firefighters have specialized jobs, but the fire chief and truck drivers have very important roles in directing and driving other firefighters to the scene. Those interested in volunteer firefighting are trained for several weeks in a variety of procedures and handling before they can take part in a real emergency. To be a volunteer firefighter you need to go to hours of special training. Many of the hours are on the weekend giving up the volunteer’s own time. There are lots of courses that you need to take. One hundred and eighty eight hours of training are needed to be certified firefighter. But you will have to go back every once in a while to get refreshers and to learn about new equipment. At the Wyndmoor Hose Company they currently have a custom built Rescue-Pumper, Squrt, and a QRS. The rescue holds all of the rescue equipment. That includes hydraulic tools, ropes, oil dry, rescue tool, light tower, water rescue vests, hoses, and a lot more. The squrt has a 50 foot mid-mount ladder. The squrt holds hand tools, 2 hydraulic tools, fire extinguishers, and a lot more. The squrt’s is basically a small ladder truck. The QRS is a first aid vehicle. QRS stands for quick response services. The QRS holds all the EMS equipment. That includes backboards, first aid kits, gas meter, neck braces, AED, and a lot more. The QRS also responds to water rescue with the rescue boat, as well as it responds to Haz-Mat calls with the Haz-Mat Decon trailer. The Wyndmoor Hose Company is part of the Montgomery County Haz-Mat Decon units. What that means is they respond to a hazardous material spills. When they arrive at the scene they set up the decon. The decon is a team who showers off the firefighters that were exposed to the chemical. The Wyndmoor Hose Company is all about helping the community. The Wyndmoor Hose Company helps out the community by taking part in fundraisers attending parades, housing fire preventions helping fundraisers. One big event that the Wyndmoor Hose Company puts on for the community is a carnival. This is going to be the fourth year that the Wyndmoor Hose Company is hosting this event. The big thing about this event is the last night of the carnival. That is the fireworks. Every year every one comments on the fireworks of how great they are. Another thing the Wyndmoor Hose Company does is they do birthday parties. You can have a birthday party at the fire house and the firefighters will run a fire prevention program. When the firefighters do the program they get all the kids together and they put on a little video about how to be fire safe. Then after the video one of the firefighters will go over the video while the other firefighter is getting ready to show the kids what they look like when they have their entire gear on. Once the firefighter is finished talking to the children, firefighter puts on all of their gear to show the children not to be afraid if we have to come to their homes. We also teach them to Stop Drop and Roll. That is their way to teach children don’t play with matches or with fire and if something does happen they know what to do and that the fire department is on their way to help. In Springfield Township they have three fire companies. They are Wyndmoor Hose Company, Flourtown Fire Company, and Oreland Fire Company. They Wyndmoor Hose Company is the oldest of the three. Wyndmoor is the rescue company, Flourtown is the ladder company, and Oreland is the pumper company. All three companies work as a team with its own special talent. The three companies also respond with other companies. Wyndmoor responds with Glenside Fire Company, Flourtown responds to Barren Hill Fire Company in Whitemarsh, and Oreland responds to Fort Washington. The companies only respond to the other company’s calls if they are called in. All three organizations are made up of dedicated men and women who volunteer their time and effort to protect their community from fire and other life threatening situations.