24 For A Cure - 2012 Relay For Life Team
Brush Fire Threatening a Structure
Shortly after 5pm, Company 24 was dispatched with the assistance of Company 23 (Gibraltar) to the area of 68 Rock Hollow Road for a reported woods fire. Chief 24 arrived on location first and reported a working fire with a live power line down across the roadway. Chief 24 requested Company 7 (Birdsboro-Union FD) be added to the assignment. Chief 24 reported the fire was threatening a structure and requested units from Company 23 to proceed up the driveway and protect it from the rapidly spreading fire. Brush 24 and Brush 24-1 arrived and began attacking the fire from the roadway. Engine 7, Brush 7 and Tanker 7 arrived and assisted with water supply and attacking the fire. Crews had the fire under control in about 15 minutes - overhaul was done to clear unburnt materials and ensure the fire was completely out. It was determined the fire was caused by a falling tree branch that pulled down a power line that was arching in the roadway.
Crew Returns to Fight State Park Fire
A crew from Company 24 returned to French Creek State Park on Friday to assist in extinguishing the 600+ acre fire that has been burning since Monday morning. DCNR Crews had been working the fire scene all week, extinguishing hot spots, dropping water from tanker planes and helicopters and cutting fire lines by hand and with heavy equipment. Thursday afternoon, a large section of fire hopped one of the fire lines and continued into un-burnt area, spreading out of control. DCNR has requested assistance in completely extinguishing the fire. The predicition for rain this weekend may be of assistance, but crews must contain the fire until that time.
600+ Acre Fire at French Creek State Park
Many more pictures available here
Around 11:00am on Monday 4/9, the company was dispatched to assist Company 7 (Birdsboro-Union FD) with brush fire on Firetower Road in Union Township. While at that scene, Chief 7 was advised of a 1-2 acre brush fire on Hopewell Road in Union Township. Company 7 units left the initial scene and with the assist of Chester Station 69 (Twin Valley) began to scout out the second fire. Once 24 units cleared Fire Tower Road, they headed to the staging area at 345 and Shed Road for the 2nd fire. Utility 24, Brush 24, Brush 24-1, Tanker 24 and Engine/Tanker 24 returned to station almost 14 hours later as crews assisted in battling a fire that has now consumed over 500 acres of the forest.
-Reading Eagle
Firefighters on Tuesday managed to contain the largest wildfire in perhaps a century in Berks County, but the blaze is expected to keep burning and smoldering for weeks. The fire began Monday about noon off Route 345 in Union Township, just south of Birdsboro. Strong winds quickly spread it over 400 to 500 acres of state and private forest in the area of French Creek State Park in southeastern Berks and northern Chester counties. About 200 firefighters from five counties battled the blaze throughout the day and night and continued Tuesday, clearing land to create a fire line, or barrier, around the blaze. Residents who evacuated the area Monday were allowed to return to their homes Tuesday afternoon as the fire no longer posed a threat to any buildings. Also, a large fireworks assembly plant in Union Township that was at risk Monday as flames came within a half-mile of it was deemed out of harm's way. No buildings were damaged by the fire, officials with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries Monday, but no one was injured Tuesday, fire officials said. Two tanker airplanes filled up at Reading Regional Airport in Bern Township for coordinated water drops on the flames, which were contained within a 1,000-acre area that is not accessible by road, said Joe Frassetta, district forester for the state Bureau of Forestry. In addition, helicopters were scooping water from Hopewell Lake in Union Township and dumping it on the flames. "I feel we have it under control," Frassetta said Tuesday afternoon from the mobile command center at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. "Right now, we have it contained. We have a perimeter around the entire fire." Frassetta said French Creek State Park, which encompasses more than 7,000 acres in Berks and Chester, will easily recover. In fact, he said, it may have gotten the cleanup it needed. A freak October snowstorm snapped off the tops of thousands of trees, and those trunks and branches were sitting on the forest floor with leaves intact, providing the fire with a steady source of fuel, he said. "It will be interesting," Frassetta said. "This is actually beneficial to the environment here. There will be plants and flowers that will come back that haven't been there for quite a while. "It makes a good seed bed for plants that couldn't make it through the leaf litter." Frassetta said the aircraft used to fight the fire are based in Hazleton and their owners are under contract with the state to fight forest fires.
Reading Eagle Previous Article
Structure Fire on Cocalico Road
The photo gallery requires at least Flash version 9.0.28.
Shortly after 4pm on Friday 3/30, the company was dispatched along with Company 23 (Gibraltar), Company 7 (Birdsboro-Union) and Company 1 (Mt. Penn) for RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) to the 1400 block of Cocalico Road in Robeson for a reported structure fire. Homeowner was trying to remove the dogs from the basement. Chief 7 arrived on location first and reported a working fire, shortly thereafter requesting a 2nd alarm on the assignment. Company 25 (Exeter), 6 (Monocacy), 85 (Spring Twp Rehab), Chester 64 (Norco) were added along with Company 5 (Oley) for a second RIT team after the first was put in use. Crews from 7 made a quick attack to keep the fire from spreading. A fill site was setup approximately a half mile from the fire scene and tankers provided water from both ends. Crews then began to seek out pockets of fire and extinguish them before placing the fire under control within two hours. A few hours of overhaul were performed to ensure all of the fire was out. Great job to everyone involved!
Units on Scene: RE23, ET23, E7, T7, C7, ET24, T24, T6, RE6, ET25, E25, R1, R5, CCT64 Rehab 85, SBREMS 680
Standby Companies: Ladder 69 (Twin Valley) at Company 7
Tanker 3-4 (Churchtown) at Company 24
Engine/Tanker 72 (Brecknock) at Company 24
Company 13 (Laureldale) at Company 6
Two Brush Calls and a QRS Call
Tuesday started off with a QRS response for a 93 year old male with respiratory difficulty on Cedar Hill Road. Shortly thereafter the Brush units were dispatched to assist Company 23 with a brush fire that started as a controlled burn but is now out of control and spread to trees. Crews extinguished the first fire - later that afternoon both companies were dispatch to Interstate 176 Southbound near Mile Marker 4 for a reported woods fire, caller drove by and reported seeing flames in the woods. Brush units from both companies and Tankers made the response - crews arrived in the area and could not locate a fire. A second check was done and all units were recalled with nothing found.
Easter Egg Hunt - April 7th
The FFC#1 of Geigertown will have their annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 7th beginning at 1:00pm. This event is FREE to everyone. There will be several egg hunt areas according to age group, and a large table full of prizes for those who find the special egg with the prize paper inside. We hope to see you there!
Late Thursday and Early Friday Accidents
Shortly after 10pm on Thursday evening, Company 23 and 24 were dispatched to Interstate 176 in the area of the Green Hills exit for a motor vehicle accident with unknown injuries. The caller reported a vehicle in the median with people standing around. Crews searched the area and also Route 10 and could not find a vehicle, both companies were recalled.
At 01:04am Friday morning, both companies were dispatched to the intersection of Cocalico Road and Rock Hollow Road for an overturned vehicle, unknown injuries. Utility and Brush 24 made the response, along with R/E 23 and Traffic 23. Crews arrived to find a vehicle which had just crashed but could not find the driver. The immediate area was searched and nothing was found. Crews assisted the tow company with turning the vehicle back onto its wheels and cleaning up the debris before going available.
Vehicle Fire and Unconcious on the Bike Trail
Sunday started with Company 23 and 24 being dispatched to Interstate 176 for a reported vehicle fire, one car pulled over with smoke from the engine compartment. It was quickly determined that the cause of the smoke was a blown radiator hose, no fire. Units recalled.
Later that afternoon, both companeis were dispatched to the Thun Trail, on the railroad bridge above Route 568, to assist EMS with a male that fell off his bike, now reported unconcious, possibly not breathing. ATV 23 and Utility 24 made the response. Additional was given that this was now a witnessed cardiac arrest. ATV 23 accessed the trail from a yard along 568 and made contact with the patient along with EMS. The patient was transported on the ATV down to the ambulance and transported to Reading Hospital.
A Tree on Fire At Hole #4
Saturday afternoon, Company 23 and 24 were dispatched to the Green Hills Golf Course, hole #4 for a reported tree on fire. Several brush units from both companies responded, and once access was made to the tree (without damaging the greens), crews extinguished the fire and foamed it to ensure the wind would not cause it to flare up again.
A Special Visitor on Monday Evening
On Friday, October 28th 2011 - the lives of the members of the Geigertown Fire Company changed for good when they were dispatched to an accident less than a mile from our station. Those who initially arrived, found a severely mangled pickup truck that had struck a tree, the only occupant was laying on the ground fighting for her life. The actions of our members who assisted the patient that day were credited with saving her life and allowing her to start the travel down the extremely long road to recovery. There was something different about this call, when everyone heard that Julie was in Bryn Mawr recovering from her injuries, a group traveled to visit her and wish her luck. From this point forward, Julie became an inspiration to everyone at the Geigertown Fire Company and a hero to all of us. At our annual banquet dinner in January 2012, Julie was made an honorary members of the fire company and like it or not, her and her family became part of our family. Julie was finally able to come home in the past few weeks, and attended our breakfast on March 5th - noting that she walked the entire way there from her house! On Monday evening. Julie returned to hang out with everyone while we cleaned up from the breakfast and did various jobs around the station such as gear inspections, truck checks and other tasks. She made everyone laugh on several occasions and made it fun for everyone around her. We look forward to her coming to hang out with us in the future and welcome her to become one of the "guys". We hope one day we can convince her to throw on a pair of fire gear, but for now we will stick with her inspiration she provided around the building when she is there with us!
Tanker Relocate to Station 6
Courtesy of ETFD WebsiteShortly after 7:00am Saturday morning, Company 24 was requested for Tanker 24 to standby at Company 6 (Monocacy) while their units were on scene at a structure fire in Exeter Township. Tanker 24 relocated with a crew of two and were on standby for approximately 3 hours before being released. No calls were run during this time. More details on the fire can be found by clicking on the picture or here.
2012 Calls
| Month | Calls |
| January | 11 |
| February | 22 |
| March | 28 |
| April | 28 |
| May | 6 |
| June | |
| July | |
| August | |
| September | |
| October | |
| November | |
| December | |
| Total |
95 |
2011 - 285 Calls
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