Blazing Arrow Hook and Ladder

21:15 Hrs. -- Stations 36, 33, 34 and Medic Units 401 and 451 were alerted to a MVA with injuries along Gypsy Camp Hollow road in Snyder Twp, box area 36-1.  Asst. Chief 3603 and Lt. 3606 immediately responded to the scene. Lt. 3606 arrived on scene to find multiple patients ejected from a single SUV. Chief 3601 also responded to the scene. Rescue 3338 with Asst. Chief 3303 (J.Watson) on board responded with a crew of 7. Utility 3441 also responded. Chief 3601 arrived on the scene and assumed command requesting the medevac aircraft to the scene. Rescue 33 arrived on scene with orders from command to begin patient treatment and packaging. The crew of Rescue 33 began treating 3 patients that were all ejected fom the vehicle. EMS units responding to the scene advised Blair 911 to put the aircraft on stand-by only. Command requested that a stand-by landing zone be established in the parking lot of the Chicago Rivet Company, just a short distance from the crash scene. Deputy Chief 3302 (J.Wagner) along with Engine 3413 responded to the parking lot of Chicago Rivet to set up an LZ. Engine 3611 responding to the scene was diverted by command to go the LZ to assist. The LZ was set up for stand-by with Deputy 33 being assigned LZ officer. Medic Units 401 (AMED-Tyrone) and 451 (Bellwood EMS) arrived on scene and began ALS treatment. Medic Unit 401 requested an additional 2 ALS units to respond to the scene for a total of 4 patients to be transported. Medic Units 434 (AMED-Altoona city) and 441 (AMED-Roaring Spring) responded to the scene. All patients were transported by ground to the Altoona Regional Trauma Center. The medevac aircraft was placed in service along with the units at the LZ with the exception of Engine 3611 which proceeded to the crash scene to assist with hazards. Upon all patients being transported from the scene, Rescue 33 picked up and was placed available by command at 22:15 hrs. Rescue 33 went enroute back to quarters.

Units responding: Rescue 3338, Utility 3441, Engine 3611, Asst Chief 3603, Lt. 3606, Chief 3601(with command), Medic Units 401, 451, 434, 441, Tyrone Fire Police Unit 3144, PSP

Landing Zone units: Engine 3413, 3611, Deputy Chief 3302 (LZ officer)

Truck 3351, with Deputy Chief 3302 and a crew of 5, traveled south to Blair Station 22 (Excelsior No.1) Bellwood to participate in their dedication of the Emergency Services Memorial Park that been erected across the street from Station 22. The Park was a project of Bellwod Eagle Scout Cory Miller. Cory raised over $16000 for the project and the park took about a year to complete. Cory had many volunteers help him with raising money for the project and also in the construction of the park. Many dignetaries from the state and local levels participated in the dedication ceremony along with a few area fire departments, EMS companies, and police departments. Truck 33 was asked to assist with the crossed aerial ladders assignment. The crew from Station 33 felt very honored to be asked to participate in the dedication of this beautiful park.  The dedication ended with a delicious spaghetti dinner that was prepared and served by the members of Excelsior No. 1. Great Job to Cory for the beautiful park that can be appreciated and used for years to come!!

                                                                                                                                   FF Cody Delay, State Fire Commisioner Ed Mann, Lt. Chip Dillon

14:00 Hrs. -- Truck 3351 with the crew from the dedication of the Emergency Services Memorial Park in Bellwood, were requested by Chief 2201 (Dave McClosky) to stand-by in Station 22 while all of 22's apparatus was call to the Altoona Alliance Church fire in Logan Twp. Truck 33 with Deputy Chief 33 (J.Wagner) stood by with a crew of 5. Engine 3413 with Chief 34 (T.Weston) also in attendance for the dedication,  stood by with a crew of 5 with the truck. Crews stood by at Station 22 until approximately 18:30 hrs when Quint 2251 returned along with Tanker 2221. No calls were ran during the stand-by. A special thanks to Station 22 FF Tom Whiteford for making lunch and dinner for the Truck and Engine crews while on stand-by.

Units responding: Truck 3351 (with Deputy Chief 33), Engine 3413 (with Chief 34)

Congratulations to Asst. Chief 33 JR Watson on being appointed the new Tyrone Boro EMA Coordinator! The EMA coordinator position was left vacant in March with the unfortunate passing of James Beckwith who had previously held the position.   Asst. Chief Watson was appointed to the position at the May 7th boro council meeting. He also holds the position of boro fire marshal along with being Asst. Chief at Station 33. Good luck Asst. Chief Watson with your new position!!

17:39 Hrs. -- Stations 33, 34, 36 and Medic Unit 401 were dispatched for an MVA with unknown injuries in box area 31-2 in Snyder Twp along old Rt. 220 in front of the Qwik Fill gas station. Station 36 was held in quarters by Chief 3601 until a Tyrone Chief officer got on scene. Deputy Chief 3302 (J.Wagner) responded to the scene. Medic Unit 401 arrived on scene and evaluated a female driver. Rescue 3338 with a crew of 5 responded along with Engine 3413. Deputy Chief 33 arrived to find 2 vehicles off the roadway and assumed command. The incident was in fact in the boro ,in box area 31-1. Deputy 33 placed Station 36 in service. Rescue 33 and Engine 34 arrived on scene and controlled hazards. All parties involved refused treatment or transport by EMS. Crews remained on scene until the vehicles were removed.  Command placed the box in service at 18:05 hrs.

Units responding: Rescue 3338, Engine 3413, Deputy Chief 3302 (with command), Fire Police Unit 3144, Medic Unit 401, TPD

Station 33 was asked by Hookies President Barry Rhoades, an American Eagle employee, to assist the American Eagle Paper Co. in Tyrone by being a possible water supply for the facility due to the maintenance crew working on the water system in the plant. Engine 33 with a crew of 3 stood-by on a hydrant in case an emergency water supply was needed. The engine crew stood-by for several hours until the facility's water system was placed back online. The crew encountered no incidents and Engine 33 was placed back in service in the late afternoon.

Truck 33 and Rescue 33 were invited to participate in the Tyrone Rotary Club's "Family Fun Blast Fair" that was held at the Tyrone Area High School. The crew of 4 from Station 33 gave tours of the Truck and Rescue and also answered many questions about fire safety and the requirements of being a firefighter. A fire safety display was set up along with a display of some of the more advanced firefighting equipment. Several different agencies and organizations participated in the fair with displays. A fun day was had by all!

On Memorial Day a crew of 3 took Truck 33 to Bellwood for their annual Memorial Day parade. Truck 33 participated in the parade with many other fire apparatus from the northern end of Blair county along with a number of community groups. The parade in Bellwood was the second of the weekend that Station 33 equipment participated in. On Saturday May 26th, the Tyrone Veteran's clubs hosted a Memorial Day weekend parade. Parade season is finally here. Keep checking back for more parade updates throughout the summer that Station 33 equipment will be participating in.

Two more members of Station 33 have obtained their Firefighter 1 Certification through the Office of the State Fire Commssioner. Congratulations go out to Lt. Billy Mayes and FF Billy McElwain. Both took their tests on May 12 at the Cambria County Fire School certification site. Candidates had to fulfill many requirements in addition to taking a written test and pass a practical evaluation test. Overall, Station 33 now has 21 state certified firefighters.  Congratulations also to 3 members of Station 34 (Neptune Fire Co. 1) FF Brad "Chunk" Oswalt, FF Travis Snyder, and FF Brian Waite for obtaining their FF1 certifications!

Following the monthly Drivers Meeting at Station 33, several members along with Chief 33 (B.Lynn) loaded up all 4 rigs and headed for Reservoir Park where they met some members of Station 34 (Neptune Fire Co. No.1) with Chief 34 (T.Weston). Several training topics were covered while at the park. The first topic was practice in using the buddy breathing feature on the new MSA scba's. Each member got the opportunity to connect the buddy breather hose to each others scba's. Members also practiced transferring air from one cylinder to another with the transfer hoses that were purchased with the new packs. Members also got some practice with water movement and hose operation. Some also practiced using the new Sabrejet automatic smoothbore nozzles. More training nights are being planned for the future with these two stations and additional topics to be covered. Also take note to the shiny new paint job that Brush 3471 is sporting. The brush rig looks good guys!!! 

Congratulations and best wishes to Captain David Hoffman (3305) and his bride, Tina, who were joined in marriage on Saturday, June 16, 2007.

Best of luck and many years of happiness from your fellow members of Station 33!

Monday evening, June 18th,  9 Charleston, SC firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty while battling a blaze at a sofa warehouse/store. Preliminary reports indicate a combination of a large amount of fire and a structural collapse that trapped the crews, but not before the firefighters rescued 2 employees of the store that had been trapped due to the fast moving blaze.

Please join Station 33 as we send our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the families and our brother firefighters in Charleston, S.C.:

Fire Captain William "Billy" Hutchinson  Age: 48   Years with department: 30
Fire Captain Mike Benke  Age: 49   Years with department: 29 years
Fire Captain Louis Mulkey  Age: 34   Years with department: 11 1/2 years
Fire Engineer Mark Kelsey  Age: 40   Years with department: 12 1/2 years
Fire Engineer Bradford "Brad" Baity  Age: 37  Years with department: 9
Fire Assistant Engineer Michael French  Age: 27  Years with department: 1 1/2 years
Firefighter James "Earl" Drayton  Age: 56  Years with department: 32 years
Firefighter Brandon Thompson  Age: 27  Years with department: 4 years
Firefighter Melven Champaign  Age: 46   Years with the department: 2 years

22:30 Hrs. -- Blair county stations 33, 34, 36, Medic Unit 482 (AMED- Lakemont due to 400 & 450 on other incidents) along with Huntingdon county Stations 22(Warriors Mark) and 100 (Juniata Valley EMS) were dispatched for a single vehicle MVA along state route 453 south of Tyrone. Multi-county units were dispatched due to the unknown locality of the MVA. Caller was unsure if the incident was within Blair or Huntingdon County. Deputy Chief 3302 (J.Wagner) responded to the scene as Rescue 3338 with Lt. 3308(B.Mayes) on board, responded with a crew of 4. Deputy Chief 33 arrived on scene assuming command. Rescue 33 arrived on scene just after the Deputy. Crews arriving on the scene found 1 vehicle on the roadway with 1 occupant out of the vehicle walkng around complaining of minor chest and shoulder pain. The vehicle had struck the rock wall along the roadway due to an animal running in front of the vehicle. Crews from Huntingdon Co. Station 22 arrived on scene. It was determined that the incident was in Blair county. Crews not already on scene were placed in service by Deputy Chief 33. Huntingdon Co.  22 Fire Police remained on scene to assist Fire Police from Tyrone. The crew from Rescue 33 handled patient care until BLS Unit 101 from Huntingdon station 100 arrived. The BLS crew determined that ALS was not needed and Medic Unit 482 was placed available. The crew from Rescue 33 also handled hazard control until the vehicle was removed from the scene. Upon the vehicle being  removed from the scene, Deputy Chief 33 placed the box in service, returning all equipment at 23:30 hrs.

Units Responding: Rescue 3338, Utilities 3441, 3641, Deputy Chief 3302 (with command), Hunting. Chief 22-1, Engine 22-2, Rescue 22-1, Tyrone Fire Police, Hunting. 22 Fire Police, Hunting. BLS Unit 101, Blair PSP, Hunting. PSP

Past Chief 33,  John Benn,  demonstrated that his roots still run deep at a recent structure fire in a foundry in the Belleville area of Mifflin county. Take note to John's (aka Hank's) helmet front piece. "Hank" still sports the Truck Co. 33 front piece on his leather lid. John says he is still working on the boys in Belleville to buy a "Truck". Thanks for sharing the picture Hank...

Here he is at it again....."Hank" got the chance to multi-task at a recent chimney fire with extension on 6/13/07. Hank multi-tasked as Incident Commander and chauffer/operator of Wagon 24. Seems he hasn't lost his touch. Stay safe brother!!!!

15:20 Hrs.  --  Stations 33, 34 and Medic Unit 401 were alerted to a 3 vehicle MVA in Box area 31-1 at the intersection of 5th Street and Clay Avenue within the boro.  Chief 3301 (B.Lynn) responded to the scene immediately. Rescue 3338 with Capt. 3305 (D.Hoffman) on board responded with a crew of 7 shortly after Chief 33.   Engine 3413 also responded. Chief 33 arrived on scene to find 3 vehicles involved with 3 injuries.  Chief 3301 assumed command. Upon arriving on the scene, Rescue 33 assisted EMS with patient care. EMS requested an additional ambulance bringing Medic Unit 451 to the scene. 3413 arrived on scene recieving orders to control hazards. Medic Unit 401 transported 2 patients with a member of Rescue 33's crew driving the unit into the hospital. Medic Unit 451 transported 1 patient. Upon all vehicles being removed from the scene, command placed the box in service at 15:55 hrs returning all equipment.

Units responding: Rescue 3338, Engine 3413, Chief 3301 (with command), Tyrone Fire Police, Medic Units 401 & 451, TPD

19:35 Hrs. -- Stations 33, 34 and Medic Unit 401 were dispatched for a 2 vehicle MVA in Box area 31-1 within the boro. Rescue 3338 responded with a crew of 5.   Lt. 3309 (C.Dillon) arrived on the scene along with Rescue 33 to find 2 vehicles on the roadway on 14th St. between Pennsylvania Ave. and Logan Ave. Lt.  3309 assumed command.   Engine 3413 arrived on scene and was assigned hazard control. The crew from Rescue 33 assisted EMS with 1 minor injury. It appeared that as traffic was stopped at the traffic light at the intersection of 14th and Pennsylvania Ave.,  the white Pontiac vehicle failed to stop for backed up traffic,  rear-ending another vehicle. Upon all vehicles being removed from the scene, command placed the box available at 19:55 hrs. returning all equipment. One patient was transported to Tyrone Hospital with minor injuries.

Units responding: Rescue 3338, Engine 3413, Lt.3309 (with command), Tyrone Fire Police Unit 3144, Medic Unit 401, TPD