What We Do And Who We Are
Water Rescue Team Recovers Canine Drowning Victim
Last weekend was a busy one for Port Jervis Fire Department (PJFD) units as they responded to a wide variety of weather-related fire and rescue calls including an animal recovery from the Delaware River on Saturday.
Friday’s strong winds, torrential rain, and lightning storm produced the first of the weekend’s weather-related calls as units responded to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on the corner of West Main and Hudson Streets. Orange County Deputy Fire Coordinator Jim Rohner said an electrical malfunction at the church triggered an automatic alarm but produced no damage.
Lightning and strong winds also caused a tree to topple onto a house on Hamilton Street, and local units responded for traffic control.
On Saturday, a call came in at approximately 10:30 am for an animal rescue from the Delaware River. According to fire officials, a passerby spotted a dog in the river from the Mid-Delaware Bridge and called the Port Jervis Police Department for assistance. The dog, a brown Irish bulldog, is believed to have been swept away by the river’s currents after entering the water near West End Beach. Port Jervis and Matamoras rescue units responded and the dog’s body was recovered just below the Route 84 Bridge a short time later.
Port Jervis Fire Chief Donald E. DeVore, Jr. said units also responded on Saturday to a call for a flooded basement on Lincoln Street, a Mutual Aid call to a fatal car accident on Montague’s Clove Road, and a minor culinary fire at 5 Ball Street.
On Sunday, units were dispatched to a false alarm triggered by an equipment malfunction at a large rental house on Mary Street.
Firefighters Save Front Street Home
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| A quick response by firefighters from Port Jervis and Matamoras fire departments saved a home at 133 Front Street in Port Jervis this week. |
PORT JERVIS, NY- A July 27th fire in a single-family, owner-occupied home on Front Street left a Port Jervis family temporarily displaced, destroyed one room, and caused heavy smoke and water damage throughout the home. Port Jervis Fire Chief Donald E. Devore, Jr.’s said, however, a quick response prevented the damage from becoming much extensive than it was.
“The fire was at a point where another 10 minutes or so would have caused it to become far more difficult to extinguish," said DeVore.
Firefighting units from Port Jervis and Matamoras responded to the scene within minutes of the 6:50 PM reported structure fire call to 133 Front Street. The owners of the home, Alvin Hassenplug and his family, were not at home at the time of the fire.
Devore said that upon their arrival at the scene, firefighters quickly gained entry, began to put water on the seat of the fire, and take steps to ventilate and control the environment of the fire.
The Orange County Fire Investigation team, Port Jervis Ambulance Corps, and Regional Ambulance crews were also at the scene, and units from Sparrowbush, Huguenot, Greenville and a ladder truck from Middletown were available on stand-by.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Regional Disaster Drill Draws Units to Bus vs. Propane Accident
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| Regional EMT's, firefighters, and ambulance personnel repsonded to assist in the containment of a leaking propane tank and evacuation of 15 victims of the mock propane tank vs. bus accident. |
PORT JERVIS, NY- Seven regional emergency units responded to an early-June Disaster Drill involving a bus vs. propane tank crash scenario.
A 6:38 PM call on June 2 from a resident of Port Jervis’s West End spurred a 9-1-1 command center response that drew responding units from Port Jervis, Sparrowbush, Greenville and Huguenot in New York State and from Pennsylvania units in Matamoras, Mill Rift, and Westfall.
The disaster drill was co-sponsored by the Port Jervis Fire Department and Bon Secours Community Hospital as a way to test the hospital’s mass-casualty procedures and local fire department resources.
The drill involved containment of a leaking propane tank and removal of approximately 15 victims from the scene to a triage that was quickly established on a local lawn. As victims were treated and tagged according to the severity of their injury, a simulated airlift transported three to specialized hospitals.
While the drill was only a mock practice for local volunteers, one responder offered a temporary minor emergency to deal with. Joie Ogrodnick, a long-time Sparrowbush Fire Department EMT and Port Jervis Ambulance Corp volunteer, became overheated while working at the triage. She stripped off her gear and turned her duties over to a fellow EMT, as she later explained, “These things can happen. They’re real. Our equipment is hot and bulky and we have to be aware and sure of our own safety during emergencies as well.”
Ogrodnick gave herself time to cool down, drank some water, and had her vital signs checked by other emergency responders. After a while, she put her gear back on and resumed her duties. “Now I’m fine,” she said.
Port Jervis Fire Chief Donald E. DeVore, Jr. said he and other officials were pleased with the outcome of the drill. He said after a drill like this, those involved get together to critique and improve upon future responses. “There were only a few minor glitches that we were able to work around,” said DeVore. “We will figure out what we can do to make our response even and then we’ll practice again.”
 Firefighters Tom Long, Mike Esposito and Chuck Baumgardner help deploy the Matamoras Fire Department’s dive boat.
Firefighters here attempt dive rescueFirefighter Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department divers were dispatched March 28 to assist the Matamoras, Westfall, Pa. and Port Jervis, N.Y. fire departments with a dive rescue operation at Culver Lake on Rt. 206 in Frankford Township, N.J. A 32-year old female died attempting to help the occupants of an overturned canoe in the lake. With the assistance of Chief Jon Van Norman from the Jefferson Township’s Fire Department #2’s newly established dive team, Picatinny firefighters Capt. Bill Nealis, Mike Esposito and Chuck Baumgardner, Steve Shatzel, Anthony Roberts, Tom Long and Bill Koferl assisted divers from several area fire department searching for the victim. The female victim was recovered by divers from the Westfall and Port Jervis fire departments. The close relationships among Picatinny Fire Department, Jefferson Township #2 Fire Department and the Pennsylvania and New York fire departments, fostered through several members being both employed here and volunteering for their hometown fire companies, ensured quick, coordinated efforts during the rescue attempt although a positive ending was not achieved.
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