ATFD Staff

Abington Township Fire Department

Chiefs Abington Fire Co. Chief John Bothwell McKinley Fire Co. Chief Chris Bors Weldon Fire Co. Chief Bud Gerhard Edge Hill Fire Co. Chief Charlie Rohrer Roslyn Fire Co. Chief Dale Jonas Fire Marshal: Kenneth Clark Asst. Fire Marshal: John Rohrer Fire Services Administrator: Dave Schramm Community Service Specialist: Jeff Glynn Fire Department Secretary Lisa Scholly

Administrative Support Team

Computer Network Administrator: John Bothwell Mike Ratka (Assistant) Fire Training Coordinator: Larry Siefken Michael Jones (Assistant) Greg Breyer (Assistant) Operations: Support Tom McAneney Joe Dougherty Chris Mc Loone Ed Wurster

In an effort to reach out to prospective volunteers and teach community members about fire s a f e t y a n d p r e v e n t i o n , approximately 60 members of the Ab i n g t o n T o w n s h i p F i r e Department (ATFD) participated in the Fall Family Fun Festival on Oct. 3rd at Abington Senior High School.

Volunteers from the ATFD’s five companies attended the public event, which offered residents some hands-on opportunities to learn more about the department, its volunteers, and the various equipment and apparatus used by the ATFD. Those who stopped by to visit with volunteers had a chance to use a hose to knock a tennis ball off a traffic cone, tour the “Safety House” which teaches children how to escape safely from a burning home, and crawl through a “cold smoke tent” to experience what it’s like finding one’s way through a dark maze wearing a self-contained breathing apparatus.

In addition to the hands-on activities, residents also had the opportunity to watch volunteers perform a mock vehicle rescue. Firefighters stabilized a vehicle and used high performance hydraulic rescue tools, as well as other equipment to dismantle a car and demonstrate how they would extract accident victims.

Josie Licari and Lori Knapp of Abington found the demonstration intriguing, noting that they were curious to see how vehicle rescues

are actually accomplished after having heard about them. Both agreed that having the opportunity to see volunteers in action gave them an appreciation for what firefighters do.

“You see how important it is to have them,” said Ms. Knapp, with Ms. Licari adding that the demonstration showed volunteers do much more than simply put out fires.

Marcy Licari, Josie’s mother, said she was impressed by the speed of the operation, which was carried out by members of several different companies.

“They work as a team, and it goes very smoothly,” she said. “It really takes a lot of people.”

Joan and John Rarick also stopped by to watch the demonstration, and noted that such staged events can show residents what their local fire departments can do and how necessary they are.

“It helps impress upon people of the township what resources are available and what a great job these guys do,” said Mrs. Rarick.

Firefighters themselves agreed that participating in events like the Fall Family Fun Festival are important for enhancing community relations, as

Volume 5, Issue 3 November, 2009

“We will strive to invigorate and fortify the spirit of volunteerism in the Abington Township Fire Department by allowing each of our five fire companies to maintain its individual identity that complements our organizational goal of continuous self improvement.”

ATFD RespondingATFD RespondingATFD Responding AbingtonFD.org

ATFD’S PARTICIPATES IN FALL FAMILY FUN FESTIVAL

Seen here are the vehicles on display at the Fall Family Fun Festival.

Abington Township Fire Department: AbingtonFD.org

well as building camaraderie among members.

“We get to work together as a team,” said Paul Conroy, Assistant Chief of the McKinley Fire Company.

Chris Bors, Chief of McKinley, added that having a public presence at the Fall Family Fun Festival serves the ATFD’s ultimate aim of bringing in more volunteers.

“Our biggest goal is promoting

the fire department to the public for the ultimate goal of recruiting new members,” he said. “This is an ideal way to reach out to people.”

The ATFD’s participation in the Fall Family Fun Festival also served as a kick-off to Fire Prevention Week, which is held annually during the week containing Oct. 9th. Fire companies held open houses throughout the week.

I n an effort to recruit more volun-teers to its ranks, the ATFD

participated in Unity Day on Sept. 12, an event held at Crestmont Park and sponsored by the Willow Grove Branch of the NAACP.

Members of the ATFD’s Roslyn Fire Company attended the event to present community members with information about becoming a volunteer firefighter, as well as allow them a chance to get to know their local firefighters and look at the various firefighting equipment and apparatus used by the ATFD.

Valerie Ward, who coordinated Unity Day, said volunteers are an important part of the annual event.

“The ATFD always comes – you can count on them even at 3:30 in the morning. They are excellent and we appreciate them,” she said.

Abington Township brothers Anthony and Josh Woods learned about fire engines from ATFD member Jerry Martin of Roslyn. Even though he is 12 now, Josh said he is looking forward to join-ing the fire department once he turns 14.

“The truck is cool, and I like to help people,” he said.

Ben Walker, an ATFD member

for two months, noted that the equipment is interesting to both young and old alike and promotes the department’s visibility.

“It’s good to come to events like this so the community knows we are out there and available,” he said.

The ATFD has been serving the community for more than 100 years and is made up of five sepa-rately chartered fire companies: Abington, McKinley, Weldon, Edge Hill, and Roslyn. Approxi-mately 235 volunteers belong to the department and dedicate their time and energy to keeping the community safe.

Firefighting is one of many ser-vices that the ATFD provides to its 15-square-mile community. ATFD volunteers are trained in vehicle rescue, hazardous materials re-sponse, structural collapse rescue, confined space rescue, and trench rescue. Community outreach is another focus of the organization. Volunteer firefighters can regu-larly be found in the schools, at senior centers, and at community events educating others about fire safety and responsible decision-making.

ATFD CONTRIBUTES TO UNITY DAY CELEBRATION

T he ATFD’s newly redesigned Web site went live on Nov. 2nd.

Residents are invited to see the c h a n g e s b y v i s i t i n g AbingtonFD.org.

In an effort to make information easier to access, provide seasonal fire safety tips, and highlight the ATFD’s involvement in the com-munity, information on the home-page has been reorganized and several new sections, such as one for press releases and one for fire safety have been added. Visitors to the homepage will notice changes right away, with a seasonal fire safety tip located in the right-hand

corner, as well as a moving slide-show located in the middle of the homepage that includes photo-graphs from recent ATFD events and activities.

In addition, the site contains links to the ATFD’s five member companies, as well as links to ex-ternal organizations like the Na-tional Fire Protection Agency and FireSafety.gov. The ATFD’s news-letters, updates on the accreditation process, information about mem-bership opportunities, and a “Contact Us” link are also located on the Web site.

AbingtonFD.org Gets A Fresh Look

Abington Township Fire Department volunteers use high performance hydraulic rescue tools to pry open a car as part

of a vehicle rescue demonstration.

Parents and children observe the smoke tent that was part of the Abington Township Fire Department’s display at the

Fall Family Fun Festival.