On Thursday, November 5^th, at 7:33pm, as the monthly medical training was getting underway, Hinesburg First Response was toned out for a driver needing assistance. The report was the vehicle was in a ditch on Rte 2A, and the driver needed assistance getting out of the vehicle and up to the road. While en-route, EMT’s were given updated information, and requested the Fire Department to respond with an engine for lighting and Rescue 1.

 

Upon locating the vehicle, it was found the operator had gone over an embankment at the top of the driveway. The driver, who was uninjured, was trapped and required extrication. While EMT’s and a couple of firefighters accessed the patient through the rear doors of the van, a second crew of firefighters set up our new low angle rope system to bring the patient up the embankment. EMT’s placed and secured the driver onto a backboard, them placed and secured the backboard to the stokes litter basket. 

 

Using a rope haul system, attached to the stokes, firefighters were able to bring the driver up the embankment to the driveway. The rope was then untied from the stokes, and the driver brought into the home for assessment. The driver did not have any injuries and refused transport.

 

The rope haul system recently purchased by HFD consists of 250 ft of rope, pulleys, webbing, anchor straps, carabineers and some assorted rope rescue equipment and is used for low angle non-technical rescue. Members trained for the first time with the system a week earlier, practicing setting up the system and hauling Rescue Randy (a training dummy) up an embankment in the upper lot of CVU.

 

 

 

 

At 1:45am, December 7^th, Hinesburg Fire Dept members were awakened by Shelburne Dispatch for a fire alarm at CVU. Chief Barber, first on scene, accessed the fire alarm panel. The panel reported a wood shop duct alarm. Engine 2 followed by Chief Barber, went around to the wood shop. Crews found the shop to be filled with smoke.

 

A working incident alarm was requested for Hinesburg Fire and First Response, along with a mutual aid request for Charlotte and Shelburne Fire Departments. In accordance with a working incident protocol, St Michael’s ambulance was also dispatched for scene standby.

 

Engine 2’s crew put on air packs and prepared to enter the building to start ventilation and check for fire. The shop was found to be filled with smoke, with no visible fire. The fire was contained to the sawdust collection bin outside the building. As additional crews arrived, an attack plan was established and set up. Using two Compressed Air Foam hose lines, crews positioned themselves by the bin. The door in the bottom of the bin was opened, and as the sawdust dropped out, crews used foam to extinguish the fire and embers. Fortunately, the bin was not full as it had been emptied the week before.

 

Once the bin was empty, and fire extinguished, crews from the three departments starting the tasks of ventilating the building and checking for Carbon Monoxide. The smoke had gone through the duct work into other areas of the building around the shop, including the auditorium. As crews were checking the building, high levels of CO were found in the southeast quad. Crews went from room to room checking CO levels, and opened windows and outside doors. Using roof ventilation fans in the shop, and ventilation fans from the engines, the smoke was eventually cleared, and CO levels lowered.

 

CVU was closed for the day. The cause was ruled accidental.

 

 

Shortly after 7 am December 26^th, Hinesburg Fire was dispatched to Birch Road, St George for a reported trailer fire. Responding firefighters were able to see a plume of smoke as they crested the hill by Ballard Farm. First arriving firefighters reported the back half of the trailer was fully engulfed in flames. It was also reported all occupants were out of the structure.

 

When Engines 2 and 3 arrived on scene, crews donned air packs and proceeded to extinguish the flames using the Compressed Air Foam System. The fire was contained to the area of origin. The remainder of the trailer sustained heavy smoke and heat damage.

The cause of the fire was the electrical heat tape wrapped around the water pipes underneath the trailer. The trailer is a total loss.

 

 

 

 

 

The rain and snow which fell during the last week of December kept HFD busy responding to vehicles sliding off the road. In two separate incidents, HFD responded to motor vehicle crashes on Richmond Road in the area of East Shore Drive. In both cases, the drivers lost control due to slippery road conditions and went of the west side of the road. 

 

HFD assisted the Hinesburg Community Police on Monday December 28^th with traffic on 116 in the village area. Twice within an hour, tracker trailer units were stuck on the slippery inclines. Both units were stuck on inclines in the southbound lane of 116, the trailer was by Mechanicsville Rd; the second by Town Hall. In both cases, traffic was stopped for a few minutes to allow the truck to back up enough to obtain traction and a “running start” to make the incline.

 

Tuesday December 29^th, Rte 116 southbound traffic was backed up to St George due to the slick road and hill. Fire and Police personnel responded to the area and controlled the flow of traffic to allow vehicles to be able to climb the hill.

 

On Wednesday afternoon December 30^th, Hinesburg Fire and Police were dispatched to a report of a two car crash on Richmond Road by Iroquois Manufacturing. Arriving personnel soon learned there were five vehicles involved. Two persons were transported to FAHC by St Michaels and Richmond ambulances.

 

Please drive safe and smart during storms. Remember. Four wheel drive DOES NOT MEAN four wheel stop.