Shortly before 1AM, Q'town volunteers were requested on the 2nd alarm into Kingwood Twp for the barn fire on Box 1601 at 30 Spring Hill Rd.  The request was for an Engine, Tender and Rescue.
Tender 91-2 (Capt Schutts) was enroute with an in-house crew and dumped 3 loads of water totally 9000 gallons before returning to serivce.  As the Engine and Rescue were staffing, Command requested the remaining 2nd Alarm units cancel.  Shortly thereafter, Engine 91-2 (Chief Patkochis) with 5 took the coverage move-up to Kingwood Station 1.
All Quakertown units were available in quarters at 3:30AM.  Total volunteer staffing for the call was 18.

At 1456 hours, Box 91-04 was dispatched for a trailer on fire at the intersection of Quakertown Road and Croton Road.  Deputy 91 (Vallat) arrived at 1458 hours and found a landscaping trailer with debris and equipment on fire.
Engine 91-2 (FF Roll) with 4 and Tender 91-1 (Lt. Milcarek) quickly went enroute followed by Squad 91 (with 3).  The fire was extinguished and units remained on scene for approximately 20 minutes overhauling the remains.  A total of 16 Quakertown Volunteers responded.
Later in the evening at 2117 hours, Quakertown Fire was alerted with Clinton and Pattenburg Fire for an alarm activation at HDC.  Engine 91-2 (D/C Vallat) with 6 responded and assisted the Clinton Fire Department.  All units cleared the scene after finding a false activation.  Total staffing was 17 members.

While Labor Day weekend was a time to enjoy the last days of summer, QFC members stayed busy answering calls.  Engine 91-2 (Capt Marsh)was sent on Saturday night at 21:41 to HDC for the fire alarm activation.  The engine found fire alarms active in 2 different buildings with no fire and returned in 30 minutes.
On Sunday morning, Quakertown Fire and QRU as well as Clinton EMS/Rescue responded to Sidney Road for the motorcycle crash.  One biker had a minor leg injury and Chief 91 held the assignment to Rescue 91 (Lt Homulak) and BLS (Clinton)46-51.  Units were available in 15 minutes.
On Sunday evening, an ALS medical emergency was dispatched in Franklin Twp.  At 10 minutes, with no BLS ambulance enroute, mutual aid was sent from Clinton EMS.  Once Clinton was alerted , Chief 455 requested the QRU be dispatched to assist on the scene due to the distance the already responding ambulance had to travel.  The first QFC EMT arrived on the scene 2 minutes after dispatched and was followed up by 3 more EMTS from QFC before the arrival of the Clinton ambulance  The teamwork of QFC, HMC Paramedics, Franklin Twp Police and Clinton EMS was outstanding in treating a critical patient.
In less than a month, the QRU has proven its value in a very limited response area.  Its time for that response area to grow and allow for more residents to benefit. Its benefit and value to our community is no longer a question!

Quakertown Volunteers have been busy since Monday running 9 alarms and Monday night training.  Here is the breakdown:
Monday-13:55-Fire Alarm-Hampton Inn: Engine 91-2 responded to investigate a fire alarm, tripped detector no fire.  Total staffing-9
Monday-15:07-Car Fire on Rt 78: Working Fire, located in Clinton Town. Engine 91-2 responded with 5, cancelled by Chief 45. Total staffing-10
Monday-19:00-Training-Vehicle Checks, Review Clinton Ambulance, Extrication Training
Tuesday-2:07-Reported Structure Fire-High Bridge Boro: Fire contained to rear deck, Rescue 91 cancelled enroute.  Total Staffing-15
Tuesday-6:47-Fire Alarm-312 Hamden Rd: Engine 91-2, Rescue 91 and Tender 91-2. Tripped detector with no fire Total Staffing-14
Tuesday-17:26-Cigarette Ashtray on fire: HDC-Engine 45-2 and Chief 91 investigated Total Staffing-11
Wednesday-19:44-Reported large fire near a house: Croton Road-Brush 91, Squad 91, Engine 91-2, Tender 91-1 and Rescue 91 responded.  Controlled burn.  Total staffing-19
Thursday-09:47-Assist Quakertown EMS with lifting-Quakertown Rd-Car 91-2 and Car 91-3 Total staffing-12 (6 EMTs)
Thursday-11:17-MVA with Entrapment-Croton/Allens Corner: Deputy 91 (Vallat) on-scene with one trapped, Northstar to fly.  Rescue 91, Squad 91, Engine 91-2. Extrication time 10 minutes, for side and roof removal. Additional units: Flemington and Quakertown EMS, HMC Paramedics.  Total Staffing-14 (5 EMTS)
Thursday-21:35-Smoke in Basement-315 Harrison St (Frenchtown) Rescue 91 cancelled enroute.  Total Staffing-18

On Saturday morning, QFC had the honor of participating in the Iron and Steel Run, a caravan of bikes, emergency vehicles and most importantly WTC steel being transported from NYC to Shanksville, PA.  Our assignment was honor the steel by being present on the Ruppel Road overpass on RT 78 with our brothers from West Amwell and Milford. 

The goal in NJ was to have every overpass on the route of travel and we did our part.  Many residents came out to cheer on the bikers and honor the monument which was passed into a Memorial today in Western PA.

Engine 91-1 and 91-2 went to event.  Thanks to all who attended. 

Box 91-02 was dispatched at 11:15 for the possible fire at 678 West Sidney Road in Franklin Township.  Units on the intial box were Tower 45 and Engine 45-1 (Clinton), Special Service 14(High Bridge) and Tender 18 (Lebanon) in addition to QFC (Fire and QRS) as well as QVEMS.

Chief 91 arrived and found light smoke from the Delta Side of a 2.5 story single family dwelling and established Command.  Engine 91-2 (Capt Schutts) arrrived and took the second division while Capt Marsh took the Operations role.  The Engine crew quckily opened up the interior walls and used a can to knock down the fire.  

Tower 45 arrived and laddered the exterior of the building and continued to open up.  With no further extension, the assignment was scaled back.  Units were available in about an hour.  The investigation was handled by the Franklin Twp Fire Prevention Division. Total volunteer staffing was 13.

At 1618 hours, Box 91-02 was dispatched for a hay bailer on fire at 173 White Bridge Road.  Deputy 91 (Vallat) arrived at 1621 hours and found the hay bailer fully envolved with less than an acre of the field on fire. 

Brush 91 (FF Foran) and Tender 91-1 (Lt. Milcarek) arrived and attacked the field fire.  Squad 91 (Chief Patkochis) with 5 arrived and deployed lines off of Tender 91-1 to extinguish the farm equipment.  Engine 91-2 (FF Connor) with 3 and Car 91-2 (Capt Marsh) arrived provided overhaul of hay bails and farm equipment.  Total staffing for this incident was 18 volunteers.

Earlier in the day at 1321 hours, Box 91-06 was dispatched sending units to the Hampton Inn for a fire alarm.  Chief 45 and Deputy 91 investigated finding that Hampton Inn employees set of the alarm by accident when cleaning.  All other fire units were cancelled prior to arrival.

At 1023 hours, Quakertown and Clinton Fire were dispatched with Clinton Rescue Squad to Route 513 and Route 78 for a MVA with injuries.  Chief 91 went enroute as well as Rescue 91 (FF Godown) with 6 and Engine 45-1.  Upon arrival, units controlled a fluid leak and Clinton Rescue transported 1 BLS to HMC. 

Engine 91-2 with 6 members attended a drill at the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse on Monday, August 18th.  The Engine was part of a pumping relay that suppled Ladder 14 and Tower 45.  All the Union Twp Fire Companies participated in the drill (Pattenburg, Clinton, Quakertown and High Bridge)

Effective on Thursday, August 15th at midnight, the QFC will be providing QRS (Quick Response Services) to the northern part of Franklin Twp which is covered by Clinton First Aid and Rescue Squad (www.clintonems.org). The agreement was reached through the cooperation of the leadership of Clinton EMS and leadership of the QFC.  In the end, the citizens of Franklin Twp that reside and visit that area of the township will be the real winners with QFC supplementing the top-notch EMS coverage they already receive.

The leadership of QFC is grateful for the guidance and cooperation that Clinton EMS has provided to us in our venture into 1st-responder care and gives proof that two organizations can work together to improve emergency services in the community.

In other EMS-related news, two more applicants have stepped forward to join the new EMS/Rescue division of QFC.  Both applicants are NJ-certified EMTs and bring the number of EMTs in Qtown to 15.

Just before 11:30, Box 92-01 was dispatched for the reported barn fire on Pond Lane in Milford Boro.  The request was orginally for Rescue 91 as RIC unit and it responded with 6 (Capt Marsh).  Smoke was visible several miles away and a second alarm and Tender Task Force West was dispatched to assist.  Engine 92-1 arrived on the scene with 2 barns well-involved and a 3rd barn as an exposure.  An outside operation was started with master streams and handlines.

With the dispatch of the Tender Task Force, Tenders 91-1 and Tender 91-2 both responded and dumped several loads of water.  Units were avaiable by 14:30.  A special thanks to Squad 14 (High Bridge) for the cover assignment.  Total staffing for the incident was 15 volunteers.

On Monday evening at the August monthly meeting, QFC developed an EMS/Rescue membership category to address a position that would be valuable in the coming months.  In less than 4 days, this group of volunteers is coming together.

The first new member of the EMS division is EMT Tim Victorella.  Tim comes to QFC with prior EMS experience and was a top responder and dedicated volunteer in the past few years.  Welcome Tim! 

In addition, numerous parties have been seeking applications and details on the new Division and we encourage anyone interested to come forward.  The EMS volunteers have all the rights of any other QFC volunteers and will have a special training session once a month dedicated to just EMS skills.  These training sessions will be seperate from the firematic training sessions held on Mondays.  

Applications are availalbe in the catergories of firefighter, vehicle operator, EMS/Rescue, and associate (behind the scenes) as volunteers at the QFC.

Over the past few weeks, the fire station has been getting a facelift under the direction of the Trustees.  The truck bays got repaired and restriped in a yellow color to improve safety and visibility when moving the vehicles in and out.

The outside and rear of the station got weeded, trimmed and mulched by guests of the Hunterdon County Corrections.  The Labor Assistance Program run by the County provided the manpower for free.  Thanks to Hunterdon County for the development of this program which has been providing this service to non-profit groups across the county for the first time this summer. 

The Quakertown Fire Company has opened a new membership category exclusively for EMS/Rescue volunteers without having to be a firefighter.  If you want to be involved in a progressive organization, enjoy the bond of working on a team and serving your community, QFC is looking for you.  For details on the new category and how to be part of our team, contact QFC.

The Quakertown Fire Company is ready to perform QRS (Quick Response Service) to the citizens and visitors of our area.  After a few weeks of preparing, all the equipment has been purchased, SOGs have been developed and vehicles have been stocked and checked.  Unfornuately, at this time, QFC will not be automatically dispatched to any emergenices despite our readiness due to the fact the issue is still in front of the Franklin Twp Committee.  A group of Township residents is being gathered to study our proposal.  In the meantime, if any requests are received for the service, QFC is ready to go!
Thanks to all the members who have worked hard over the past few weeks to get QFC to this point of readiness. 

Since earlier this year, 5 Junior Firefighters from Q-town have been attending the 1st Junior Firefighter course offered by the County Training Program.  The program concluded with a final practical on July 12.  Congrats to Jr FFs Lindaberry, Howarth, Buch, Cannan and Demicco for their efforts.  Special Recognition goes to Jr FF Steven Lindaberry for attending all of the classes.

The Quakertown Fire Co operates a junior program for ages 14 to 17 and is always looking for young people willing to give back to their community.