On May 3rd around 1515 hours the NFD was toned out with Trumbull Center to the reported MVA with extrication in front of 2990 Nichols Avenue.  Car 1 arrived on scene and reported a 2 car motor vehicle accident with vehicles on both sides of the road and established command.  After sizing up the scene, command reported that members would need to "pop a door" with the jaws of life to remove on of the patients in a jeep.  As members arrived they realized that one of the vehicles was that of one of our long time members and his wife who were involved.  Speedy dry was applied to fluids down on the ground while AFFF foam was placed under the vehicle sustaining major damage and needing extrication.  Both patients in the jeep were collared, boarded and transported via ambulance to the hospital with various complaints.  The occupant of the second vehicle was evaluated and also transported.  Upon completion of the extrication, members cleaned up the scene and returned to service.  Nichols Avenue was closed down for an extended period of time to perform the accident investigation.  The member and his wife received minor injuries and were released later that evening.  We hope that they are feeling better and recovering from this ordeal while getting some well deserved rest!

On May 1st of this month the annual business meeting was held at station 1 starting at 2000 hours.  The normal business of the department was conducted during the meeting along with new members petitioning for membership being introduced, while those who are through the process are sworn in.  Introduced at this months meeting was Andrew Marino who was petitioning for junior member.  Andrews dad is a member of the NFD while his mom Cindy is a past member and was the departments first sworn female.  At the conclusion of the meeting the last call of business is the swearing in of new members.  Commissioner Doug Doyle had the honors of swearing in Austin Morano as a junior member in the organization.  Austin is the son of Duke Morano who is also a past member of the NFD.  It is truly great to see these kids following in the paths of their parents and giving time back to their community.  Good luck gentlemen and we will see you at DRILL! 

6 members of the NFD are currently enrolled in a town wide firefighter 1 class being hosted by Trumbull Center.  The members have been attending class and will be finishing up in the near future.  During this program the members had to participate in a live burn at Fairfield fire training school.  In order to obtain certification the members must show composure while operating in zero visibility conditions.  The live burn was held during a weekend in April.

At 1237 hours today Trumbull Regional Dispatch dropped the tone for the NFD to respond to the town of Wilton for the multi unit condo fire.  Upon arrival Nichols members were put to work filling cylinders for the many departments that were battling the blaze.  Initially Wilton Fire responded and they were assisted by Westport, Norwalk, Weston, New Canaan, Ridgefield and Georgetown who stood by at Wilton headquarters.  Nichols members were kept busy filling approximately 40-50 SCBA cylinders from the various companies.  Dennis Ring responded as the deputy Fairfield County Coordinator to assist with resource management to make sure ample coverage was being provided for those companies working.  Approximately 5-7 units appeared to have been damaged by the fire with other units receiving smoke and water damage.  Nichols members cleared the scene just after 1500 hours and returned to service.

Just before 0900 on Sunday morning member of the NFD were dispatched to Twin Circle for the report of an activated fire alarm.  While in route to the location, Nichols Cars 2 and 3 were notified that the alarm company had made contact and reported culinary smoke from preparation activities.  Car 3 arrived on scene and confirmed the initial report and held all apparatus in quarters and stated that the alarm was already reset.  All units cleared the scene and returned to service. 

Approximately 1 hour later TRDC again punched out the tones for Nichols and reported a rollover with unknown entrapment.  Nichols Car 1 was first to arrive on scene with a State PD officer and found a car rolled over on its roof with no occupants inside.  Upon further investigation it was confirmed that there was no entrapment and that the occupant had self extricated from the vehicle.   Rescue 300 arrived on scene and assisted with debris clean up, while Engine 302 established scene safety by blocking one lane.  Truck 304 which was in route was returned to quarters by command.  Members remained on scene for approximately 30 minutes and were then released by State PD.  Photos contributed by AC McGovern

This is a delayed post regarding an accident that occurred on April 11th right around dinner time.  The NFD was dispatched by TRDC to the area of Pilgrim Lane at High Meadow Road for the motor vehicle accident with a car into a pole.  Nichols Car 1 arrived on scene and reported a single car into a pole with one occupant still inside the vehicle.  Upon further investigation Chief Plofkin reported no entrapment, but the patient would have to be evaluated by EMS for a head injury.  Engine 302 arrived on scene and provided blocking safety along with applying speedy dry to a small anti freeze spill.  Members also disconnected power to the battery in order to avoid any issues with airbags and other supplemental restraint devices.  Fire units remained on scene for approximately 30 minutes assisting with traffic and waiting for the wrecker to show.  Trumbull PD eventually released FD units since there would be a delay in them arriving.  This was also the first call that Patrolman Matt Perkowski (also an NFD member) interacted with his brothers while on a PD call.  Good luck to Matt in his new career!  Thank you to Asst Chief McGovern for the photos provided.

At 0954 hours this morning TRDC transmitted the tones for Nichols and Trumbull Center for the reported working car fire on just prior to exit 10.  Upon arrival Rescue 300 found a vehicle well involved in the break down lane.  Members stretched a 1 3/4" hose line and suppressed the flames.  Trumbull Center members assisted with overhaul and scene safety.  During the mop up of the call Trumbull Center was dispatched to a CO call with no symptoms and TCFD units were released to take in the alarm.  No injuries were reported and Shelton FD also arrived on scene but was canceled.

As most of our members know, this spring has been a very slow activity period for runs in the NFD.  However, last Friday things heated up quickly on Friday afternoon before the annual awards and recognition dinner.  Shortly after 1500 hours Trumbull Center was dispatched to the area of Old Town Road and White Plains Road for the reported brush fire.  Upon arrival engine 103 reported a good size area going and special called Nichols for Service 307 with its brush equipment.  A total of 4 members along with Car 1 responded to the incident and assisted with overhaul and extinguishment.  Just as the Nichols units were clearing the scene, Trumbull Center was dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on the Merritt Parkway northbound between the 50 on ramp and 53 off ramp.  Nichols was added due to the brush fire clean up still taking place.  Rescue 300, Rescue 100 and Nichols Car 1 took in the alarm.  While in route to the incident, another alarm was dispatched sending units to St Joes High School for the activated fire alarm.  Nichols Car 5, Engine 301, Quint 303, Engine 206 took in the assignment.  All of these calls took place in less than 30 minutes of one another.  This type of activity shows why we ask that personnel remain in quarters until all units are returned and back in quarters.  The accident turned out to be the NFD district, but Stratford FD units had pulled up just before Trumbull units.  The fire alarm turned out to be dust from workers remodeling the school. 

On Saturday April 7, 2012 the members of the NFD gathered with their children to celebrate the Easter Holiday by holding their annual Easter Egg Hunt.  A carnival like atmosphere was created in the truck bays by event organizer Charlie Gillespie and the kids were treated to prizes including live Goldfish!  A great time was had by all in attendance and Peter Cotton Tail arrived via the fire truck to greet the kids and lead them to the field for the hunt.  The easter egg hunt was followed up by pizza from Vazzys and then everyone went on their way.  A special thanks to all of those members who helped with setting up and breaking down the event, we really appreciate.

On Sunday April 1st, members went to St Josephs High School to participate in their annual Alumni Easter Egg Hunt and Touch a Truck event.  A solid group of Nichols volunteers went to the event and assisted children with sitting in the trucks, handing out helmets and speaking with parents and kids about fire safety.  The event went from 1:30pm to 4pm with a large number of SJ alumni attending.  A good time was had by all of the members in attendance and thank you for taking time out of your day to give back to the community.  It is much appreciated!

Any member in the Town of Trumbull's 3 fire departments that wishes to respond to structural fires in the capacity of RIT, will have to attend the upcoming training.  The program being presented was developed by members of all 3 companies and a lot of time and effort has been put into the program so that we can become more proficient than we already are at saving a firefighters life!  Each member will be required to attend a 2-3 hour classroom session followed by a practical session which will be held at the structures located behind Long Hill FD station 2.  The buildings have been set up to provide various stations for practicing RIT skills.  Each member will be given Job Performance Requirement work sheets for each station and will need to be individually signed off in order to be considered competent.  These sheets will be submitted to each departments training committee for filing.   A train the trainer program was held last week at the training site and the instructors were run through the stations and sign off sheets prior to commencing with the live training for our members.  The first classroom session starts tomorrow evening in Long Hill at the Meadow Road Hall on Meadow Road.

On Sunday March 11th at 1200 hours approximately 65 members of the NFD and their families gathered to celebrate the upcoming St Patricks Holiday at station 1.  The food was prepared by our own Jason Demanche, Mike Corica and Joe "The Leprechaun" Petrino.  The food was delicious as were the deserts and the irish soda bread was fantastic!   The entertainment was just as enjoyable with Frank the magician who entertained the adults more than the children.  It was a great way to spend time with other members and gave all a chance to get to know their families.  A craft table was also set up for the kids and they appeared to enjoy themselves during the day.  A special thanks to all of the others who helped with cleaining up, setting up, taking the tables and chairs down and returning the station to its norm.  Have a safe and Happy St Patricks! 

Thursdays drill was the beginning of a month filled with SCBA confidence and survival training for members of the NFD.  Members at station 1 performed various disorientation, blacked out mask evolutions in order to gain more confidence when using SCBA and to teach them to remain cognizant of their approximate location when inside the structure.  Station 2 members went to the TCFD maze located on Berkshire Avenue for mask confidence in confined spaces.  Members were placed in pairs and went two groups at a time through the maze.  One group started on the upper level while the second group started on the lower level.  Members had to pass each other in the maze which made it even more challenging.  The younger members were like kids on a playground while the older guys were just looking to get it done.  I think being young and skinny has something to do with that!  Great job by all and we will see you next week when we swap locations.

The monthly business meeting of the NFD was held on March 6th at 2000 hours at station 1.  Members were briefed at the beginning of the meeting on a new response tracking program called Spotted Dog Technologies that the NFD was changing over to.  The regular business meeting was conducted immediately following and it was concluded with 2 of our current junior members and 1 new member being sworn in as senior firefighters.  The first member sworn in was Patrick Kryskiewicz of Hilltop Drive.  Patrick was introduced and successfully passed all background checks and requirements.  Congratulations Patrick and we at the NFD welcome you!  The next two members sworn in are current Junior members Billy McGovern and Tim Riley.  Both of these gentlemen have been excellent juniors since joining at age 16 and we look forward to them in continuing their dedication and committment in the years to come.  They were both sworn in and are now able to vote at regular business meetings as a senior member!  Good Luck to all of you!!!!!

With temperatures holding well above freezing the training division has been having great difficulty in finding ice to train on.  Couple that with the evenings rain and the training evolutions were moved indoors.  Members were still able to cover the basics of how to inflate the boat, donning and care of ice rescue suits and reviewing the deployment of throw bags and other devices to assist in rescuing victims.  Kudos to the training division for being creative and getting us through this important review!!