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February 2017

Volume 4 Issue 1

Central Fire Station

271 North Street

Phone: 207-282-3244

Fax: 207-282-8203

Web: www.sacomaine.org

Fire Chief

John L. Duross

jduross@sacomaine.org

Deputy Fire Chiefs

Deputy Chief Robert A. Martin

rmartin@sacomaine.org

Deputy Chief David O.Pendleton

david.pendleton@sacomaine.org

Call Division Chief

Raynald Legendre

rlegendre@sacomaine.org

Public Education Coordinator

Karl Finley

kfinley@sacomaine.org

EMS Coordinator

Clif Whitten

cwhitten@sacomaine.org

Fire Training Coordinator

Lieutenant David Hamel

dhamel@sacomaine.org

FROM THE CHIEF…….

Greetings as we think of Spring arriving shortly. We recently experienced one of the snowiest 7 day periods in the records of snowfall accumulations. During this 7 day period our fire and EMS responders answered and responded to 95 (ninety-five), 911 emergency calls for assistance. Recently, as Winter Storm Orson ap-proached the region, your Saco Fire Department prepared for the onset of the antici-pated snowstorm with increased staffing from both our Career and Call Divisions. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the difficult, hard work and co-operation of all of our Career and Call members. Additionally, I would like to extend a special thanks to their families for the support they provide to our staff in order to serve the critical safety needs of the City and the region. Providing storm coverage is no easy detail and leaving families during those times just adds to the challenges. The heartfelt support from our families while we are called upon in fulfilling our work assignments is extremely important to us who serve the general public and is greatly appreciated.

All this snow, wind, and ice bring its own set of challenges for public safety responders and to our citizens. Please be sure to keep a constant check on your eld-erly neighbors and those in need of assistance. Residents are reminded to maintain clear access to all exterior doors, not just the ones we use on a daily basis, and re-member, keep snow and ice free from exhaust vents for your heating appliances. There has been much written about unfortunate accidents involving carbon monox-ide poisoning across the country; let’s work together to ensure those preventable tragedies do not happen here.

Our Call Division is preparing a team to participate in the annual Mary’s Walk in Saco. All of us are looking forward to a great community event and the op-portunity to be outdoors, walk with our neighbors, and enjoy the great pre-spring weather.

We invite you and your family to come and attend our annual Open House at the Central Station which is scheduled for Saturday April 29, 2017. So make cer-tain to save the date and mark your calendars. We hope that you will find time in your busy schedule to stop by for a few minutes and meet and learn about your Saco Fire Department.

Best wishes,

John L. Duross, Fire Chief

Your Saco, Maine Fire Department Newsletter

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It wasn’t so long ago that a Fire Department made available a listing of various fire and safety

incidents that required attendance by the department. Often, these logs were published in the local

news papers and journals. In December and January we recorded responding to a total of 601 calls.

We present a portion of our incident log and have reproduced the log in its older form.

Your Saco, Maine Fire Department Newsletter

Can you rearrange these letters to spell something associated with our department and public safety?

The answer is on page 4

K A C P I R

In December and January, Depart-

ment personnel answered the many

needs of our citizens, businesses

and surrounding communities.

The total of responses was 295 for

this past December as compared to

279 in December of 2015. Of the

295 calls, 223, or 76%, were medical

emergencies as compared to 78%

last year.

In January of 2017, the department

responded to 306 emergency calls.

Of these, 246 or 80%, were Medical

Emergencies.

In 2016, January emergency re-

sponses totaled 219 with 79% re-

corded as Medical Emergencies.

A

Sunday, March 12th, heralds the

end to daylight savings time.

Change the batteries in your

smoke, fire and carbon monoxide

detectors.

Saco Fire Department Emergency and Medical Services Calls Incident Location

Gasoline spill Main Street

Fire Alarm Activation Main Street

Water Problem Water street

Flammable Liquid Spill New County Road

Electrical Problem West Ave

Public Service Assistance Scammon Street

Odor of gas Stockman Ave

Citizen Complaint Wedgewood Drive

Power Line down Beach Street

Water Problem Smith Lane

Carbon Monoxide Alarm Garfield Street

Fire Alarm Activation Ocean Park Road

Carbon Monoxide Alarm Steeple Drive

Cooking Appliance Fire Hemlock Drive

Public Service Assistance Nottingham Drive

Smoke Investigation Hearn Road

Malfunctioning Oil Burner Fox Hill Lane

Building Fire Biddeford

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As a part of our ongoing practices, the Department considers general

and specialized training to be of paramount importance for the

preparedness and professionalism of all staff. Training encompasses

both fire fighting and public safety techniques, preparedness of the

individual, coordination of the various teams and proper planning for

anticipated, as well as extraordinary tasks and challenges. All members of

the Career and Call Departments (including all Firefighters, Officers,

Deputy Chiefs and the Fire Chief) participate in our training sessions

and are required to participate in a minimum of scheduled training

subjects.

The Saco Fire Department recently provided certification level

training to our personnel at the Ice Rescue Technician (IRT)

level. The different levels of training available for this and

many of the other specialized rescue situations which include

ice recue, water rescue, rope rescue, confined space rescue

and others are divided into three different training levels:

Awareness, Operations and Technician. An “Awareness”

level trained individual will recognize the hazards associated

with an incident and knows the correct individuals to call for

assistance. The “Operations” level person is trained to assist

in the rescue efforts providing support level work ashore. The

Technician level performs the actual rescue mission in the icy

waters.

All full time staff and

7 members of the

c a l l d i v i s i o n

m a i n t a i n

“Technician” level

certification in Ice

Rescue. Saco is

fortunate to have 2

c e r t i f i e d I R T

Trainers (Captain

Chris West &

FireFighter Michelle

Martel) assisting department members to maintain proficiency

with this life saving skill. Recertification’s are required every 5

years; Saco Firefighters perform annual in-house refresher

drills each winter, as conditions allow, to ensure these life

saving skil ls are

maintained.

The career s ta f f

completed their 5 year

certification training

during 2016 and the call

division has a full

cer t i f icat ion c lass

scheduled shortly.

Your Saco, Maine Fire Department Newsletter

Training Cor ner

Courtesy of Deputy Chief Robert A. Martin

Courtesy of Karl Finley, Public Education Coordinator

kfinley@sacomaine.org

Your Invitation

You, your family and friends are cordially invited to

join us on Saturday, April 29th, 2017 for our Annual

Open House from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Come down to the Central Station at anytime during

the Open House and enjoy some free refreshments

(while they last, of course) and learn about the Central

Station facility, our apparatus and various fire engines,

our Ambulances and the equipment and gear we use.

To learn more about firefighting and public safety,

we’ve planned many public safety events and exciting

demonstrations that everyone will enjoy.

Come rain or shine, we hope to see you there !

Annual Saco Fire Department Open House

Dear Saco Fire Department, Lt. Stephen Parke,

Thank you very much for your recent contribution of $125.00 to the

Saco Food Pantry. Your generosity allows us to help the needy of

Saco. We were able to help out 272 families (totaling 711 family

members). We estimate that came to 10,665 meals.

Thank you again for your continued support.

John Reynolds, Corresponding Secretary Rescue Alive Sled

Ice Rescue Training

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A short time ago, the York County Fire Chiefs Association (YCCA) held its' annual Recogni-

tion Night at Thornton Academy in Garland Auditorium. Our Call Division Chief, Raynald Leg-

endre, received two distinctive awards. Ray was awarded the Students Choice for Instructor

of the Year. This impressive award is given by the students of the YCCA Firefighter 1 & 2

Academy to the Fire Instructor who most positively impacted them throughout the 200 hour

academy. Call Division Chief Ray also received the York County Chiefs Lifetime Achievement

Award. This prestigious award is bestowed to a member of a York County Fire Department

who has dedicated many years of his/her firefighting career to coaching, mentoring, and in-

structing fire/EMS responders.

Congratulations and well done Ray!

In warmer times, Cub Scout Troop 310 held their step up and ice cream social

using a portion of the Central Station parking area. The Saco Fire Department is

the sponsor for Troop 310. During the event, the Scouts were awarded various

merit badges that the Scouts earned during the year. Gathered around Engine 5

are the members of Troop 310 along with family, friends, and Scout Leaders.

The Saco Fire Department pub-

lishes a periodic online newsletter.

Please visit our newsletter page &

to receive an email notifying you

when it is published, click below:

For the latest on what’s happening

from Saco City Hall and Depart-

ments visit the signup page to re-

ceive your choice of City notifica-

tions. Just click below:

Newsletter comments? Email the

editor, Tom Roughan, at:

Your Saco, Maine Fire Department Newsletter

Notifications Sign Up

Fire Department Newsletters

Our Annual Report with detailed

information on Department ac-

tivities, responses, equipment,

facilities, personnel and opera-

tions is available on our website.

To view or download, click:

ANNUAL REPORTS

Page 2 word solution: AIRPACK

July 31, 2061

Save this date

and don’t be

late!!

Entombed during the construction of the Central

Station, the time capsule will be opened in 50 years!

Winter brings difficult weather conditions: snow, high winds and ice as well as

frigid temperatures, power outages, hazardous driving and difficulties for pe-

destrian walking. Should you believe an elderly or infirmed neighbor needs

medical or emergency assistance, please contact our Department for informa-

tion and help. Remember, being a good neighbor is a year round responsibility.

Call Division Chief Ray LeGendre

Focus on Fire Department Staffing

Fire Chief John Duross recently announced the appointment

of the following new Call Division Firefighters:

Brianna Byther of Saco

Vincente Chapman of Saco

Matthew Cleary of Saco

Spencer Giradin of Saco

JULY 31, 2011

tproughan@gmail.com

Happenings In and About…….