HomeMy WebLinkAboutFire rep aug 16.pdf
September 15, 2016
Honorable Linda Woodard
Board of Trustees
Village of Cayuga Heights
Monthly Report August 2016
August was the busiest month in recent history with 65 calls for the department. Usually when
we run a larger than normal volume of calls we can blame it on a weather event that produces a
large number of calls over a short period of time but not so in August, it was just a large number
of routine calls. There were 38 calls in the Village of Cayuga Heights, 18 calls in the Town of
Ithaca and 9 mutual aid requests. We had 30 EMS responses and 18 fire calls. In looking over
the call numbers we did see an increase of calls on campus after the students returned that did
account for some if the increase.
We got L231 and E202 serviced last month at Tyler Fire Equipment in Elmira. L231 had some
small but costly issues. We finally had to replace the fittings for the discharges on the ladder
truck. The fittings inside the discharges are plastic ball valves that over many years of use
become scored causing water to leak past. This is the first time we have had to replace these
items which is very unusual for a truck this old. The ladder truck also needed a new steering arm
coupler. I was informed that if the steering arm failed it could lead to a catastrophic failure so we
went ahead with that project. There were also various lights out and other small issues that we
dealt with this year. E202 passed inspection and testing with flying colors. E203 was not tested
this year as it is new and just passed all testing at the factory.
Training picked up in August with several trainings to reacclimate people after the summer
months. We did hold a familiarization training on E203 as we took delivery after many of our
members left for the summer.
We have been active in the community and on campus with our recruiting efforts for the fall
class. At this time of this report there are over 25 people confirmed for the recruit informational
dinner in September. There has been a strong student interest but also quite a few residents of the
area have expressed interest in joining up which is very exciting for us. Several of the students
expressing interest have prior experience and already have Firefighter 1 and EMT classes under
their belts.
The fall will be very busy for the volunteers of the department. We have our recruiting functions
both on and off campus, the recruit dinner and interview process then the three all day trainings
for the new members. The department has been asked to participate in the International Peace
Festival at St. Catherine’s Church in September and the first weekend in October we will have the
Annual Department Open House. There always seems to be something happening at 194
Pleasant Grove Road.
Sincerely,
George Tamborelle
Fire Chief/Fire Superintendent