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 Five Working Incidents, Great News Coverage Highlight One Busy Week and a Half! In the week and a half since our largest-ever Open House, the Hyattsville VFD has responded to two 2nd-alarm fires, two other working fires and a plane crash ... had a major photo outlay on the front page of the Washington Post's PG Weekly section , the Prince George's Journal and Hyattsville Local News... AND we've been and will be featued on several local television news stations with our Smoke Detector Check Program!
It's been a busy 10 days for the members of the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department. On September 27th, we held our largest-ever Open House. The annual event drew more than 3,000 adults and children for a day of fun and learning the importance of fire prevention and safety. More than a dozen other organizations were on hand for the event, which included a "Fire Safety Adventure Course" for the kids to complete. For more information about the event, including more than two dozen pics, Click Here On Tuesday, Sept. 30th, all units from the Hyattsville VFD responded on the first alarm of a working apartment fire in the 1500 block of Kanawha Street in Langley Park. The fire eventually went to a second-alarm. Units arrived to encounter heavy fire conditions on the third floor extending to the roof. The crews from Squad 1 and Truck 1 performed search and rescue, roof ventilation and other operations. The engine company was involved in water supply operations. Chief 1, Doc Moltrup, responded to the call as the county's Volunteer Deputy FireChief. The fire took about 20 minutes to bring under control. At least one firefighter was taken to Prince George's General Hospital for minor injuries. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Damage was estimated in excess of $200,000. On Thursday, October 2nd, the Washington Post featured our Open House in a major photo outlay and short story on the front page of their Prince George's Weekly section. Visit the Open House section to link to the image from that page. Our firefighters were pictured showing children how to use a fire hose and go through the Rescue Squad, as well as a photo of a crowd gathered around the Washington Hospital Center MedStar helicopter, which was also on hand. A similar outlay was on the front page on Monday, Sept. 29th's Prince George's Journal and the upcoming edition of the Hyattsville Local News, a bi-weekly community newspaper. On Friday, October 3rd, the engine company and ambulance responded to a working house fire in the Chillum section of the county. They were on the scene for over an hour, responding on the initial assignment. On Saturday, October 4th, the Truck Company and Ambulance were dispatched on the initial alarm of a plane crash at the College Park Airport, the world's oldest continually operated airport. Units arrived to find a small plane that had crashed along the CSX and Metrorail tracks between the Airport and the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. After initlally assisting the six victims of the crash, Truck 1 was dispatched to return to the station to get the Metro Squad out. The Squad's equipment includes special devices to monitor third-rail power along the Metro line. Ambulance 18 transported one of the victims of the crash to Prince George's General. Units were on the scene for almost three hours. Of the six victims, three were classified as traumas. On Sunday, October 5th, shortly after 3 p.m. units from Hyattsville and the surrounding area were dispatched for a reported apartment fire in the 3300 block of Lancer Drive in Hyattsville. Units arrived to encounter heavy fire and smoke conditions from a third-floor apartment in a 3-story garden apartment. Units made a quick knock on the fire in a bedroom which was spreading through a hallway to the rest of the apartment. One firefighter from Hyattsville was taken to the MedStar Unit at Washington Hospital Center for minor burns. A second was treated on the scene for a knee injury. The cause of the fire is tentatively set as a child playing with fire. No occupants were injured. Damages were estimated in excess of $40,000. Units were on the scene for about 2 hours. Both engines and the ambulance responded. On Monday, October 6th, more than a dozen firefighters and EMS personnel from the HVFD and went out the community of University Hills for the first night of our Smoke Detector Check program. Click here for more information about this important program, including the official announcement. That night, almost 100 homes were checked and about a dozen smoke detectors and some 24 batteries were given to residents who did not have a working smoke detector. Fire Safety pamphlets and smoke detector test cards and Home Fire Evacuation literature was also given out. About 80% of the homes had at least one working smoke detector. Just as volunteer and career personnel were about to depart the station on Tuesday, October 7th a call for a building fire was dispatched on Edmonston Terrace in Berwyn Heights. Units went on the scene with heavy fire and smoke showing. The Truck and the Rescue Squad were both dispatched on the second alarm as fire spread from the second-floor of the three-story garden apartment building to the third floor and through the roof. Smoke and flames could be seen in the sky for a few miles. The truck performed utility control and overhaul operations as the fire was knocked down in about 20 minutes. Units from the HVFD were on the scene for about an hour. We reported from the 2nd-alarm to the area of Manorwood Drive and Queens Chapel Road to continue to the smoke detector program. Additional volunteers from the station joined the crew already there by bringing the Engine Company. NewsChannel 8, a 24-hour regional news channel, had a reporter and photographer cover the program, going door-to-door with us as we checked smoke detectors. Only about half of the 50-some homes checked tonight had a working smoke detector. NewsChannel 8 did a great story that aired on later editions through the morning. Additional news organizations are expected to cover this important program as it continues on Wednesday and Sunday night. Following that, personnel from the HVFD will go out once or twice a month until all of the more than 6,000 residences in our primary response area are checked. Copyright 1997, Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. Updated Oct. 8, 1997 |
