With heavy snow once again falling in the Leesburg area, your neighborhood fire company reminds you to
please ensure fire hydrants in your neighborhood are kept clear of snow. Imagine the delay that would occur
if a responding crew had to find the hydrant closest to your house in a snow drift and then dig it out so
it could be utilized. Please help us avoid these types of delays by removing snow from around municipal fire
hydrants, as well as "dry hydrants" in rural areas. Your help could make a critical difference in an emergency.
For more information on what to do (and maybe more importantly, what not to do) during a snow emergency, check out these links:
During this storm's duration, the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company will be increasing staffing to enhance our response capabilities. Please help us in our efforts by making sure your address numbers are clearly visible from the street. We hope you are able to enjoy the wonderful winter weather with your family. Rest assured if you need us, we will respond as quickly as road conditions allow.
We're now taking registrations and accepting sponsors for our upcoming golf tournament. Click
here for the .pdf version of the flyer.
The Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company is proud to announce our 3rd Annual Golf Tournament to be held at the River Creek Club in Leesburg, Virginia. 100 percent of the proceeds from this fundraising effort will be utilized to support the operations of the LVFC.
Tournament details are as follows:
Date: April 19th, 2010
Location: River Creek Club - Leesburg, VA
Time: 7:30 AM Registration
Format: Captain's choice scramble. Shotgun start at 9:00 AM.
Entry Fee: $110 per player. Includes greens fee, practice facilities, breakfast, beverages, afternoon meal and raffle opportunity.
The LVFC is currently looking for sponsors and participants for the tournament. Additional information including sponsorship levels and registration forms will be posted in the near future. Questions regarding the event can be directed to Assistant Chief Chris Dempsey at chrisdempsey1@verizon.net or 703-771-9103.
More details will be posted here as they become available.
On Tuesday,
January 19th at about
1835 hours, Duty Crew 1 had just completed equipment checks when Engine 601
and Ambulance 622 were dispatched for an auto accident in the area of Crosstrail Blvd and
Russell Branch Parkway, near the Leesburg Wegman's. As Engine 601 was responding, the ECC
relayed more information that the accident involved a vehicle off the road, possibly with two
patients. Engine 601's officer (Lt. Fazekas) requested that Truck 601 be added on for it's
extrication capabilities, as well as additional manpower. Trauma 613 had added on since they
were in the area, and they were the first to arrive on the scene.
With the help of LCSO units, the vehicle was discovered approximately 200 yards off Russell Branch Parkway in a grassy area under power transmission lines. Engine 601's crew quickly made their way to the vehicle to begin assisting EMS units. When Truck 601 arrived, they took their Stokes basket, a portable generator, and additional lights down to the scene. Once the single patient was stabilized, Engine and Truck 601's crews carried the patient in the Stokes basket to a waiting ambulance. With the patient loaded, Company 1 units returned in service and enjoyed the remainder of the evening with no further calls for service.
On Saturday night (1/16), Duty Crew 4's FF Ray Ginman had a sumptuous repast planned for his crew members. Marinated chicken, baked potatoes and all the trimmings...but it was not to be. Right as the shift began a reported house fire on Stumptown Road (Co. 10's area) took Engine, Truck and Tanker 601 for a ride into the country. Units were quickly returned as no house fire was found. Dinner would be back on track, right? Nope!
Time for an "investigation" for an odor of smoke in a house on Doyle Terrace. Dinner was now in the hands of the truck crew while the engine was out.
Then at about 1920 hours, just as the engine pulled back into quarters and shut down the big Caterpillar, another call popped up on the CAD. This time, a fire alarm in the 160 block of Fort Evans Road, N.E. As the crew started to get back onto Engine 601, the CAD display changed, now reflecting a structure fire. Once again, Engine, Truck and Tanker 601 responded. The "structure" on fire this time was a Hot Pocket which had been left in the microwave about 10 minutes too long. Command (A/C 601, Dempsey) held Company 1 units for ventilation.
Finally, at a little after 2000 hours, units were back in quarters to rescue dinner from the oven.
The crew wasn't done yet, however. At about 2240 hours, another structure fire assignment was dispatched. For the third time, Engine, Truck and Tanker 601 responded to the 80 block of Heritage Way, N.E. Units found someone else with dinner issues, resulting a heavy smoke in an apartment. Company 1 units and Rescue Squad 613 were held for ventilation as the remaining units were returned to service.
Who knows what the rest of the evening will bring?
For details of this fire, which occurred in the
late evening of December 23rd, pleasclick here.
On Wednesday, November 18th at 1925 hours, Engine 601, Truck 601, Tanker 601, Medic 13, Rescue Squad 615 from
Station 13 were dispatched to the Leesburg Executive Airport for an aircraft in distress with a 14 min ETA. Engine
601 arrived at 1930 and established "Airport Command". Shortly after arrival, the aircraft, a Marine T2 jet
trainer, was found to already be on the ground and taxiing to the ramp.
(for more information and photos, click here.)
It was July when Tanker 601 was placed in service, and pictures from the ceremony have been waiting...and waiting to be published. Well, here are a few, provided by Photo 1 Steve Kusterer. Enjoy! Click here to see them.
Pre-orders are now being accepted for a 1:50 scale model of Truck 601. The model, built by TWH Collectibles, is being offered through the Seagrave Model Shop. Several of our members visited the TWH showroom in Manitowoc, Wisconsin this past summer and it is an understatement to say their products are amazing. We're honored to have had our truck selected for this model series and can't wait to get our hands on a finished version.
Special discounts are available for members and retirees of the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. If you're a member or retiree and have not received your promo code, please contact Cortney.Krueger@twhcollectibles.com. You will be asked for verification of eligibility.
The pictures below were provided by TWH Collectibles. You can clearly see how well detailed this model will be. For even more information on the model, click here for a document with all the details. To place your order, go to the Seagrave Model Shop.
On August 9th (which might have been the hottest day of the summer), a dozen or so members of Company 1 loaded up in the new Tanker 601, Utility 601, Command 601, and Tanker 608 for the drive out to Philomont. Our mission was two-fold -- to return Tanker 608 to the fine folks at Philomont after it enjoyed a lengthy vacation in Leesburg and to try our our new tanker with our TurboDraft.
The drill had been arranged by Capt. Micah Kiger, who is the LCFR Station Officer at Station 8 and Chief 601 Ian Buchanan. There was a possible interest in obtaining a TurboDraft appliance by the folks in Philomont, so we agreed to try it out for them to see. Chief 608 Pete West and Past Chief 8 Bill Schwartz were on hand representing Co. 8. We all paraded from Station 8 to a dry hydrant Company 8 owns just down Snickersville Turnpike from their station. We ran a 100' section of 5" supply line from the appliance to Tanker 601, then 100' of 2 1/2" attack line, put the appliance into the pond, and then went to the pump panel of Tanker 601.
After a bit of adjustment, we got the setup flowing. With about 20 feet of lift and 100 feet of run, we were able to produce a net flow of 561 gallons per minute. With less lift and a shorter run, we're confident we could get to 800 gallons for more.
For pictures from the drill, click here. (Photos courtesy of Chief Ian Buchanan)
Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company on Facebook
On August 20th, 2009, the Leesburg
Planning Commission gave unanimous approval to the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company's
shared parking agreement with the First Mount Olive Baptist Church. The agreement
continues a long-standing tradition of cooperation between these two organizations and
was the last hurdle on the road through the approval process in the Town of Leesburg. The fire company can now move forward
with our plan to build a new fire station on Loudoun Street. The next step in the process is a submittal to Loudoun County.
We'll keep you posted as progress is made.
At 1900 hours on August 8th, 2009, the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company proudly placed a new pumper tanker into service. Members of the fire company and some special guests gathered at Station 20 beginning at 1800 hours in preparation for the ceremonial "push-in". Several past chiefs of the fire company were on hand, including Tommy Downs, J. B. Anderson, Paul Earley, and Billy Fiske. Chief Fiske was the guest of honor, though he didn't really know it when he first arrived. Billy was invited up a small ladder to remove a cover from the dedication seal on the side of the cab. Much to his surprise, he found his name and his wife Rose's name on the decal. Tanker 601 is dedicated to Billy and Rose Fiske for their long and dedicated service to the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. Both are life members of the fire company. Billy has 46 years of service, while Rose has 41.
Also on hand to witness the ceremony were other members of the Fiske family who'd been hidden inside the station until the ceremony began. Thanks to Past Chiefs J. B. Anderson, Tommy Downs, and Terry Frye for working out all the logistics to get everyone to the station without knowing the whole reason they were there. Billy and Rose were certainly surprised! They both deserve this honor and we're very grateful for the opportunity to recognize their service and dedication.
As always, Company 1 is working hard to stay ahead of the curve. We've added a piece of equipment to our new tanker that we hope will make it possible to obtain a water supplies from ponds not normally reachable with heavy fire apparatus. Tanker 601 carries a TurboDraft fire eductor. In conjunction with 5" LDH, this device can provide up to 670 gallons of water per minute for fire fighting operations.
With it's advanced Husky dual agent foam system, this vehicle will be very useful for combating fires involving flammable liquids as well as those involving normal combustibles. Some possible applications (and examples of calls we've run in the past) include airplane incidents, tanker truck crashes, large mulch fires, etc.
Tanker 601 was designed, built, equipped, and placed in service in about 12 months. A big thank you to everyone on the apparatus committee who spent many hours developing a specification, wading through bid documents, travelling to the factory for inspections, and performing training with the vehicle once it arrived. The Tanker 601 committee was comprised of the following members:
Company 1 looks forward to utilizing Tanker 601 for many years to come. Thanks to all those that made it a reality. A special thanks to the members of the Philomont Volunteer Fire Department for allowing us to use Tanker 608 for several months while we worked to get our new tanker in service.
Want to know when it is okay to perform open burning? Click here to see a handy calendar and regulations pertaining to open burning, provided by Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. (Keep in mind open burning is NEVER allowed within the borders of the Town of Leesburg.)
As we continue to update and modernize our fleet of fire apparatus, we've put several vehicles and some equipment up for sale. If you're interested, take a look here. For additional information on anything listed, just click on the webmaster's mail link at the bottom of the page and send us a message. We'll get back to you quickly.
As mentioned at our last company meeting, all members of the fire company need to obtain certification in NIMS courses. These courses teach public safety personnel how to use and interact with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Having all public safety personnel fluent in the language of this plan enhances our own operations, as well as operations that involve other public safety entities.
Please visit this link to register for and take NIMS classes online. There is no cost to public safety personnel. The courses we should take, at a minimum, are:
You'll need to register before taking the classes, but it can all be done online. If you experience problems or need more information, please contact your officer or one of the chiefs. When you obtain certifications, please place copies in the secretary's and chief's mailbox.
2010 SOGS's are now available online
Nov. and Dec. Meeting Minutes in Members Section
Unusual Fire Stations of the World
Fire Company Events Calendar
Duty Crew Calendar