Greensburg Hose recognizes members for service

As the town continues to deliberate on the 2013-14 budget one of the largest requests on the table is a new fire engine for Beacon Hose Company No. 1.Fire Chief Michael Pratt said the current fire engine may soon have to be retired.The engine will come up on its 25th year in service in 2014, Pratt said. According to regulations, a vehicle that has been in service for that long can no longer be considered a front line piece of equipment.This means the engine is not be allowed to be the first vehicle that responds to a fire, but can be a back-up vehicle.The current engine also has an open cab, which means the two seats facing the back are open. This type of cab is no longer allowed under current safety standards, Pratt said.

In addition to those considerations, the engine has also begun to show its age."The plumbing inside the vehicle is deteriorating rapidly," Pratt said.Another problem the fire department has run into is that Boardman, the company who makes the truck, has been out of business for about 10 years."Getting parts is a lot harder than for other vehicles," Pratt said.Pratt added the engine has begun to have electrical issues and will also need new tires in the near future. He is worried that the truck will soon cost the town more to repair than it is worth.Due to all of those concerns, Pratt felt that something needed to be done so the department could continue to serve the town.

"That's why we proposed to the town to replace that engine," Pratt said.The department originally proposed completely refurbishing the Boardman engine for a cost of $585,000.The problem with this is that the department still wouldn't have a ladder truck, which it has been asking the town to purchase for approximately 10 years, Pratt said.During the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance's joint meeting in March, Pratt proposed buying a quintuple combination pumper, or quint, rather than refurbishing the engine.The quint is a 500-gallon pumper and has a 75-foot ladder built in. Currently the department carries a 24-foot ladder on the Boardman.

Pratt said the 24-foot ladder is not always high enough to reach some third floors on houses."You get the best of both worlds," said Pratt about the quint. "You get the ladder truck and end up with an engine."Pratt feels the quint, which comes with an approximate $700,000 price tag, would be a wise investment for the town."We try to run our budget as lean as possible and be fiscally responsible," Pratt said. "This is definitely something that's worth it. There's no price you can put on someone's life."

Hose douses rumors of death

An assistant fire chief for the Swoyersville Volunteer Hose Co. 1 says that despite what borough officials think, the fire station is operating and seeking donations this year to get back on its feet.Last week, borough officials said they were unsure if the fire company was operating because there had been no activity at the station and efforts to contact representatives were unsuccessful.A flier began circulating the borough, soliciting donations for the 2013 operating year, and Councilman Chris Concert said he was unaware if the station was active after an alleged theft of bingo money in 2008.

Assistant Fire Chief Frank Hawk said Monday that after Carol Gamble, 51, and Catherine Drago, 82,Accessories suppliers were charged in 2008 with taking more than $700,000 in bingo proceeds, the department saw a decline in membership and did not have the manpower to continue operating."Things were going downhill, and we didn't think it could be saved," Hawk said. "But we didn't want that to happen. Now, we're trying to keep the fire department alive and serve the people of Swoyersville the best that we can."Hawk said in a letter to The Times Leader that the fire company cannot comment on the criminal charges pending against Gamble and Drago, but that the eight to 10 remaining members "hold faith that the legal trial will show that no money was taken by any member."

Hawk said Gamble and Drago remain as officers of the hose company and the station has technically never stopped operating.The company did not solicit for funding for the past two years because the station was not active enough because of a manpower shortage, Hawk said.In July 2012, Hose Co. 1's fire engine was put "on loan" to the West Wyoming Station 285 on Stites Street because that station's engine experienced a mechanical problem with China Accessories manufacturers a ruptured tank and is undergoing repairs.Hawk said the West Wyoming truck is being stored in Swoyersville while West Wyoming uses Hose Co. 1's truck. That truck, Hawk said, has responded to 46 calls since July 2012."It's a long process to get the truck repaired," Hawk said. "West Wyoming isn't dragging their feet."Hawk said the station is using state grant money to repair the truck while the Swoyersville Volunteer Hose Co. 1 also is using state grant money to get the station back up and running.

Hose Company celebrates 130 years of community service

The company officers sworn in were President Chuck Rothermel, Vice President Peter Hunter, Recording Secretary Keith Beebe, Financial Secretary Mary Ann Perez, Treasurer/Trustee Bruce Charbonneau, and trustees Stan Dzek, Dave Johnson, Barry Knights and Mike Urbaitis. Line officers sworn in were Chief Dennis Kinnicut, First Assistant Chief Larry Eisen, Second Assistant Chief Matt Cohn, Captain Dave Bartlett, First Lieutenant Clayton VanAlstyne, Second Lieutenant Gordon Pratt, First Police Captain Tad Hoddick and Chaplan Dan Cohn. Ladies auxiliary include President Tanya Hunter, Vice President Dotty Masten, Secretary Kari Powell and Treasurer Michelle Hauser.

Phillips also asked for the longest-serving current members of the department to be acknowledged.The longest-serving member Harry Pulver, who has served for 67 years, could not be in attendance. The following were present: Fred Oles, served 59 years, Dave Johnson, served 40 years, Al Morris, served 40 years, Chuck Rothermel, served 40 years, Al Folmsbee, served 33 years, Richard Phillips, served 28 years, Jim Sheehey, served 28 years and Tom Hunt, served 27 years.

After these acknowledgments, Phillips spoke further to the Register-Star. He singled Hunter out and said though he will no longer work as chief he is pleased he will continue to serve Kinderhook as vice president."Its just a time to thank our members for their time and dedication and their families too," Phillips said. "I thank Pete Hunter for an astounding four years as chief.Some significant individuals in New York's firefighter community also spoke.

David Quinn, the Chief Administrative Officer for the Firemen's Association of the State of New York said the association has set an ambitious goal for the near future."We hope to garner over 15,000 troops over a four-year period," Quinn said. "I know that we can do that."Jamie Smith-Quinn, the Executive Director of the FASNY Museum, said she is working with her staff to transition from a warehouse model to an interactive model. In addition to seeing historic firefighter equipment and other items, she mentioned programs for people who want a more hands-on approach. One program is Super Saturdays, which invites attendees to demonstrations of techniques used by New York State firefighters.

A Water Spiral

The hose is attached to a speaker. Speakers work by vibrating at certain frequencies, pumping the air at those frequencies, which is picked up by our ears and interpreted by our brains as sound. Video cameras work by taking pictures at a very rapid rate, usually 24 or 30 frames per second. Our eyes send signals to the brain at a rate of about 14 frames per second, so they interpret the much faster video frame rate as continuous motion.

In the video above, the camera is taking 24 frames per second. The speaker is vibrating at the same rate, 24 pulsations per second. The speaker drives the hose to vibrate at that same rate, making a little circle 24 times per second. Every time the camera takes a picture the hose is back to the same place, so the camera cannot detect the motion of the hose, even though it's actually making a circle.

That's why the water appears motionless. Imagine that instead of a continuous stream of water, it's actually made up of droplets, oil hose shot out of the hose 240 times per second. That means every time the hose makes a little circle, it shoots out 10 drops. They come out in order, one after another, each at a slightly different angle around the circle from the one before it. If you connect the droplets you'd get a spiral pattern. The water itself is moving straight away from the hose, but the spiral pattern is what we see as we mentally connect the dots.

I love how the video maker changes the vibration rate of the speaker a bit to change the water's apparent motion. At 25 vibrations per second the water appears to slowly wind around, because each droplet from the hose is caught at a different position due to the unmatched camera and vibration rates. Then he switches it to 23 Hz and it looks like the water is moving up, backwards, into the hose! Very cool, fuel hose and totally an illusion.

Stanley Hose

Jean Sheehan, Gary and Sue Nelson, Norm and Vicki Rater, *Grant Pearsoll, Ohlsson's Repair, John Wolford, Mark Bemis, Jack and Roberta Freeman, Michael Thiem, Tracie Cederquist, Triple E Manufacturing, William Shreve, Howard Crump, Jeananne Graham, Paul and Patricia Blesi, Jay and Marianette Bowen, Lictus Keystone, Tom and Arlene Druzbik, *Gloria Finn, Howard and Rebecca Raven, *Floyd Griswold, Barbara Koepnick, Art and Judy Roberts, George and Brenda Carlson, James and Sally Webb, Irene Plumb

Billquist, Mike and Barb Field, Ron Balducci, Garrett and Lisa Spitzer, Donna Thomas, Andy and Marilyn Jacobs, Minnie Cupp, Mark and Linda Lorenc, Norvel and Eleanor Auge, Hazel and John Aldridge, Johann Munger, Fred and Shelly Croscut. *Norm Neckers, Sherman Service Center, Jean Hanrahan, Marie Hanrahan, Jean Phelps, Bradley Smith, Perry and MaryJane Douglas, Doug and Joan Frey, Sherman's Inn on Main, Dick and Karen Crane, Kraig Sweeney General Contracting, Janet O. Blatt, Franklin and Jill Carter, William and Lucy Greaney, Gordon Thomas Anderson,

Roger Reid and Jessie Griswold, Gordon and Marsha VanEvery, Westfield Family Physicians, Doris Ohlsson, Ronald Reed, Donna Kargas, Paul and Pam Fisher, Community Band N.A. Sherman, Bob and Joan Person, Ivan and Clara Miller, Andrew and Jen Eshelman, Tinyh Paws Big Heart Rescue, Larry and Brian Fardink, Joanne and Patrick Brennan, Alex and Nancy Palmer, Jim Mayshark, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Stravato, Joyce Smith, Dana and Randy Boland

Tackling light and squally conditions

The Bergenfield governing body has purchased a two-hose fuel island for the borough’s Department of Public Works.At a recent regular meeting, the Borough Council passed a resolution accepting a proposal of $24,349 by Little Falls-based John W. Kennedy Co. to buy the Gasboy equipment, which includes dispensing keys, a fuel-monitoring system and fleet management software.

"We had fuel pickup issues on Saturday morning, onshore hose so were probably quickly lucky to even get through until service, where the guys did a great job fixing the issues. The rest of Saturday went as well as it possibly could have and we ended the day two minutes and 56 seconds ahead of the Masons in second place. Sunday delivered a few turbo boost problems and unfortunately, Tank truck hose just before Kuri Bush, one of my absolute favourite stages, the turbo hose blew leaving us about down about 80hp for that stage.

Damage report- main fine, boom vang - 2 hose clamps used around crack in boom end section, headsail - which is a heavy one which reefs to a three had the reefing zip part company for about 1/3 length, it has webbing tabs so have to tie it up instead of zip so still functional. The log said 234nm in 24hrs this morning so not a bad run as we had two reefs and no.3 last night.

Kiss Goodbye to MS were about 200nm to the SE of 'the Hounds' when she reported ongoing power issues, having lost her wind generator early in the race. Their solar panels are not working as well as was hoped and so are having to use more fuel to recharge their batteries. From the tracker position, it appears she may be heading to Giso to pick up some fuel as a safety measure. They are also having ongoing autohelm issues. Stopping will give them an opportunity to try to repair it.

A Demon Called Fire

The Highway 58 Volunteer Fire Department responded and reported two boats on fire on Dock F. Firefighters worked quickly to run hose lines down to the dock. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire and release the boats from the dock to alleviate additional boats to be damaged.

The Highway 58 VFD requested a mutual aid response to assist with the marina fire. The Chattanooga Fire Department and Dallas Bay VFD responded with the rescue boats to tow damaged boats to the shore line. The Tri-Community VFD and Hamilton County HazMat team responded to assist with hazardous materials clean up. Several marine towing companies responded as well to contain the spill to one area of the marina.

Don Campbell, Harrison Bay State Parks, Accessories suppliers reported two boats on Dock F are a total loss. The first boat was a 40-foot Silverton Cruiser owned by Mark Moore from Charleston, Tn. The second boat was a 1991 Bayliner Cruiser owned by Michael Cripps from Rock Springs, Ga.

Michael Gurney, manager of corporate communications for the Prince Rupert Port Authority, confirmed that the Alaska-bound ship radioed in that a number of containers were on fire. Two Smit Marine tugs were dispatched to hose down the flames.  The Prince Rupert Port Authority did offer the port as a refuge for the ship, but the captain determined everything was under control and the vessel continued on to Alaska.

In 1836, Col. Stephen Harrington, proprietor of Keene's Eagle Hotel, lost all the barns and stables, including a horse worth $200. The Fitchburg Stage Lines in town "lost four horses, China Accessories manufacturers a harness for a full team, 150 bushels of oats and three tons of hay."

By 1876, the Fire Department had 4,969 feet of hose, divided into 3,069 feet of 2.5-inch leather hose, 1,000 feet of linen hose and about 400 feet of 2-inch "nearly useless" hose.