A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
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We have to deal with harsh winters and training for that takes a lot of stamina and fortitude. We plan for the worst and that means we’ll be out training in the worst weather possible. It is funny to hear some of the members whining about “how cold” it’s going to be at the “winter water supply training”. We don’t get to choose when or where we’re going to put out a fire so the best plan is to train for the worst case scenario. One year we chose a location down Snye where it is difficult to get water and we set up operations. We had a new toy to...
One thing we deal with in this department that very few others have any experience with is ice. We spend a great deal of time training and a great deal of money purchasing equipment for handling our rugged winters. Every year we’ll be out there on the ice somewhere practicing for ice rescues. One year we had scheduled a certified ice rescue technician course. As it happens, I’m either the first rescuer or the first victim at these events. We had permission to conduct our training at a local marina on the St. Lawrence. The night before we had...
During the formative years of the fire department some traditions were slipping away slowly but surely and for the good. One of those traditions that went away was that of firefighters riding the tailboard of the fire truck to get to the scene. This tradition goes back to the really old days of the fire service when the firefighters rode on a horse drawn steam engine. The purpose of firefighters riding on the fire engine was to shovel coal and get the boiler going enroute to the fire so it would build a head of steam and be ready to pump water....
Some things we do, we do for other departments under a “Mutual Aid” agreement. This agreement binds us to help out our other departments when they have a big one. We found ourselves standing by with an engine at a neighboring department one night while they fought a barn fire. We were studying maps and trying to figure out what to do if we get another call and we have to roll. We’re a bit on the spoiled side in that if you open the fridge or cupboard in any of our stations there’s usually food found within. We go to another departm...
We have to deal with some bitter cold weather when answering calls in the winter. If we’re smart we bring our gear inside and make sure it’s nice and warm when we go to put it on. We usually put on our gear by the side of the road near the fire scene. If your gear is warm then you’re fine, if its cold then you’re in trouble. At one large commercial fire the recorded temperature was 5 below zero, American. It was cold along with a bitter wind. I was in the back helping to cut an access hole in the wall. We got through the wall and found…....
During the continuous response to the great Ice Storm of ’98 (ten years ago this week) we began to wear down. Twice I tried to go home to get some rest. The first time I almost made it to the door when the radio came to life and we took off to answer an alarm. The next time I made it up the hill and had to turn around at a gas station. After a while I just gave up and decided my lot was to stay at the station. I couldn’t sleep since every square foot of space was occupied by a body. The meeting room looked like we had served Jonestown Koo...
On Sunday, Jan. 6 the Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department was called out when a snowmobiler fell through the ice off of Frasier’s Point, Quebec. The Fort Covington Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at the same time. Units from FCVFD responded immediately with Ice Rescue Gear and were followed by units from the HAVFD. The St. Anicet Fire Department was already on scene and all the units converged on Frasier’s Point within ten minutes. HAVFD’s Airboat, Marine 3, manned by Derek Comins, Jerome McDonald and Benny Benedict had b...
Electrical Madness Did you miss me? I’m back with some stories of one of the great institutions here in Akwesasne: The Hogansburg-Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department. The rules are the same, no names mentioned and all parties are innocent until proven hilarious. Ten years ago this week we were neck deep in fire calls due to a freak ice storm that lasted for five days. Our previous record for the number of calls in one month was 33. On January 5, 1998 we answered 35 alarms in a 24 hour period. The following day would have been another record b...
