2006-12-08 Garage/House Fire in Doylestown - At 0430 hours, on Friday, December 8, Lingohocken Engine 95 responded with other area fire companies to assist Doylestown Fire Co. at a working garage/house fire on Chestnut Drive in Doylestown Borough.

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2006-08-12 LFCO Drill at the Wrightstown Hunt Development - On Saturday, August 12, 2006, with a little help from our friends, we set out to prove we could move 1000 gallons of water per minute for 1 hour in Wrightstown in a demonstration for one of the final items we need to receive our ISO review (www.isomitigation.com) and hopefully improved rating. To minimize any impact to traffic, we set up on Fox Hill Drive off of Route 413 in the Wrightstown Hunt Development. Engine 35 drafted from the dry hydrant near the entrance to fill tankers, and Engine 95 set up around the corner to flow back into the basin, fed by 3 porta-ponds of 3000, 3000, and 3500 gallons capacity. The route was for the tankers to enter the development, loop all the way around Fox Hill Dr. back to Engine 95’s setup (0.8 miles) and dump their water while E95 flowed it into the pond. The tankers would exit the development, head South on 413, and enter Parsons Lane (new development) and loop around, coming back to the fill site (1.7 mile loop) for a total loop of 2.5 miles. Tankers assisting were 5 (Midway – Lahaska), 41 (Point Pleasant), 46 (Eagle – New Hope), 66 (Warwick), and 71 (Upper Makefield) in addition to Tanker 35. In 60 minutes, we trucked and flowed more than 60,000 gallons of water (all recycled back into the basin from whence it came). Flowing from Engine 95’s deck gun with a 2” tip, we flowed about 800 gallons per minute for the first 35 minutes of the exercise, then added an additional suction line and flowed almost 1100 gallons per minute for the final 25 minutes of the exercise. Thanks to all of the mutual aid companies for their assistance in a well-executed drill on a beautiful day.

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2006-07-18 Severe Weather - Tuesday evening's drill on July 18 was interrupted by a severe thunderstormthat rolled through Central/Lower Bucks County.

Crews watched from the bays as strong wind gusts shortly after 8 pm split trees in the rear yards of homes across from Station 35. Shortly thereafter, calls began to come in for several electrical fires in homes, as well as wires arcing/on fire, and a tree into a house on Penns Park Road. Trees/branches across Cedar Lane made it impassable, and crews were kept busy ensuring homes/roadways were safe. By 10 pm, things quieted down, but on the overnight hours, the Chiefs handled several fire alarms, with another coming in at 7 am.

On Wednesday morning, at 1025 am, tactical box 35-18 was dispatched for the 100 block of Buckmanville Road in the Upper Makefield Twp. Section of Lingohocken's district for a dwelling fire (click here for pictures) bringing the Lingohocken Fire Co. with Tanker 35 as well as an engine and Tanker 71 from the Upper Makefield Fire Co. (Sta. 71/81). Battalion 35 arrived with a single family ranch dwelling with heavy smoke from the attic/roof. Further sizeup indicated fire showing from Side "B", and the box was struck bringing Engine 55-1 from the Newtown Fire Assoc., a second engine from Upper Makefield and Tower Ladder 46 (Eagle Fire Co./New Hope) to assist. Engine 71 arrived first, followed closely by Engine 35 and these crews stretched dual 2" CAFS handlines into the dwelling for extinguishment. Engine 55-1 arrived shortly thereafter and went to work on the roof, while Tower 46's crew opened the garage. Other special calls brought Ladder 5 and Tanker 5 from Midway, Rescue 45 from Newtown, and Rescue 19 from Doylestown. The fire apparently began in an emergency generator enclosure immediately behind the house, and spread to the soffit/roof/garage area. Crews contained the fire to these areas. The generator was apparently running due to the ongoing power outages from the previous night's storms. Two ambulances from Newtown also assisted units on the scene. Units cleared by approximately 2 pm.

Including the working fire, crews handled more than a dozen calls in a 14 hour period.

Action News Article

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2006-06-22 Mobile Home Fire - On Thursday, June 22, 2006 at 8:50 am, units from the Lingohocken Fire Co., assisted by an Engine from the Warwick Fire Co., were dispatched to 1293 Swamp Road in Buckingham for a mobile home on fire. Chief 35 arrived with a working fire, and Tanker 66 from the Warwick Fire Co., and Engine 55-1 from the Newtown Fire Association were special-called to assist. Engine 35’s crew advanced a 2” CAFS line and quickly knocked down the fire. Other units assisted with a back-up line, ventilation and overhaul.

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2006-06-10 Auto Extrication - On Saturday afternoon, June 10, Rescue 35 was dispatched to assist the Upper Makefield Fire Co. with a serious accident with a vehicle on its roof after crashing through a utility pole on Highland Road between Wrightstown Rd and Scott Rd in Upper Makefield Twp. There were several injuries, including a teenager trapped in the vehicle. After working with PECO to ensure the scene was safe, crews worked together for over an hour to extricate the trapped teenager. The pt was taken to St. Mary’s Trauma Center in Langhorne , PA with severe head injuries and later air lifted to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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2006-04-25 - Tuesday, April 25 proved a bit busy for Lingohocken firefighters.

The afternoon began with an unusual call – an elevator rescue on Pineville Road. Unusual as there are very, very few elevators in our coverage area! This was a small residential elevator that was stuck between floors with 3 ladies inside. All were ok, and it took a few minutes for Lingohocken firefighters from Rescue 35 and Engine 95 and Upper Makefield police to adapt and overcome. The elevator was lowered by hand-cranking it to the basement, and the basement access door removed, allowing the ladies to graciously exit. It was recommended that the elevator be serviced.

While returning from this call, Engine 95, with a crew that included 2 EMT’s, was a few blocks from Smith Road and Route 413 where an accident with injuries was reported. Engine 95, and Chief 35 (a paramedic) responded as Quick Response Service (QRS) to find a victim with a minor head injury caused when a loose musical drum in the backseat struck the patient when the vehicle came to a sudden stop. No serious injury here.

Later in the evening, as crews were doing a major cleaning of the Wycombe station in preparation for the upcoming pancake breakfast, Engine 95 responded again as QRS with 2 EMTs on the crew to an accident with M145 (Newtown) at Wrightstown Road and Route 413. Fortunately, again there were no serious injuries, although the crew assisted the police with lighting and hazard control.

Finally, to wrap up the night, crews responded to a fire alarm in the Devonshire Estates neighborhood at 0314 hours to find a battery had gone bad in a smoke detector. Please remember to change your smoke detector batteries at least annually!

While you won’t read about most of this in the paper, these are examples of how our firefighters serve our community on a daily basis.

2006-02-27 Apple Hill Road House Fire - On Monday, February 27, Lingohocken, along with Engine 3 from Northampton Fire Company, responded to a call for smoke from a house on Apple Hill Road. Units arrived with light smoke showing and found a fire in the wall behind a chimney. Crews needed to remove the chimney with a backhoe from Buckingham Township as the chimney was unstable, and this was the only way to reach hidden fire between the hearth and the chimney. Units cleared within 90 minutes.

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Photos by Phil Leiggi

2006-01-10 Dump Truck Accident at Swamp and New Hope Road - Lingohocken firefighters were busy on Tuesday, January 10. While Tanker 35 was assisting Midway at the house fire in Solebury, Engine 35 handled a hydraulic fluid spill from this accident involving 2 dump trucks at New Hope Road and Route 413 around 10:00 am.

Photo courtesy of Ron Wilson