Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Monday, January 28, 2013
Quick Article Index . . .
Emergency rescue at Adamsville
Pond.
Volunteer opportunities at the Westport Historical
Society.
|
Emergency rescue at Adamsville Pond. EverythingWestport.com Monday, January 28, 2013 Photos/EverythingWestport.com Click here to view
hi-definition photos of the training exercise. Need Adobe Flash to view album? Click here!
At first glance it looks like the real thing – an ice/cold water
rescue in progress. But looks can be deceiving.
Above: firefighters Matt Farias
(left) and Robert Porawski III rescue victim,
firefighter Ron Vein. Yesterday’s dramatic morning rescue at Adamsville Pond was, in fact,
firefighters observing and practicing life-saving skills learned from more
experienced members of the Westport Fire Department. And they found out the hard way the difficulty of scheduling a water
rescue exercise when mother nature doesn’t cooperate. In recent years mild winters kept ponds mostly free from ice. But this
year a recent cold snap thickened pond ice, forcing the firefighters to cut a
hole through the nine-inch thick ice with fire pick axes. “Firefighters have to respond to environmental rescues as much as they
have to with building fires and auto accidents,” said firefighter Robert Porawski, Jr. And there is plenty of potential for ice accidents in Westport. The
town is dotted with numerous bodies of water: Devoll’s,
Sawdy, Adamsville, Cockeast,
Forge, Trout, and South Wattuppa ponds, and both
branches of the Westport River.
“We use our veteran firefighters’ experience to teach the others,”
said firefighter Keith Nickleson, who
led the exercises. “It’s always good
to come out once a year and get these firefighters out onto the ice, but of
course the weather has to cooperate, and last winter there wasn’t much ice,” Nickleson said. “They have to do these environmental rescues as much as they have to
with buildings (fire) and auto accidents,” he said. For Sunday’s exercise firefighters suited up in Stearns’ Driflex™ Cold Water Rescue Suits. The suits incorporate such features as a Burp Grip™ handle that makes it easier to release the air in the suit, and an Invisivalve™ valve that allows for continuous purging of air. “It’s always good to
come out once a year and get these firefighters out onto the ice, but of
course the weather has to cooperate, and last winter there wasn’t much ice,”
firefighter Keith Nickleson said. The suit’s shell is constructed of sonic welded, PU-coated nylon, has a thermal liner that combines Aquafoam™ insulation, and is easy to don because of the nylon surface. “We have to be prepared for anything we may encounter,” Nickleson said. “Preparations that
improve efficiency could perhaps save a life.” “The rescue suits are very bulky and put a strain on a firefighter’s
movement when they keep breaking through the ice in a rescue attempt,”
firefighter Bob Porawski Jr. said. “You can get
pretty tired, and it’s important that a first responder know his limitations
wearing this survival gear.” Porawski’s son, Bob Porawski
III, also a Westport fire fighter, participated in the drills. Porawski said that it’s important to “burp” the
suits to remove all air. If a firefighter falls into deep water a suit’s
excessive buoyancy can cause problems maintaining a vertical position, the
last thing they want to have to deal with when attempting a rescue.
Above, left: firefighter Ron Vien
plays the “victim.” Above right: firefighter Matt Farias walks the RESCUE ALIVE ice rescue platform
out to the accident site.
Above, left: Farias grabs the
victim and attaches a safety rescue strap.
Above right: Farias then pulls the victim by the safety strap up and
onto the sled. He then signals the land crew (below) to pull the RESCUE ALIVE ice rescue platform to shore.
Above: firefighters also practiced full-body crawls without
the sled to execute ice/water rescues.
Above: firefighters Keith Nickleson (left) and Bob
Manchester prepare the gear for the drills. The fire department deployed
their Special Operations vehicle as well as their recently commissioned EMA
(emergency management assistance) vehicle (left).
Above left: firefighters Bryan Moniz (left) and Roger
Maynard man the rehabbed EMA vehicle. Above right: Maynard points out the
emergency medical supplies storage locker which includes bottle oxygen among
other medical supplies that were donated to the fire department. Westport Fire
Department debuts their recently rehabilitated EMA vehicle. The fire department debuted their recently commissioned EMA (emergency
management assistance) vehicle. The EMA truck is a donated
SERTA transportation bus given to the WFD by the Fairhaven Fire Department.
It has been retrofitted with donated medical equipment, food and hot/cold
beverages, and supplies to support resuscitating exhausted firefighters
(chilled or over-heated) as well as a comfort station for accident victims
(fire, auto accident, and ice or cold water rescue.) The vehicle has a
microwave, hot coffee container, refrigerator, donated medical equipment and
supplies, blankets, cold water bucket for icing down over-heated
firefighters, and tents. It is heated and air-conditioned. Recent subzero fires in multi-floor buildings have proved the worth of
EMA vehicles. Volunteer opportunities at the
Westport Historical Society. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, February 03, 2013 Winter is long in New England. But the Westport Historical Society is offering many short-term
volunteer opportunities to help keep you busy. Best of all, no long-term commitment is required. Some of these
projects can be completed in the comfort of your own home. Please consider a
donation of your time. If you are interested in one or more of the duties listed below,
please call Jenny O'Neill, WHS Executive Director at 508.636.6011. They could really use the help. Mailings Volunteers needed to help with mailings and the simple task of
applying address labels. Commitment: 2 - 3 hours, once a month, volunteer must be able to work
at the Bell Schoolhouse during a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday schedule. Lees Market receipts One volunteer needed to help add up and prepare Lees Market receipts.
Lees Market will donate 1% of the total receipts to the Westport Historical
Society. Commitment: 2 - 3 hours each month. This work can be done in the
comfort of your own home and according to your own schedule. Typist We often transcribe interesting documents in our collection and we
require a speedy and accurate typist to assist us. Commitment: 2 - 3 hours/week for 1- 2 months. This work can be done in
the comfort of your own home and according to your own schedule. Volunteer
must have access to a computer. Cataloguing Computer savvy volunteer to assist with short term cataloging
projects. This is an opportunity to work with some interesting and very early
18th century documents and other collections. Must be familiar with scanning,
comfortable with simple data entry methods and an accurate typist. Commitment: 2 -3 hours/week for 1- 2 months or longer if interested.
Volunteer must be able to work at the Bell Schoolhouse during a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
weekday schedule.
Above: Volunteers will have the opportunity to work
with some interesting and very early 18th century documents and other items
in the Westport Historical Society’s collections. - - - - - End - - - - - ©
2013 Community Events of Westport
All rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
