Annual report of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire

A new area of responsibility to report on this year is the acquisition of a Zodiac
rescue boat that has proven to be invaluable and has been instrumental in the
rescue of at least 10 people involved in water incidents. All career members of
the department have been trained by the United States Coast Guard in marine
rescue procedures. Also during the summer of 1998, two personal watercraft
were loaned to the department by the Kawasaki Motor Corporation and were
used jointly by the fire department and the Hampton Beach state lifeguards.
These personal watercraft were involved in the rescue of 21 persons from the
surf during the past summer. Captain Bill Welsh should be recognized here for
the countless hours that he spent in heading up the marine program during the
past year.
The fire mutual aid system that Hampton is part of includes communities from
Newburyport Massachusetts to Eliot Maine along with Pease Air National
Guard base and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
In the event of a major fire or
mass casualty disaster situation, this would place at our disposal more than fifty
pieces of fire apparatus and twenty ambulances plus specialized equipment
such as the hazardous materials response unit, the below grades rescue team and
aircraft crash vehicles. This community is very lucky to be a part of such an
effective system as has been proven time and time again throughout the seacoast
area.
With regard to the area hazardous materials response team that Hampton is
vital part of, a large measure of appreciation is extended to Deputy Fire Chief
Tony Chouinard, Jane Plummer and Firefighter Bruce Philbrick of our
department for their part in the organization and steering of that team since it's
inception.
PLANNING & TRAINING;
A total of 2,676 hours of training was logged over the past Twelve months by
both career and call firefighters in areas of firefighting, fire prevention,
dispatching, rescue boat operations, and hazardous materials response. Because
of it's depth and detail, the entire report from the emergency medical service
division is included with this report
a
Lieutenant Steven Benotti trained with the Massachusetts State Police for two
days in June on rescue procedures involving personal water craft.
Fire Alarm Operators Bill Murray and Tom Andrews attended a 1 6 hour course
in advanced fire alarm and emergency medical dispatch.
Fire Inspector Scott McDonald attended a two week course in fire protection
systems held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg Maryland. Both FPO
Steve Bancewicz and Inspector MacDonald attended other courses in fire
investigation and fire code enforcement.
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