ORlEANS ANNUAl TOwN REPORt FOR YEAR ... - Town Of Orleans

FIRE/RESCUE DEPARTMENTThe following is a report for the Orleans Fire and Rescue Department for 2008:We have had a very busy year with transitions in Command staff to the number oftransports to CCH. We spent the first part of this year also recovering from a reductionin staffing due to injuries and long time illnesses. Running short handed we realizedwhat a great asset our staff is.In June, a life long dream and career path goal came true when I was appointed as your6 th Fire Chief of the Orleans Fire and Rescue Department. Likewise, when I appointedAnthony L. Pike as our Deputy Fire Chief.Barnstable County Sheriff’s department continues to receive all of the Orleans 911 callsand dispatches the calls for the Orleans Fire and Rescue Department. This is the mostefficient and cost effective method we have found to handle our necessary radio traffic.In addition the staff at the Sheriff’s office dispatches all mutual aid requests for thecounty.We are now in our 20 year at the 58 Eldredge Park Way location and building and whilethe building is showing signs of aging we continue to invest in timely repairs to itsinfrastructure. Last year the furnaces were all replaced and this year we have begun toreplace exterior trim. While this preventative maintenance will sustain the building itdoes not increase the size of our fire station or address the needs of the building. It isnever a good time to add on to any Town building due to budgets, but we hope not tosee this need be placed too far off in the future to cost the Town even more with delays.This spring we placed a US Coast Guard surplus 21 foot rigid hull inflatable in servicethanks to the donation of a new 150 horsepower outboard from Mercury and NausetMarine. This boat is stationed at the end of Goose Hummock dock at a donated slip andis ready to respond to emergencies in Town Cove and in the inlet. Training had beencompleted and in the event of any emergency our staff as well as the Harbormaster’scan operate this craft.In August, we took delivery of our 2008 Sutphen Tower Ladder and began an extensiveand lengthy training period. Many hours were spent with the factory representative, Lt.Mike Wilbur from FDNY taught us a Tactics and Strategy class, and many hours behindthe wheel in a confidence building atmosphere to gain the proficiency needed to operatethis expensive apparatus. In late September, our old Ladder was taken out of serviceand after swapping certain tools and fittings we placed the new Tower in Service.Following a tragic accident with their Ladder 192 the Provincetown Fire Dept purchasedour old Maxim as an interim piece to get them by until a new one can be purchased.In June of 2008, Capt. Minot S. Reynolds retired from the Orleans Fire Dept after 50years of service to the service to Orleans. “Joe” has been a recipient of the Orleanscitizen of the year award, his brothers William and Ronnie, sons Tim and Jim are on ourdepartment. His grandson is scheduled to join the department in the fall. We placed the153