From the Firehouse: August 2022

From the Firehouse

by Jack Halchak, Past Chief HFD

August 2022

The Hurleyville Fire Department is always looking for help, to fight fire or to support those that do. We even supply all the gear and provide all the training needed, for free. Stop by any Monday night and find out how you can help or get an application.

Well, one such person did. Denise Lombardi did, and she is now a member of the Hurleyville Fire Co. #1. Welcome aboard, Denise.

Fire calls continue to rise throughout the County. With an influx of second homeowners coming up for the weekend Fridays have become very busy for the emergency services. Thursdays have also started to get quite busy.

Activated alarms are way up in number across Sullivan County. There are many reasons that these alarms are going off, lack of maintenance, burnt food, no reason, construction, repairs on the system, etc. Activated alarms are treated as the real thing, is that not why you have them. The amount of false activated alarms is getting out of hand. Some departments are going to the same address over and over. PLEASE maintain your alarm systems. On a Thursday and Friday in early July I was dispatched to nine (9) activated alarms in the Town of Fallsburg. Maybe you don’t know that dust from contractors working can set off the alarm. Aerosol sprays and burning incense are a few common causes that are also setting them off .

It has been a few years since it has been this dry in the summer. We are getting a few brush fires. Please be careful with your campfires.
We had a short, fast-moving storm at the end of July and many people lost electricity. Were you prepared for the power outage? There were many trees and wires down all across Sullivan County and just about every fire department in the County was out. One of the tasks that we had was to block the roads when we encountered LIVE electric lines or trees blocking the road. I was on such a detail by an intersection. I had the BIG RED FIRETRUCK with flashing red lights on across the road blocking it because of the live wires on the road up ahead. I was amazed by the number of drivers trying to get around the BIG RED FIRETRUCK blocking the road with flashing red lights. I have also seen this happen when roads are blocked because of flooding. We are trying to make the situation safe for you and you ignore the roadblocks and put yourself and others in danger.

Coming up is the 11th Annual Bill Carlson Golf Classic. For those of you that never knew or met Bill you missed out. Bill is a Past Chief of the Hurleyville Fire Department and was well-respected in the firematic community, and for that matter, throughout Sullivan County and beyond. As Chief, Bill led us to a Blue-Ribbon Trophy in the County Parade. I am proud to say that I was a young lieutenant in the department at the time. Bill retired from Schmidt’s Wholesale and went right to work as a greenskeeper at the Tarry Brae Golf Course. Put him on a mower and he was happy. For years, the fire department talked about hosting a golf tournament. Upon Bill’s passing, we decided now is the time. What better way to honor Bill than to name a golf tournament after him? Join us Saturday, August 20 at the Terry Brae Golf Course. The entrance is $100 per person with a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The fee includes greens fee, cart, lunch, awards dinner and cold drinks all day. There is a hole-in-one contest and a longest drive contest. We are also looking for tee box sponsors and donations for the raffle. You can contact John Jaycox, the Chairman, at (845) 866-6431 to answer any question and/or to sign up.