Chief's Corner

Greetings!  I hope you find this website very informative on the Point Pleasant Fire Department and all it has to offer.  Whether you are a fire district resident, or just a visitor to our website, I want you to know that the men and women of our department are dedicated to serving our community.

This past year, 2006, was one that Point Pleasant will not soon forget.  Through the course of the year, we had our share of responding mutual aid to our neighboring fire departments.  In June, we assisted Sea Breeze battle a morning blaze on Rode Drive.  Manpower shortage and summer heat put everyone's skills to the test.  Just one day prior, our dedicated firefighters had been requested into St. Paul's fire district to help tackle a house fire on Elgrove Road.   Luckily, no one was hurt at either incident.

Through the rest of the summer, we assisted in other calls for service including to the City of Rochester's Durand Eastman Park for a maintenance building engulfed in flames.  In July, we were reminded of how important our life-saving equipment is, when we used the Jaws of Life to free a female from her car at an accident in Sea Breeze's district.

I must now note that Point Pleasant had some critical emergency calls of their own in 2007.  A family was able to safely escape a fire that started in their Tamarack Drive house.  Apparently, a tipped over lamp ignited a mattress on fire in the upstairs bedroom.  But the real challenges our men and women faced in 2007 would be from two house fires in September; two house fires occurring only two days apart. 

Firefighters were awoken by their pagers on September 9th, early morning.  The report was for a house fire on Osage Street, with possibility of people trapped.  Without haste, fire crews responded and took immediate action.  In less than ten minutes of receiving the alarm, firefighters arrived on scene and  advanced inside the flaming structure.  Those crews acted quickly and rescued an unconscious female from the second floor hallway, and her granddaughter also in distress.  It was an act of pure courage and heroism that tested our whole department.  The female would later succumb to her injuries, making this incident a fatal fire, one thing this department has not seen in over 20 years.  It was, however, the first time this department was ever faced with the task of rescuing a victim from a house on fire.

And then, Point Pleasant firefighters were called to duty again only 2 days later.  It seemed that fire equipment was just finally put back in service, and weary soles were regrouping after the Osage fire, when the pagers sounded September 11th morning.  An unoccupied summer home along the bay on Seneca Road had been spotted going up in flames.  The house was down a ravine, not accessible by our fire apparatus.  Hose lines had to be stretched down a 118 step staircase.  It was just about worst case scenario .  Numerous neighboring fire companies answered our call for assistance, including the West Webster Fire Department, who was able to assist in fighting the fire using their fire boat in the Irondequoit Bay.

Fighting fires is just one of the ways we have remained committed to our residents.  Our ambulance is staffed by trained personnel of our department, dedicated to providing a ready response for any medical emergency at no cost for whomever may need it.  We will continue to tell you about increased training as we hone our skills, and more activities as we stay active in the community. 

Sincerely,

             Thomas Albert