8331_NewGloucester_2021-2022_AnnualReport_Web

December: On December 23 rd , New Gloucester Fire Rescue members handled 29 calls for service in a 21 hour period. At the height of the storm, crews responded to 24 calls between 11am and 7pm. These were mostly wires down, but included two reported building fires, a medical call, and a couple of alarm activations. During this storm, the power outage knocked down our radio system’s ability to communicate with CCRCC. To adapt and overcome, we used a telephone to receive calls from them and dispatched ourselves from our Emergency Operations Center at the Fire Station. This showed the benefit of the incident command system. Our discipline, coordination, and professionalism is due to extensive subject matter training and attention to detail. December: New Gloucester Fire and Rescue crews responded to three cardiac arrests during the month of December. These are difficult calls which often times do not have the outcome we wish for. Two cardiac arrests were review with Code Stat, our new QA/QI software with our new monitor. Both of the cardiac arrests, crews exceeded the AHA minimum standard for high quality CPR. A third cardiac arrest was in Gray when they needed a mutual aid paramedic. The mutual aid system worked well with that call, with no hiccups working with providers from another community. December: 22-NG0681 Engine 2 and Tank 1 responded to and operated at a structure fire in Pownal. Companies worked for just over an hour before returning. Training Training in 2022 was another continued priority for our department. We offered 91 training sessions for the year, resulting in 180 classroom hours. Cumulatively, our members completed 1,263 hours of training. This is an increase from 2021, when members completed 1,061 hours cumulatively. We had six members attain qualifications to be interior firefighters. This is our biggest increase of interior firefighters at one time since 2012. For 2022, we focused on goals set from the end of 2021. These goals included advanced firefighting tactics, continued driver training, technical rescue training, and training with our mutual aid partners. Throughout the year, members trained multiple times on basic fire ground functions, such as hose deployment, search and rescue, and ground ladders. These drills worked to take their basic foundation and make it applicable to real world scenarios, advancing members’ skills. This training was able to be put to the test with our live-fire training in October. Our driver-training program continued to get more members signed off to operate apparatus. We also had many drivers complete recertification on the apparatus they are able to drive. This is a training that is required every three years.

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