The Westwood Fire Department responded to 24 calls for emergency assistance during August 2019.
One of these alarms turned out to be a serious fire, which broke out in a two-car detached garage on a residential property.
According to an update from the office of Fire Chief Kevin Woods, the fire department responded with two fire engines, a tower ladder truck, and a rescue truck. Westwood fire crews quickly extinguished the blaze. The fire was contained to the garage. The adjacent house was not damaged.
No injuries were reported.
These 24 alarms and three training drills required approximately 320 hours of volunteer time.
Automatically activated fire alarms were received 12 times in August. Although no fires existed at any of these incidents a full fire department response is required. Firefighters check the entire building to determine if an actual fire exists.
Six times no cause was found and the systems were reset.
Three times the alarms were set off by cooking smoke.
A smoke detector malfunction caused the alarm activation at one call. Two other times the alarms were set off by workers in the building.
Five carbon monoxide (CO) calls were received. CO is an odorless and colorless gas and often is a product of malfunctioning heating or cooking equipment. It can be lethal at high levels.
Again, each of these calls require a full fire department response. Fire crews check the entire building with meters and determined that no CO was present at any of the calls.
Following standard procedures, the occupancies were turned over to PSE&G gas technicians for further investigation.
The fire department was called three times to natural gas emergencies. At one incident a slight leak was found. Firefighters shut the gas, vented the building with large fans and stood by until gas crews from PSE&G arrived.
At the other incident fire crews checked the building with meters and did not find any gas leaks.
On one occasion an elevator malfunction at a commercial building trapped a citizen. A fire crew arrived and was able to open the elevator car with tools normally used by elevator mechanics and carried on the WFD rescue truck.
On one occasion the fire department responded to assist the Westwood Police Department at the scene of a motor vehicle crash.
The Westwood Fire Department and Fire Prevention Bureau remind residents that the week of Oct. 6–12 is National Fire Prevention Week. The theme this year is “Not every hero wears a cape. Plan and practice your escape.”
Practice fire prevention all year. The department and bureau offer the following fire safety tips:
• Install functioning and tested smoke detectors on every level of your home.
• Have a fire escape plan for your home. The plan must show at least two ways out of every room.
• Practice exit drills with your family. Crawl low in smoke. If a door is hot, don’t open it—use the secondary exit.
• Have a meeting place outside your home. Make sure everyone is out. Don’t go back inside for any reason.
• From outside the home, call the fire department—call 911.
Submitted by the Westwood Fire Department. Send your Fire Department-related questions to firechief@westwoodnj.gov or call (201) 664-0526. The Fire Prevention Bureau can be reached at wfpb191@usa.net or (201) 664-7100 ext. 308.