Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department is proud to announce that effective October 1, 2010, six of our own members will be promoted to the in-house administrative rank of ‘Sergeant’. CJPVFD Sergeants will have a wide range of responsibility and will be primarily charged with running a duty shift in a safe and productive manner ensuring that our volunteers receive the best training and guidance possible.

Please join us in congratulating:

Sgt. Mark Livingstone, Monday Night

Sgt. Damien Alexander, Tuesday Night

Sgt. Holly Schaeffer, Wednesday Night

Sgt. Harry Goldman, Thursday Night

Sgt. Gavin Etzel, Friday Night

Sgt. Jonathan Shim, Weekends

We applaud their hard work and dedication, and wish them luck in their new roles!

Bethesda, MD On Saturday, August 14th, 2010 at 1700hrs,  Engine 710 and Ambulance 710 responded to a SUV fire on the Inner Loop of Interstate 495, before the I270 spur. E710 arrived on scene to find a vacant Ford Explorer with fire blowing from the engine compartment. Lt. Bencosme, FF Miller and FF Shim pulled an attack line and quickly extinguished the fire. The driver was uninjured and units cleared the scene shortly afterwards.

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Baltimore MD- August 5th: On Thursday August 5, 2010 Cabin John Park VFD’s Airboat 730 running out of station 30 with Sandy Spring VFD’s Airboat 740 were dispatched to Baltimore City to assist with an incident. Air boats are the boats that you seen in the everglades that have large propellers on the back of the boat. This makes the boats capable of running in very little water, on ice, or though terrain not negotiable with a standard prop. When still on the trailer, air boats make excellent fans that can be used to ventilate smoke and other hazardous gases in large scale. Baltimore City contacted the two air boats for this purpose. Baltimore needed assistance in ventilating a railroad tunnel after a CSX freight train apparently derailed. Transportation officials were concerned that track workers were possibly being exposed to hazardous materials during the clean up operations. Thankfully there were no injuries or a release of toxic chemicals. Units operated on the scene for approximately 2 hours. before being released for service by Baltimore City F.D.

Photos by MFF Brubacher, FF Smet & provided compliments of www.ssvfd.com

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Greater Washington DC Area- July 26th: Sunday June 26th storms tore through the greater Washington DC Metro area with great force. Cabin John Park VFD company’s 10 & 30 took the brute of this storm that was capable of creating tornadoes. Within moments of the storm hitting, multiple Cabin John Park VFD members reported to the firehouse so see what help they could provide to the community struck by a violent storm. Many of the volunteers coming in on their own accord responded to wires down calls and to ensure homeowners were safe after trees had fallen to the wind striking homes. Because of the smaller satellite units like Brush Truck 710 and Utility 710 taking on the service calls, the larger pieces of apparatus were able to respond to much higher priority calls. The Swift-Water Rescue Team responded to three rescues during the day. Not only were crews on the river, but the CJPVFD was dispatched to two house fires (luckily they were both false alarms). Montgomery County Fire & Rescue responded to over 650 emergency calls in under seven hours. A grueling feat for any organization. Luckily few injuries occurred during the storm.

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Even though the rippling waters of the Potomac River may look inviting, anyone that ventures outdoors should know that it can be a very dangerous place. In 2009 there were six drownings on the river in the Washington area alone. Sadly, the river took two more lives just a few weeks ago. A mother and her daughter were on the Virginia side of the Potomac near Difficult Run, during the Memorial Day weekend at a gathering when, the accident occurred. By the end of the week both women were found about a mile and a half downriver from where they were last seen.

This horrible event should be a vivid reminder of several precautions that we all must adhere to whenever we are near that great expanse of water, the Potomac River. Of course, all the usual water and boating safety rules apply and just as important to remember is to never underestimate the river’s power. The river is full of under currents that can grab you and pull you along, way before you realize what has happened. Also, even though the rocks that jut out into the water may give you a closer view of the river, they are also very slippery when wet and they could spill you right into those currents in a split second. Washington Post staff writer Dan Morse said in a June 2nd article that, “While it is against the law to swim in the river, as pronounced by signs in the area, people get in trouble by wading into what seem to be calm waters to cool down, or by walking along the many rocky edges and falling in.”
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Anacostia DC- May 19th, 2010: Cabin John Park Volunteers and Montgomery County Firefighters went to visit the US Park Police Aviation’s Division in Anacostia DC. This training session is for both the Park Police as well as the River RATS so that they can work in perfect unison when there is a rescue that needs to be made.

It’s summer time and a beautiful time to visit the river, but remember not to go into the water. That CURRENT KILLS. Have fun on the river without going in the water.