Volunteer Firefighters Practice to Keep Mahwah Safe

For over a century the men and women of have helped keep the township safe from harm. With five houses and over 150 active volunteers, with experience that ranges from six months to over 50 years, when the alarm sounds, the men and women are on the scene.

Each week, the fire department will practice to keep their skills sharp and their senses acute. As the cliché goes, practice makes perfect and when lives and thousands of dollars of property damage are on the line, it pays to be perfect.

“It is great to see the men and women of the fire department working together in a drill,” said Chief Brian Potter.

During last week's drill, 40 men and women were practicing in an abandoned home on Franklin Turnpike.

“People who move from their homes have donated them to us so we can practice,” said Brad Stio, second assistant chief.

He said that it gives fire fighters a real world field that is different from just the practice facilities at fire training academies.

“We learn to utilize what is around us,” he said.

“This gives us a real world feel,” said Fire Fighter Pam Drozd. “We get to know the feeling of crashing through a wall, breaking a window or cutting through an iron fence.”

During the April 13 drill, fire fighters were learning how to rescue their own should they fall in the line of duty.

“We have four stations set up,” said Stio. “We have one where fire fighters learn to drag another fire fighter across a floor. A second station has two guys carrying a third up stairs, and at the third station, we practice carrying a firefighter out a second story window and lowering him with another firefighter down the ladder.”

The fourth station, Stio explained, involved men evacuating a fallen fire fighter out of a basement window via a ladder.

He said that while fire fighters are obviously of different heights and weights, he said even the smallest fireman is able to lift a heavier comrade and help get him to safety. Stio said that one of the reasons for practicing such techniques is helping the fire fighter to keep his wits should an accident occur.

“If a fire fighter sees a friend fall, adrenaline starts flowing and he is prone to react,” said Stio. “By practicing, this allows the fireman to keep his head, not panic and help get his fellow firefighter safety.”

Stio said he believes that by the fire department continuing to practice it keeps them visible to the public and it reassures residents the volunteers will answers the call when the town sounds the alarm.

“All five companies work together,” said Stio.

“We all have the same goal and that is to keep Mahwah safe.”