Vigilant Hose Company #1 Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

SFD SPLIT

The SFD Softball Team split a 2 game series against the Megabyters this past week bringing their record to 2-7.

The first meeting with the Megabyters did not fair well with the SFD as they fell 8-17. SFD went scoreless in the first 3 innings while the Megabyters racked up an easy 10 run lead. A big 5th inning finally put the SFD on the board with 2 runs but the Megabyters continued their unstopable hitting streak with another 4 runs. The last two innings the Megabyters were prevented from crossing the plate but it served too late as the SFD could only add on another 3 runs.

Gettig (52) made his start of the season on the mound and bated 2 for 3 as well as Edleman (52) leading off the batting line up with 3 for 3. Black (54) managed to find his swing as he finished the night 2 for 2.

The next weeks' game had dark and dreary clouds hanging over the diamond with sudden downpours and cross winds making play a bit more challenging. But the sun was shining on the SFD bats as the put up a whopping 28 runs in the second game with the Megabyters.

8 runs in the first two innings and appeared it was going to be a battle not only with Mother Nature but with the opposing team as well as they headed into the third with only a 8-5 lead. But it was a magical 3rd inning for the SFD as Laman (54) shot a 3 run out of the park homer. Not to be out done, big man Elborne (54) added his three run homer as well and the SFD batted around the line up racking up 11 runs. Riccardo (52) went 6 for 6 and Kiefer (52) had a decent game at 2nd despite misinformation on the weather and a botched double play as he slipped on the wet 2nd base. Black (54) was back with his in the groove swing as he knocked the ball 3 out of the 6 showings. Rounding out the hitting was Big "Killa" Connelly (52) 5 for 6, Bucket (52) 6 for 6 and special guest star from SUPD Taylor 5 for 6. Gettig (52) returned to the mound and walked in a run but managed to work himself out of the hole in the 7th to sinch the 28-15 victory.

Only 2 more games in the regular season before the all day play offs on July 19th. We'll take a break from the action over the 4th of July holiday but will get right back into on the 9th as SFD take on the SUPD at 6pm.

DEMO A HOUSE

6/27/2009 - Ritner Highway and Conestoga Drive for a house demolished. Fire Police directed traffic around the scene.

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

RIP Michael Jackson

06/257/2009 Game 7 - Despite the overshadowing sad news of the passing of the "King of Pop" today, the SFD Softball team drudge through another game with the Hard Drivers. Minutes before the teams took the field, it was announced by score keeper Megan Silverstrim that Michael Jackson had died. Gettig and Nehf wore their socks extra high in remembrance.

But it was a "Thriller" of a game as the SFD fell once again to the "Smooth Criminal"s Hard Drivers that choose the walks over swinging the bat . It appeared that SFD "Wanna be Startin' Something" early in the game coming off the 4th with 9 runs scored to take the lead at 14-4. But Byers (52) struggled to find the strike zone and in the 5th, the Hard Drivers walked around the bases as easy as "ABC" and moved ahead 17-14. A tough decision was made in the bottom of the 6th for coach Gettig as he made the long trip to the mound and had Silvertrim (52) come in from left feild to close the inning after Byers (52) gave up another 2 walks and 4 runs. The coach's decision to pull Byers is something he will only answer "To the Man in the Mirror" tomorrow.

Top of the 7th and the SFD had one more chance to wake up the bats and steal the lead back. 21 to 17 and leading off was the "Dangerous" Silverstrim (52) who was able to beat out the throw to first. Bucket (52) made the defense play the force out at 2nd and Nehf (52) and Riccardo (52) showed the team "You are not Alone" in this fight for the win. 2 outs, 3 runners on and Edelman (52) steps up and delivers a huge stand up triple to bring in the runners who "Don't Stop till they Get Enough" runs to make the score to 20-21. With the tying run on 3rd and the go-ahead-run at the bat........Well we've heard this "Bad" ending before folks. Karolenko (52) sends a deep fly ball to the left center leaving the SFD with a 20-21 loss.

But as always much fun was had by all and some amazing plays were witnessed. Ross (53) made some phenominal catches at 3rd as well as Nehf on second. We are back in action again on Sunday June 28th as the SFD play visitor to the first time meeting of the Megabyters at 6pm. Come on out folks, you just can't "Beat It"!!"

Auto Accident into a house

6/22/2009 - On June 22nd @ 0813 hrs Cumberland County Communications dispatched the assignment for the auto accident to 976 Ritner Highway. Shortly after dispatch, Assistant Chief 50 went on the scene with a milk tanker into the house with fire. Chief 52 immediately had the incident upgraded to a full structural assignment. E-252 (with Chief 52 on board) arrived shortly after, confirming the information and advising the entrapment of the truck's driver, as well as the ejection of the driver of the other vehicle and energized electrical lines down on the roadway. Crews from the 3 SFD stations quickly went to work assessing the structural stability of the home and formulating a gameplan to extricate the driver of the milk truck who was heavily entrapped by his vehicle and structual debris. Once it was confirmed that the electrical lines were deenergized, crews began the task of removing debris and accessing the patient. Air medical was requested for the 2 drivers and 2 Life Lion helicopters were landed near Walmart by E-49. Additional rescue squads were requested to the scene, bringing Squads 47, 50, and F.C. 41. The additional resources worked to shore up the structure while SFD units continued to work to free the trapped driver. During the extrication, crews had to continually contend with fires caused by the milk truck's engine catching the structure on fire. Extrication of the milk truck driver was completed in 48 minutes from the time of dispatch, quite the feat considering what responders encountered at the scene! Command 52 requested Cumberland County Team 500 to the scene, which is a technical rescue team comprised on Companies 18, 27, 28, 30, and 40. The companies responded in force, providing the expertise and manpower needed to provide stabilization and shore up the house. Due to the lengthiness and compexity of this rescue, the positive outcome never could have been achieved without the cooperation and assistance of many outside resources, such as Cumberland County, Department of Public Safety (PIO M. Silverstrim & Director T. Wise), Cumberland County American Red Cross (Refreshments & Victim Assistance), Lowes of Shippensburg (Heavy Timber for use in shoring), Penelec (Securing electric), and H & J Towing Service of Landisburg (Vehicle Removal). Also of note on the scene was the professional care provided by Shippensburg Area EMS, providing patient care and scene rehab, as well as Shippensburg Fire Police, who worked tiredly through the afternoon heat to redirect traffic around the incident scene. Last, but not least, Companies 48, 36, Franklin County Companies 11, 17, and Station 4 should be thanked for providing stand-by coverage for the SFD companies through the duration of the incident. (by T.J. Silverstrim)

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(photo by Sara Myers & Denny Clopper)

Smoke in building

6/14/2009 - Units were dispatched onto the campus of Shippensburg University for the reported building fire at Kriner Dining Hall. Chief 152 arrived on scene and was notified by SUPD that they had rec'd an automatic alarm at the dining hall and found a smoke condition upon arrival. E-252 layed a supply line and investigated to find an electrical short circuit located in the basement. The alarm was quickly scaled down to 252, E-154, & T-53.

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(photo by Kevin Nehf)

Congratulations S.H.S. Class of 2009

Congratulations to the Shippensburg High School Class of 2009 following their commencement on Thursday June 11th. Congratulations to Firefighter Corey Penwell on a job well done (shown receiving his diploma from Principal Bruce Levy). Also graduating was Vigilant Hose Queen Nicole Nehf, daughter of Vice President Kevin Nehf, shown here with the crew of Engine 252 when they stopped by her graduation party for ice cream. In addition, congratulations to Logan Robinson, grandson of Chief Emeritus Charles Myers, Emily Black, daughter of life member Brett Black and Brooke Varner, daughter of FF Burke Riccione.

(photo by Kevin Nehf)

ERRORS, ERRORS, ERRORS

06/7/2009 Game 1(make-up) - Errors was the word of the day as the SFD took a hard loss to the winless Franklin County Probationers. No fancy free-writing can church this one up folks with a 29-12 loss for the FD. Coombe (54) and Gettig (52) went 4 for 4 and Silverstrim (52) took the mound only giving up 2 walks. But he was left holding the "L" for his pitching career as the defense couldn't pull the ball out of the glove and the bats went silent for 3 of the 7 innings. Credit to the FCB as they managed to bat in 9 runs in the 6th to seal the deal. Although a week later it was discovered the FCB used an illegal non-ASA approved bat, the coach for SFD choose not to take to retro-forfeit and was quoted saying "The bat didn't beat us, we beat ourselves". Non the less, the bat has been banned.

06/14/2009 Game 5 & 6 - Double header Sunday and oh boy the sun was shining on the SFD as the pulled in their first win of the season. Another close battle against the SUPD played out but the "hose jockeys" took the early 5-2 lead and never gave the "donut eaters" a chance to catch back up.

Eichelberger (52) was a breath of fresh air to the struggling 0-4 team as he took the feild in left and went 4 for 4. Laman (54) returned to his short stop position and batted in a grand slam in the 6th to rally the troops to a 8 run inning. Elborne (54) took a squat behind the plate and zeroed in a spot-on Silverstrim (52) from the rubber who even managed to land an in the park home run himself. Heckman (54) joined the team for the day and made a quick fill in for the injured Coombe (54) in right field. And Oursler (52) stretched out numerous times on first to ensure the 19-13 victory.

But as the sun went down in the evening, the rally for the SFD did too as the 2nd game of the day versus the Hard Drivers took the smiles off the faces for the fire department. 4-1 lead in the 1st and it appeared the SFD was carrying the momentum from earlier, but the Hard Drivers answered back in the 2nd with 5 runs and the SFD could not cross the plate for another 4 innings. In the end, the Hard Drivers drove the runs in hard tacking on 10 more runs for a final 16-8 win over the SFD. Big hitters Eichelberger (52) and Laman (54) did what they could in the field and at the plate but it would prove not enough to boost the club out of the deficit. But the SFD welcomed 1st time player Black (54) to the team and Connelly (52) returned with some big shots of his own.

Thursday June 18th at 6pm will be another chance for the SFD to shut down the Hard Drivers. Thanks to all the fans who turned out to root the 1 and 5 Shippensburg Fire Department Softball Team.

Motorcycle Accident

6/06/2009 - Britton Road - E-252, SQ-54 and Ambulance 73 responded to am auto accident involving a motorcycle. When we arrived the patient was on the berm of the road with abrasions on his arms and legs. We put down absorbent to soak up the oil, antifreeze and water.

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

Landing Zone for Life Lion

6/04/2009 - McCullough Rd.- E-252 responded to establish a landing zone for Life Lion. Ambulance company 73 was originally dispatched for syncope but found an equestrian accident upon their arrival with a possible head injury. Life Lion was landed adjacent to McCullough Rd. (by T.J. Silverstrim)

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

Odor of Gas in structure

6/04/2009 - McDonalds- Dispatched for the odor of gasolene in the structure. E-252 OTS laying a supply line from across the street. E-252 along with C-4A investigated to find an odor but no source. It was deemed the source of the odor was the previous fuel spill at Sheetz. Units were dispatched later on in the day for the exact same thing and the alarm was quickly returned with the same results. (by T.J. Silverstrim)

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

SFD came out early in the first

5/28/2009 Game 4 - It was a day to test the muster for rookie fill-in coach Karolenko (52) as he was forced into the skipper's position to lead the SFD onto to the field. The usual coach and assistant were off on work obligations, but the young Lieutenant steered the helm of yet another back and forth rocky game. Making a bold move right from the beginning, Karolenko started a young and inexperienced Nehf (52) as the pitcher for the SFD and the farm league call up hung in there with the big dogs.

Nehf had his share of walks, but managed to keep the SUPD scoreless in the first and even landed a "K" in the book, not an easy task in softball. The SFD came out early in the first with a 2 run lead but was quickly answered in the 2nd with SUPD tying it up. Bottom of the 4th and SFD managed to pull ahead again with a one run lead but were silenced in the 5th as they went 3 up 3 down and SUPD knocked in 7 runs. In the end, SUPD finalized the 7th inning with a nail-in-the-coffin 4 runs while the SFD could only pull out 1 more giving the final score SUPD 16-SFD 7.

Ross (53) and Laman (54) proved they are still the leading sluggers on the team compiling a set of tripples and the young Skipper (Karolenko) himself went 3 for 3 for the day. Oursler (52) made his first showing at first base and the SFD welcomed back heavy hitter Albright (54) to the plate. 15 players showed up today and all wearing brand new sparkling white uniform shirts, but it is going to take more than clean clothes for this struggling 0-3 team to get out of the slump.

7th annual Franklin county truck convoy

5/23/2009 - The 7th annual Franklin County Truck Convoy formed again this year at Cressler Trucking. The annual event is a fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation. The Convoy, for the fourth year in a row, was lead by the Vigilant Hose Company. With an engine out of service Driver/Operator & Past President Dave Staver drove the Fire Chief's Buggy. The convoy left Cressler Trucking on Olde Scotland Road and drove through Shippensburg west side and down Route 11 to Greencastle and back Route 997 through Mont Alto and back to Shippensburg. Thanks to the many Fire Police along the way who helped keep the convoy trucking. Also participating this year was Engine Tanker 5 from Mont Alto. By Kevin Nehf

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(photo by Kevin Nehf)

single vehicle ACCIDENT East King Street - Shippensburg borough

5/22/2009 - Company 52 along with Ambulance 73 and Squad 54 responded to an one vehicle accident on East King Street & Earl Street. Vehicle was travel East in a Dodge Dakota when he swerved across the roadway and overturn hitting a shade tree. No one was injury.

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

SFD MADE A VALIANT EFFORT

5/21/2009 Game 3 - It was a sour finish for the start strong SFD Softball team as they fell to the Hard Drivers late in the game. Jumping out to a strong 14-5 lead in the top of the 4th, it appeared the SFD were determined to put this one in the bag early. But fate choose otherwise as the Hard Drivers woke up the sticks in the 6th with 7 runs and put the nail in the coffin in the 7th with a whopping 13 runs.

Silverstim (52) made his '09 debut on the mound and was faced with sly and somewhat arguable tactic from the batters, choosing to force him to pitch strikes, only to take the walks. A pair of walks in the 3rd and the dreaded 7th actually led to 4 more walks as the females choose not to hit. And the Hard Drivers made some hard hits at key moments with a set of triples, 2 ground rule doubles and a handful of in-the-park home runs racking up the final 29-17 loss.

The SFD made a valiant effort through out the whole game, with Laman (54) hitting his own one bouncer over the fence and Keefer (52) making a 3 for 4 start with the team. Cramer and German (53) returned to the field along with heavy hitter Edleman (52) who struggled to knock them down on first but busted the leather 4 for 4 times.

Make no mistake about it folks, the SFD will count the days to see the Hard Drives again, proving they have the talent (and the swings) to take them down. But first, another battle against the SUPD on Thursday the 28th of May at 6:00 pm for the 0-2 Shippensburg Fire Department.

single vehicle ACCIDENT I-81

5/17/2009 - Company 52 along with Ambulance 73 and Squad 54 responded to an one vehicle accident on 81 mile maker 30.

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

Wet & Wild Baseball Game

5/14/2009 - The SFD Softball team braved the hard driving rain to finally play their first game of the 2009 season. Game 1 was rained out the previous week, but this time they were determined to play. A wet and wild game against the SUPD team ended with a loss for the Fire Department, but not after staging a 5 run defict in the bottom of the 7th to bring the game to a dramatic 13-12 close. With the tying run on 3rd (Starliper) and the Go-ahead-win on first (Bucket), Wanner stepped up to the plate bringing 2 for 3 with 2 outs down. A deep fly ball streaking trough the rain drops made its way to the fence only to be cut off short by the stealthy left fielder for SUPD.
Mud was the word of the day as many players on both sides stained their uniforms with Raider Red as they slid into bases and made diving grabs for grounders. Old veterans from previous seasons came out to lead the way with the likes of Slocum (54), Ross (53), Gettig, Byers, D. and Bucket (52). The rookies faired better than the weather as they became inducted to the summer league wondering if all games are going to be this brutal. Karolenko batted 4/4, Edleman 3/4, Riccardo 1/3 to show a lot of promise for the season. Byers pitched a tough 7 innings as he had to get used to the new strike mat and holding on to a soaked ball.
Come join us next Thursday, 21st as SFD plays visitor to the Hard Drivers at 7:00pm.

TRACTOR TRAILER ACCIDENT I-81

5/01/2009 - Company 52 along with Ambulance 73 and Squad 54 responded to an one tractor trailer accident on 81 mile maker 30. Upon arrival we found a tractor trailer off the roadway and in a wooded area. Driver escaped without an injury.

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(photo by Denny Clopper)

AUTOMATIC ALARM / LAWN MOWER FIRE

4/27/2009 - Monday started the week started off early with an automatic alarm at the Roxbury treatment center. Responding were crews from Companies 54, 52, and 53. Deputy Chief 54 arrived on scene reporting maintenance crews working on the system and all units to return available. Later in the day Company 52 was alerted for a lawn mower fire on Walnut Dale Road. Chief 152 arrived on scene to report a fully involved riding mower approximately 25 feet from a shed structure. Brush 52 arrived on scene and extinguished the fire. Crews thought they were done as they were arriving back at station when Brush 52 was alerted to a medical assist. Brush 52 Crew assisted in patient packaging and went available. By Timothy Wanner

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