Our volunteer firefighters respond to calls for assistance and emergency incidents without prejudice, conducting ourselves in a professional manner while remaining well trained and equipped to manage and control any situation that may occur.

Department News

Public Meetings/ Events

1. District Meeting 8pm at Station 1off Forester Ave. Third Tuesday of every month.
2. Raymond Hose Co. #2- Turkey dinner fundraiser February 18^th  5pm-8pm. This fundraiser is to benefit the family of Tom Hand. Tom was a 23 year member of the Warwick Fire Department and Past Captain of Eng Co. #3 who passed away last month. For tickets call 986-4644. 5yrs old and under are free. 6-12 yrs $8.00, Adults $15.00 and 65 and over $10.00.
3. Excelsior Hose Co. #1- Annual St. Patty's Dinner March 17^th 5pm-7pm.  For ticket prices and info please call station #1 at 986-4688.
4. The Warwick Fire Department invites you to a Benefit Party to Help Us Help Our Brother Chief Gregg Snigur who has been battling cancer for over a year and needs our support. The WFD is hosting a benefit party to assist Gregg with medical expenses not covered by insurance. Please join us as we honor his dedicated service on Saturday March 13, 2010 starting at 7:00 pm at Warwick Fire Station One (Church Street off Forester Ave.)  For further information or to purchase tickets please visit http://www.warwickfire.com/gregg/ or call 845-987-7157

Fire Prevention

Recently, a new national study reveals that for most Americans, home fires rank highest on the list of top disaster concerns, along with terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

The "2006 Fire Safety Census," released by Liberty Mutual and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), reports that of those polled the biggest concerned were in the following order; fire in the home, terrorist attacks, tornados, hurricanes,  earthquakes and finally floods. The telephone survey interviewed more than 1,000 Americans 25 years old and older during August 2006. The results are profiled online at www.befiresmart.com, Liberty Mutual's new interactive fire safety and prevention website.

Despite this high anxiety around home fires, the survey further reveals that many Americans are dangerously negligent when it comes to taking fire precautions and are largely uninformed about what to do if a fire occurs - steps that can dramatically impact their chances of surviving a fire.

Based on the survey results, Liberty Mutual and the IAFF have developed fire safety recommendations for families to stay safe and be prepared. Top tips are:

• Test smoke alarms once a month.
• Change smoke alarm batteries once a year - at an easy-to-remember time, such as when clocks are changed.
• Replace a smoke alarm that's more than 10 years old.
• Buy a fire extinguisher, mount it, and learn how to use it.
• Never leave burning candles unattended or near combustible materials.
• If a fire alarm sounds, or smoke is visible, evacuate first and then call the fire department.
• Close doors behind you when leaving the room and building to slow the spread of fire and smoke.
• Plan an escape route that shows two ways out of each room.
• Identify a meeting place near the home.
• Practice an escape plan - during the day and night - at least twice a year.
• Talk to children frequently about preventing fires and escaping fires.
• Do not leave a stove or oven on unattended.
• Keep portable heaters at least three feet away from all combustible materials and never leave them on unattended.
• Never disable a smoke alarm.
• Do not overload power strips.

If you would like to become a member of Warwick Fire Department -click here- or stop by any our local firehouses for an application.

Members of the Warwick Fire Department recently held a drill at Cascade Lake to fine tune their Ice Rescue skills. The day started with a one hour indoor classroom session followed by approximately three hours of practical training utilizing various ice rescue techniques. The training received sharpened the skills of the Fire Department members so that they may be better prepared for any ice rescue emergency that may occur.

MCI drills are conducted annually throughout the town for the purpose of honing critical skills and testing the interoperability of the various agencies.

The Warwick Fire Department hosted the drill and was joined by fire and ambulance crews from Pine Island, Florida and Greenwood Lake. The Town of Warwick Police Department, St. Anthony Hospital and the Departments of Public Works from both the Town and the Village of Warwick also participated. Local students volunteered as victims.

The drill was divided into two phases. The first involved a simulated spill of an unknown chemical substance with several people injured. Warwick Fire, EMS and Police responded to this incident, stabilizing the scene, transporting the patients and assisting the hospital with de-contamination procedures.

While that scenario was unfolding, mutual aid assistance from the town’s other emergency agencies were summoned to standby for Warwick Fire and EMS. When they had arrived at their standby locations, they were dispatched to the second phase of the drill, a simulated explosion and fire with multiple victims at the Sanfordville Elementary School.

The mutual aid fire companies responded, controlled the fire and removed the victims from the building. EMS crews then triaged and treated the wounded before transporting them to the hospital.

The drill tested the ability of our emergency services to cope with two major emergencies occurring simultaneously. During the critique, which followed, the participants judged the drill an overall success.

Story and photos by Thom Cronin

Incident News

October 3, 2009 - Warwick Firefighters responded to a two car MVA with two persons entrapped.

The accident took place on Kings Highway at Lake Station Rd when a car traveling north struck a car entering Kings Highway from Lake Station Rd.

Warwick Community Ambulance transported two patients to St. Anthony's Community Hospital with injuries.

Town of Warwick and Chester PD secured the scene and investigated. -click here for photos-
 

The Warwick Fire Department Fire Prevention Team would like to remind all homeowners using fireplaces or woodstoves that chimney fires are extremely dangerous as they can easily spread to the structure of building. Chimneys should be inspected and cleaned by a certified chimney sweep on a regular basis.

For further information, please visit the Chimney Safety Institute of America on the internet at www.csia.org.