The Officers and Members of the Chillum Adelphi Volunteer Fire Department extend our deepest sympathy to the entire family of Corporal Richard Findley, the Beltsville VFD and the P.G County Police.

Cpl. Findley was killed in the line of duty today while protecting the citizens of Prince George’s County. He was a 10 year veteran of the Prince George’s County Police Department and a life member of the Beltsville Volunteer Fire Department. He was a great person and will be missed by all. May he Rest in Peace.

Engine 343 was dispatched at 1642 hours to Montgomery County for the house on fire. The engine arrived third to find light smoke showing. Units stretched lines and made entry to find 2 warm heavily charred rooms that had been extinguished by two residents and their dogs. The residents were in stable condition and were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Two applications were left in their mailbox. As the crew were racking hose, PG county tapped out the box for the apartment fire at 1804 Metzerott Rd. Engine 343 was added to the call and arrived as the initial knock was made by the engine from Company 11. Engine 343 cleared at 1849 hours. Needless to say, the Bomberos were exhausted after a long day of pretending to put out our own fires. On a serious note, Engine 343 assisted with ventilation of the fire floor (yay).

Units from both sides of the county line were dispatched today for report of a house fire at 2015 Forrest Hill Dr. First arriving units found heavy smoke from side Charlie of a split-level single family dwelling. Engine 343, assigned the RIT, cleared in under two hours.

At 2320, the Bomberos heard A702 call in building fire just over the Montgomery County line. With smoke rolling across University Boulevard, Engine 343 and the wagon from 702 arrived moments apart to find heavy smoke pushing from a laundromat. The Bomberos stretched a line inside and found the bulk of the fire behind commercial dryers in the rear. With fire up in the ceiling, command called for a "precautionary" second alarm, which staged at the Safeway. A quick stop by the Bomberos kept the fire from spreading to the exposures, and everyone went home smelling like dryer sheets and fabric softener.

About an hour after getting the truck back in service, the Bomberos ran the second of two working fires in Hyattsville, this one in a 3 story garden style apartment with gated courtyards in the middle. As Truck 34 pulled up past a 2nd floor apartment with heavy smoke pushing from the windows, the outside crew went to work, cutting the gate to access the fire apartment windows, before throwing ladders to Side Charlie. There they found a woman whose apartment had filled with smoke on the third floor, and removed her via ground ladder before cutting a hole on the roof, above the fire. The interior crew assisted the woman to the window for the ladder and searched the rest of the floor above for extension. Good stop by Co’s 44 and 9 on a fire that threatened to leapfrog up to the third floor, melting the window A/C unit and the window itself.

Former Assistant Chief and Life Member Jack Spencer and his wife Lauren had their second child born on Tuesday April 22nd. Max Cody Spencer weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and 20.5" long. Mom and Baby are doing good and are both home. Congratulations to the Spencer Family!

The locals were treated to a show on Saturday, when crews from Langley Park and surrounding companies attacked an apartment fire on Kanawha Street. Engine 341 went first due, with 343 completing the water supply. With Chief 34A establishing the Kanawha Street command and Communications advising of multiple people trapped, crews from 34 stretched lines to the 2nd and 3rd floors via the interior stairwell. While 341’s crew knocked the fire, the second crew removed two trapped occupants from the third floor and checked for extension. The fire drew hundreds of onlookers, but the Bomberos had to forego signing autographs so they could return to the firehouse and put 348 back in service.

Minutes before 3 o’clock, the Bomberos were sent across the street to 1535 University Blvd, the National Wholesale Liquidators store, for the attached trash compactor on fire. After laying out and taking the connections on Side A, the Engine crew stretched the 400’ inside the store, where they found heavy smoke conditions, and began to knock down the fire in the compactor. Rescue Squad 14 was eventually able to pull the compactor away from the building to complete extinguishment and overhaul. The building was ventilated and interior damage was kept to a minimum. Chief 34 had the command.

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A small fire in a Hyattsville apartment building brought Truck 34, the Chief and the A Chief to 5715 Jamestown Dr on Tuesday afternoon. The ladder truck arrived as the second special service, positioning in the grass on Side C. With a report of people trapped in several apartments, the crew forced entry to and searched apartments on the first and second floor, while the outside team threw ladders. All searches turned up negative, and the Bomberos soon returned back to the Park. Before they could make it back to the station, the Truck and the Chief were sent to New Hampshire Ave and Quebec St for the 9I with entrapment. After finding one patient trapped in a pickup on its side, the Truck crew stabilized the vehicle, and removed the windshield. Squad 14 completed the extrication in short order and PA44 transported the patient to MedStar.

In an effort to keep our loyal readers up to date on the daily goings on at Station 34, we bring you this story. A brush fire arsonist kept PGPD and the Bomberos busy in the early afternoon, and some soft ground kept E343 stuck firmly in place. Chief 34, 34A and Battalion Chief 4 dropped by to take in the scene. With the engine sitting in the mud mere blocks away, Communications sounded the box for smoke on the 6th floor of 1836 Metzerott Rd. Grabbing a standpipe pack and some tools, a few stranded firemen hitched a ride with the White Wave, while the station responded with Truck 34. Units went on scene with nothing evident, and quickly confirmed that someone calling from a cellphone near University Boulevard and Guilford Road was probably lying about being on the 6th floor of a 20 story highrise on the opposite end of the first due. Units returned to quarters just in time to hear that our favorite new ambulance driver, Kenny "Peyton Manning" Decker, broke his collarbone playing his first ever game of ice hockey. We’re all looking forward to a couple months of Mario Kart and painkillers with our downed compadre.

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Just as the Bomberos were preparing to wash the wagon, the first due tones went off for a fire at Emily’s Restaurant at 2065D University Blvd, right around the block from the firehouse. Engine 343 went on the scene with smoke from the roof and stretched a line to the back of the restaurant, where the crew found fire in the kitchen and extinguished the same. The only casualties of the fire were dozens of cases of Corona, which crews were unable to rescue despite their best efforts. The fire temporarily displaced several locals who normally sleep behind the restaurant’s dumpsters.

If it gets any unluckier than this, we haven’t seen it. The Bomberos responded to a 9I on 15th Ave (so what else is new?) to find an accident involving the ubiquitous White Work Van. The driver of the van picked the absolute worst person in the Park to hit: an honest to goodness INS agent, packing heat and a couple of deployed side-air bags. Upon finding that the driver of the White Work Van lacked the proper documents to reside in our fair country, the INS agent promptly took the man into custody and began to process him for deportation. We can’t make this stuff up.

A significant gas leak at 1413 Kanawha St caused maintenance personnel to summon the fire department after the gas found an ignition source. The resulting explosion blew the drywall off the walls in two 2nd and 3rd floor apartments, but extinguished itself, preventing a major conflagration. After investigating the incident and shutting off gas to the complex, units were left to await the gas company and remained on the scene for 2 hours.

A 3 o’clock box at 2200 Beechwood Rd brought the Bomberos in full force. With both Truck 34 and Engine 341 out for repairs, the Wagon was supplemented by a very special-service-minded Ambulance crew of 4 . While the Engine crew stretched a line down the steps to extinguish the fire, "Truck 348" vented and deployed a full complement of ladders. The Bomberos returned to service at 0407.

On the one year anniversary of a fire at the same address, the Bomberos returned to 8511 Riggs Rd to find fire in the Delta side addition. The crew of 8 forced entry to the vacant house, only to discover that it was packed with discarded furniture. Splitting into two teams, they stretched primary and backup lines to extinguish the fire, which was contained to the addition. Make your reservations now, because the bunkroom is sure to be stacked on Feb. 13th, 2009...

Four minutes before midnight, Montgomery County Communications dispatched E343 third due on the box at 9137 September Lane. After a particularly rapid trip up University Blvd, the crew forced entry, stretched a backup line to the top of the stairs and was asked to complete a search before being reassigned to the RIT group. Crews cleared at 0125.

At 1007, Public Safety Communications began to receive multiple calls for the Pedestrian Struck at 6029 Rosedale Ct in Co. 44’s first due. Callers advised that there were possibly still people inside. Engine 441 went on the scene and requested the Working Pedestrian Struck Dispatch with a room off. The Truck arrived shortly after, threw a host of ladders and performed a thorough search on the Pedestrian Struck floor and the basement, both of which turned up negative. Crews remained on scene assisting the investigators for approximately 30 minutes before packing up and returning to quarters, where we quickly restocked the Truck’s collars, backboards and spider straps in preparation for the next job.

Just as the evening showers began to roll in, the crew at 34 was alerted by Montgomery County for an apartment fire at 572 Beacon Dr with police on the scene. Truck 34 responded second due, as newly reopened Truck 712 was first due. Units went on the scene with fire showing from the first floor and requested a task force and reported a corrected address of 418 Southampton Dr. Despite being completely blocked out of the rear by MCPD’s finest, the Bomberos ran ladders, vented, and performed primary and secondary searches of the Bravo and Delta exposures and the second floor. The Truck returned to service at 0030.