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On Monday November 5th at 17:05 Station 51, along with all other Hopewell fire companies and Rescue 23 (Lawrenceville Fire Company), were detailed to Shrewsbury Ct. of Brandon Farms in Hopewell Township for a structure fire. Deputy 51 arrived on scene with fire showing from the A/D corner of an end unit of a multi family structure. Deputy 51 established command and requested the 1st alarm. This upgrade added an additional tower out of Lawrence as well as RIT 30 (Ewing Fire Division 30).

Rescue 51 and Rescue 23 arrived simultaneously. Rescue 51 established a water supply and laid in to the structure. 1.75” lines were immediately pulled and stretched to the building. Rescue 23 was tasked with interior attack while the Rescue 51 crew was sent to the roof to begin ventilation operations. Tower 51 was ordered to position itself in front of the structure and raise the aerial to begin master stream operations. Station 51 put its entire fleet on the road besides Special Services 51 and Brush 51. Command placed the fire, which was contained to a single unit, under control 30 minutes after the initial dispatch. Units were released after overhaul operations were complete. All Pennington units cleared the scene within 2 hours. Lawrence companies responded directly from the scene to a reported appliance fire in their district.

Tower 60 (Princeton Fire Department), Engine 31 (Prospect Heights Volunteer Fire Company) and Tanker 71 (Upper Makefield Fire Company) covered our house while we operated at this incident. Thank you to these stations and all other mutual aid companies for your assistance!

At 02:58 on Wednesday October 10th, Station 51 was called out to a residential structure fire on Pennington Rocky Hill Rd. in Hopewell Township. The dispatch was an immediate first alarm which included Station 51, Station 52, Station 53, RIT 22 (Lawrence Road Fire Company) and Tower 60 (Princeton Fire Department). Officers from the Hopewell Township Police Department arrived on scene first and confirmed a working structure fire. Chief 52 (Hopewell Fire Department) was the first arriving fire unit and informed all responding units of heavy fire conditions. Apparatus Station 51 and 52 were on scene shortly there after and established an immediate water supply using a hydrant directly across the street. Crews made entry into the structure by forcing the front door. Interior crews eventually experienced hazardous conditions and at this point the fire was through the roof. An emergency evacuation procedure was initiated and crews exited the structure. Operations went into defensive mode to suppress the flames from the exterior. Eventually the fire was knocked and crews returned to interior operations to hit hotspots and begin overhauling. The fire was out by 5:00AM. Station 51 apparatus returned to quarters around 6:00AM.

Cover assignments were established for all valley companies during this incident. Initially, Engine 31 (Prospect Heights Fire Company) and Tower 23 (Lawrenceville Fire Company) were sent to cover Station 51. Eventually these units were requested to the scene by command for additional manpower. Ladder 49 (Plainsboro Fire Company) was then dispatched to take their place. Thank you to these companies for covering our station!

List of responding units to this incident (including some cover assignments):

• -Station 52 (Hopewell Fire Department)
• -Station 53 (Union Fire Company & Rescue Squad)
• -Squad 151 (Pennington First Aid Squad)
• -Squad 152 (Hopewell EMS)
• -RIT 22 (Lawrence Road Fire Company)
• -Tower 23 (Lawrenceville Fire Company)
• -Engine 31 (Prospect Heights Fire Company)
• -Ladder 49 (Plainsboro Fire Company)
• -Tower 60 (Princeton Fire Department)
• -Engine 46 (Montgomery Twp. Fire Company #2)
• -Engine 26 (West Amwell Twp. Fire Company)

Meet Dave Phillips! Dave Phillips joined in May of 2016 after being inspired by his father, Erik Phillips, who joined in 1988, and intrigued by the life of a firefighter. Since joining, Dave has turned in his blue junior helmet for a yellow one. He attended Burlington County ESTC during the 2017 spring semester and graduated with his Firefighter I certification that summer. Dave was one of our most active junior members ever and has continued on to be one of our most active firefighters. He is on track to be one of our Top 10 responders for the year as well.

Dave attended Hopewell Valley Central High School and graduated this year with the class of 2018. He enjoyed playing for both the football and baseball teams. This fall he started classes at Rider University in Lawrence and will continue to be an active member with our department. Dave will be taking classes toward a criminal justice degree with hopes to eventually land a position in law enforcement and continue his service as a first responder.

Meet Matt Neubert! Matt joined our department 6 years ago when he was 16 years old. During his first year as a junior member, he won the junior firefighter of the year award in 2014. He attended fire school at Burlington County ESTC a year after joining. Since graduating from the academy he has been one of the most active members of the our department. Matt has previously won the Top 10 responder award as well.

Matt attended the Hun School of Princeton in high school and now takes classes at Rowan University in Glassboro. Matt will begin both an EMT course as well as a fire inspector course this fall at Burlington County ESTC. Matt plans to take the Civil Service test in the coming months as well.

Meet Sai Batchu! Sai has been a member with our department since November of last year. He recently passed his Firefighter 1 course at Morris County Public Safety Academy this summer. We are excited to attend his upcoming graduation ceremony on August 17th. The course was an accelerated version, which required students to attend Monday-Friday from 8:00AM-5:00PM.

Sai attended Montville High School in North Jersey prior to starting at The College of New Jersey as a biology major on a pre-med track. On campus he stays active as well by playing club lacrosse. After TCNJ, he hopes to continue his education and attend medical school. Sai lives in Montville, NJ with his family during the summer months but returns to the area when classes resume in September. On Thursday nights, Sai commutes down to Pennington for our weekly drills and meetings to show his dedication and to remain active. While being a member with our fire company he is also an active member with our neighbors at the Pennington First Aid Squad. He is a certified EMT and adds great value to our responding crews when we are dealing with more complicated EMS calls.

At 12:40 last night, Engine 51 responded mutual aid to a residential structure fire in the 3rd alarm on Hodge Rd. in Princeton. Engine 51 arrived just after 01:00 and staged the apparatus at the corner of Elm Rd. & Hodge Rd while the crew was sent to command for their assignment. The 3rd alarm had been requested by command for the additional manpower. Crews experienced issues controlling the fire due to the building construction. The fire was placed under control around 01:30. Engine 51 assisted with extensive interior overhaul operations and ground ladders. Station 51 members were on scene for 2 hours before command released all 2nd and 3rd alarm companies. Engine 51 was back in quarters by 03:45. 

Pennington Fire Company will not release any additional information regarding this incident. 

Photo Credit – Plainsboro Fire Company

Early this morning, around 5:30AM, Engine 51 was dispatched to respond mutual aid to an apartment fire in the 3rd alarm on Sergeant St. in Princeton. Multiple apartment units were involved with heavy fire conditions. Engine 51 arrived and staged the apparatus down the street and sent manpower to the scene. The fire was placed under control about 2 hours into the incident. Engine 51’s crew assisted with extensive overhaul operations and was released by command after operating on scene for 2-2.5 hours. Companies from across central NJ responded to this incident. No further information regarding the incident will be shared by Pennington Fire Company

Photo Credit- Tay LeClaire

Another Pennington Fire Company member has graduated from high school! Spencer Kincaide Ducharme graduated from The Hun School of Princeton today. Special Services 51 along with Assistant Chief 51 and two other members attended the ceremony. Spencer is currently enrolled in Firefighter I at Burlington County ESTC as well and will be taking his state exam on Sunday. Keep up the good work. Good luck to all of our members who will be testing this weekend!

On June 12th, Uncle Ed’s Creamery will host an all day fundraiser for the Pennington Fire Company. A portion of every customer’s purchase that day will go to our department. Summer may not have officially started yet, but the hot weather has easily convinced our members that there is no better way to deal with hot weather than to relax with a few scoops of ice cream. The fundraiser will be active all day on Tuesday June 12th, from 11:30 AM until 9:00 PM. Uncle Ed’s not only serves some of the best home made ice cream around, but also a delicious selection of assorted chocolates, truffles chocolate covered pretzels, cakes, pies and cookies. A crew will be at Uncle Ed’s for part of the day. If you have any questions that day about our department, please feel free to talk to our members, they will be happy to help. Hope to see you there!

Yesterday, Station 51 was toned out for a brush fire in Washington Crossing State Park in the area of the Church Rd. entrance. A half an acre wooded area was discovered to be on fire and smoldering. Brush 51 and Tanker 51 responded to the incident along with Station 50, Station 52, Station 53, and NJ Forest Fire Service Division A. Tanker 51 stretched 1000 feet of hose and assisted with water supply while Brush 51’s man power extinguished hot spots with portable fire pumps, also known as Indian packs. Brush 51 also overhauled the area using hand tools and saws. Crews experienced slight difficulty in stretching hose lines in the area. Units were on scene for approximately 2 hours.

Photo Credit – Matt Neubert (Pennington Fire Company)