While taking time to reflect on some stories that we covered here on Readingpafire.com during 2005, we also want to take this opportunity to thank all the members and friends of the department that have helped make our web site a special part of the online community.
Some stories from the past year
Early in 2005, Plymovent brand air capturing systems were installed in all City owned stations. The system has proved itself in it's effectiveness of removing airborne particles throughout the firehouses.
The proposed Fire Department budget for 2005 only included enough funds to operate the EMS system till the end of June. Citing operating overruns, the City Administration vowed to cut the service but later opted to allow a Study to be done to check it's effectiveness. The Study, compiled by the Ludwig Group, gave suggestions but affirmed the value of the current system.
Late in 2004, Fire Marshal David Janiszewski, announced his plan to retire after eight years as the Department's investigator. A search to find a replacement ended when Firefighter Todd Iaeger was picked for the promotion.
A large number of victims were transported to local hospitals during the winter months of 2005 for suspected Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Of the many incidents they were involved in, most of them stemmed from blocked or malfunctioning heating systems. However, one of the calls firefighters responded to resulted from a resident cooking a pig in a large copper pot in the basement of a North 5th Street apartment building. Fourteen persons were taken to the hospital from this one incident, four of them in critical condition.
One year after Reading Police Officer Michael Wise was killed in a shootout on a City street, a benefit was held. The hope is that the Ride for Wise will be an annual event.
Paramedics that began their careers with the new EMS Service in 2000 were required to complete training in Firefighting by the end of 2005. The group concluded the training recently with Pump Operations and will soon begin training to drive and operate the various types of apparatus within the Department.
And finally, for the second year in a row the fire department experienced one civilian death. On October 31, a female victim was pulled from her third floor apartment in the 100 blk of Walnut Street.
