River Road Fire Company

2010 Archives

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

June 27^th - It is with deepest regret that the River Road Fire Company announces the passing of Chief Charles Flasser (1930-2010). Charlie was one the most dedicated and revered members of the fire company. His contributions over the years will not be matched and he will be missed. Charlie Flasser joined in October 1961. The membership elected him Chief in 1966 replacing John Schaefer (uncle of John Smolko). Charlie served twenty terms as Chief and although not consecutively, he surpassed the eighteen consecutive terms of Clemmenz Beitz, the first Chief of the River Road Fire Company. Charlie brought a benevolent wealth of technical Firematics information to our company that stemmed from a family background in the Fire Service in Pennsylvania. The company learned from Charlie�s method of not only instructing but also demonstrating and implementing progressive firefighting techniques. He successfully promoted the fire company�s need for our first aerial truck that we received in 1964. Due to his commitment and dedication the River Road Fire Company is by far the best in town. Funeral arrangements are as follows: Piscataway Funeral Home Viewings are Wednesday, June 30th, 2010, 2 - 4pm and 7 - 9pm (Fireman's Viewing) Funeral Mass at St. Francis Cabrini on Thursday, July 1st, 2010 at 10:00am.
May 8^th - Engine 651 was requested into Middlesex Borough for a standby while the Middlesex Fire Department operated at its annual fair. Engine 651 provided coverage with Middlesex Truck 4, but there were no runs so good laughs were had by all who attended.

May 7^th - The day tour responded over to he RAC at the Livingston campus of Rutgers University for this years Rutgersfest. There were approximately 20,000 people in attendance for the all day concert event. Engine 651's crew responded to a gas can fire which was quickly extinguished. Rutgers EMS and mutual aid EMS companies dealt with several ETOH calls as well as several people who were overcome due to the rare 90 degree weather during the month of May. Mutual aid EMS on scene included Monroe, North Brunswick, Little Rocky Hill, Monmouth Junction and South Plainfield EMS.


May 4^th - The day tour got a visit from the Children's Corner Preschool today. Approximately 100 kids visited the firehouse where they learned about different types of fire trucks, different tools and fire safety. Special thanks to firefighter Barnoski and day tour Lieutenant Portaro for helping with the tour for the school.

January 3rd - At 0615 hours River Road Engine 652 was requested to the North Stelton Fire House for a standby while they operated at a condo fire on Jesse Way. North Stelton Unit 628 (Chief Mcdermott) arrived on scene and reported heavy fire showing from the condo complex and struck the 3rd alarm bringing Engine 652 and Truck 656 to the scene. On arrival Engine 652 and Truck 656 crews were immediately put to work. The engine company went to the rear of the structure and assisted with a 2 1/2 line while the truck company reported inside neighboring condos to pull ceilings. After approximately an hour of operating on scene, the fire vented through the roof and all companies were ordered out of the structure. Truck 656 set up and put its master stream into operation and the fire was eventually knocked. Companies re-entered the structure to put out hidden pockets of fire and preformed major overhaul. Companies on scene had to deal with temperatures around 10 degrees with winds around 20-30 mph making wind chills below zero. Companies had to deal with heavy icing conditions on scene. Companies on scene and providing township coverage included North Stelton Fire, River Road Fire, New Market Fire, Arbor Fire, Possumtown Fire, Edison Fire Department, New Brunswick Fire Department, Highland Park Fire Department, East Brunswick Fire Department, Middlesex Fire Department, East Franklin Fire Department, Dunellen Fire Department, numerous BLS units including the state ems task force, and the Red Cross. Companies were back in quarters around noon.

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