Congratulations to EMT Team Member Shane Pierson on your graduation from Voorhees High School this morning. Shane joined the Squad as a volunteer Cadet in January 2022, attended EMT Class in the Fall of last year, and was promoted to Team Member, where he serves today. EMT Pierson is from Glen Gardner Borough.
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The 2023 SPRING RAFFLEThe 2023 Spring Raffle benefiting South Branch Emergency Services was held this past week. We would like to congratulate all those who not only purchased a ticket, but those who purchased winning tickets.
Be sure to watch out for our next public raffle in the Spring of 2024!
Our next graduate is Jeel Patel, a volunteer EMT with South Branch since May 2018. Jeel, who is one of our Cadet Advisors as well as a Team Member, graduated on Monday from Seton Hall University, where she earned a B.S. in Biology, Magna Cum Laude. EMT Patel stated upon her graduation that she is "looking forward to applying what I've learned this past year in PA School as a volunteer EMT at SBES". She added that she is "grateful for having joined Clinton First Aid & Rescue Squad (now SBES) as a cadet in high school which helped me solidify my decision of choosing a profession in the medical field". Jeel, one of our more active volunteers when not at school, heads off to Physician Assistant school for her 2nd semester next week. She completed her first semester while at Seton Hall as part of their Interprofessional Health Sciences Campus. Congrats Jeel and best of luck this semester! Congratulations to EMT Audrey Riccitelli, who graduated late last week from The College of New Jersey with a BS in Biology. Audrey, who has been a volunteer with SBES since January 2020, currently serves as a Team Member EMT as well as one of our Cadet Advisors. EMT Riccitelli graduated summa cum laude, majoring in Biology, and double minors in Chemistry and Philosophy. She is a member of two national honor societies, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. And even further congratulations as Audrey has just been accepted into medical school! After a short break, and some ride time, she's off to Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine to get her DO in emergency medicine. Great Job Audrey! Our first of the season congratulations goes out to EMT Emily Hajduk, and per diem EMT with South Branch Emergency Services. Emily graduated from The College of New Jersey, earning a B.S. in Accounting, Summa cum laude - highest honors. EMT Hajduk also serves with the NJ National Guard Medical Corps. Congrats Emily! Great job! Celebrating "Our Proudest Moment", the 200 Club of Hunterdon County held their 2023 Valor and Merit Awards Dinner earlier this evening in Kingwood Township. Two of the recipients included South Branch Emergency Service volunteers EMT/FF Jason Mayer and EMT Patrick Kochanowski. Along with High Bridge Fire Chief Sean Smith, Mayer, and Kochanowski were awarded the only Live Saving Award of the year for actions taken in the early morning hours of May 1, 2022, at a large residential fire in a multi-unit dwelling in Union Township, Hunterdon County. The submission for their award read as follows: On May 1, 2022, South Branch Emergency Services was dispatched with numerous fire departments for a building fire with people trapped. An ambulance from SBES was first to arrive on the scene in less than 5 minutes from dispatch to find a large condo building involved in fire with 3 people that had jumped from the 2nd and 3rd floors to escape. (EMTs) Jason and Patrick immediately began to render aid to those that were seriously injured. They worked for several minutes by themselves until additional units arrived. Jason and Patrick kept calm under pressure and the severity of the injured in providing the best care to those in need, they triages as needed and had others assist when possible until other ambulances and personnel arrived. The crew called for medical helicopters and additional Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support units to evacuate the injured to a regional burn center and a local trauma center. The direct actions by volunteers EMT/FF Mayer and EMT Kochanowski led to successful outcomes for all those seriously injured. Chief Smith, one of the first arriving Chiefs on the scene, was directed by bystanders and the NJSP personnel on the scene to a woman hanging out a window several stories up with heavy fire behind her. Chief Smith ascended the Clinton Fire Department's Ladder Truck and approached the disoriented woman. While making the rescue and descending the ladder truck, both Chief Smith and the burned, disoriented victim who had tried to get away from her rescuer, lost their footing, which resulted in a fall from the ladder to a NJSP State Trooper below. Additional residents were evacuated by the quick actions of additional State Troopers and arriving firefighters, including one elderly resident who was still asleep in bed and successfully removed uninjured. Congratulations to all involved, especially our very own members, for doing what you train to do, but luckily rarely have to use to their full potential. Great job all! 200 Club of Hunterdon, 2023 HonoreesLife-Saving Award - Incident: Union Township Fire (L to R) EMT/Firefighter Jason Mayer, South Branch Emergency Services EMT Patrick Kochanowski, South Branch Emergency Services Chief Sean Smith, High Bridge Fire Unit Citation Award - Incident: Union Township Fire Sergeant Michael Delgaizo, NJSP Trooper Juan Jacome, NJSP Trooper Filip Konieczkowski, NJSP Trooper Zachary Manley, NJSP In addition to South Branch Emergency Services, High Bridge Fire Department, and NJSP, other honorees included members of:
This past week, career Rescue Lt. Wes Hockin attended and successfully completed the All-Hazards Incident Management/Unified Command course at Texas A&M TEEX's Emergency Operations Center in College Station, Texas. The Enhanced Incident Management / Unified Command for All Hazards course focuses on incident management skills, staff responsibilities, and related situational awareness skills using a computer-driven training simulation designed to create a challenging decision-making environment in an expanding complex incident. The course focuses on the processes used in an Incident Command Post (ICP) and the key decision-making requirements within that response node. Command and coordination, resource management, and communications & information management are emphasized. Participants learn from the cause and effects of incident decisions while performing in an ICP and responding to a variety of simulated, notional exercises. Lt. Hockin joined 39 other Incident Managers from across the county for this 5-day Federally-funded program. During the resident program, Wes held the positions of Situation Unit Leader, Unified Command, Medical Unit Leader, and Deputy Operations Section Chief, during fast-paced, stressful scenarios. He will use these skills as part of his everyday work here at SBES, but also in his role as a member of the Hunterdon County Technical Rescue Task Force, and the Situation Unit Leader for the NJ EMS Task Force. The course is delivered at the National Emergency Response and Recovery Training Center/Emergency Operations Training Center (NERRTC/EOTC). The instructional team consists of coaches and mentors experienced in emergency management and incident response. The course uses a multi-disciplinary approach to accomplish the course objectives. Each participant is integrated into a unified command structure responding to a simulated incident. The course emphasizes the application of contemporary incident management systems, best practices, and procedures to the unique requirements of responding to all-hazards incidents. The incident management structure used in the course is based on National Incident Management System (NIMS) doctrine and the Incident Command System (ICS), and is certified by the Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS/FEMA) National Training and Exercise Division (NTED). Lt. Hockin follows several other SBES members and officers who have attended this outstanding, hands-on learning experience. "It was cool to have everyone from all over the Country working together", Hockin stated after the training. "All with different backgrounds and training". Great job Wes! #TEEX #FEMA #SBES365 On Sunday, April 2, Heavy Rescue 365 as well as two ambulances were dispatched with the Lebanon Borough Fire Company (Station 18) to a motor vehicle accident involving a car versus a house. Chief 18 arrived and established command, as well as updated the incoming units that the home sustained moderate damage. The vehicle was driven away from the home, and thankfully the driver was uninjured. Crews worked together to quickly develop a plan to shore up the home where the damage occurred. Although there was no life threat inside the building, it was located in a busy community, with elevated foot traffic. Crews placed temporary struts up once the power was secured, and debris was moved out of the way so temporary shoring could be constructed. Crews worked together to construct a 2 post vertical shore at just about 8 feet tall. Our 10 members operated on the scene from South Branch for just about 2 hours. Are you interested in BUILDING a better relationship with your community? That SHORE does sound like a great idea! Visit us at 48 Old Highway 22 in Clinton, NJ or check us out on the web, www.sbes365.org. On Saturday, South Branch Emergency Services Rescue Company was requested into Warren County, Washington Borough, for a person stuck in a car wash. Heavy Rescue 365 Responded with 4 members after dispatch, while Rescue 365 responded with 5 members a few minutes later. Upon arrival, Washington units had already started measures to begin to free the individual's leg, and crews from the Rescue Company assisted in the operation. Power and air supply to the car wash was secured, and crews quickly worked to develop a plan to remove the remaining equipment that was trapping the individual's leg in the wheel track of an automatic car wash, The Crews from South Branch worked on the scene for approximately 15 minutes before freeing the trapped victim, and in total Units were back and available within 25 minutes. This past week three members from the Rescue Company and others from surrounding agencies were involved in an Emergency Boat Operations class, conducted by the Hunterdon County Emergency Services Training Academy. This training is conducted over a twenty-hour time frame in 3 days. Students practiced various in-water boat and rescue skills at Round Valley and Bull Island Recreation Area. |
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