 2023 Life Saving Award for your Exemplary Performance and Commendable Actions in the Line of Duty 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:
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 Lt Hockin (left) studies incoming intelligence as part of his exercise roll of Situation Unit Leader 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.  Union Township - January 24, 2023 This afternoon at 2:08 pm, South Branch Emergency Services was alerted along with numerous other agencies to a serious accident with injury, entrapment and fire on Van Syckels Rd, Union Township. One of our BLS units was staged per policy at Van Syckels and Rt 31 when the call came in and was on scene within a minute. Initial reports were of a tree trunk carrying logs on its side, with the cab pinning the driver between the truck and the tree. SBES’ Heavy Rescue arrived on scene with Chief Setnicky as IC and Assistant Chief Buchanan as Operations. Contact was made to the patient who was heavily entrapped using ladders to the top side of the vehicle. Due to the nature of the incident, additional resources were called to the scene, including Superior Towing with a heavy duty rotator wrecker to assist, and the Hunterdon County Technical Rescue Task Force. A primary plan, along with a second and third plan were worked to free the driver as additional resources arrived. Operations was transferred to County OEM Coordinator Fahey, who coordinated the 3 teams composed of the many responders on scene, all working the three plans until the driver was finally disentangled from the wreckage in just over 90 minutes from the time of the call. The patient was turned over to Pattenburg Rescue Squad and Hunterdon Medical Center’s MICU and transported with the flight crew from NorthStar Medevac to a landing zone where the patient was then flown to a trauma center in Pennsylvania for treatment. This was the second commercial truck accident in the last 2 weeks where many of the same volunteers and staff came together to help remove a patient from an accident involving a prolonged and technically challenging process. Due to the training available to our departments, and the regional teamwork shared between those assigned, the team had a successful outcome. SBES would like to thank all those involved for the great team work, establishing and working the plans to coordinate and successfully disengage this patient and get him to definitive care. We wish the patient a speedy recovery. High Bridge Fire Company Hampton Fire Department Pattenburg Rescue Squad Pattenburg Fire Department Hunterdon Medical Center MICU NorthStar Medevac New Jersey State Police - Perryville Barracks Superior Towing Glen Gardner Fire Company Bloomsbury Hose Company Hunterdon County Hazmat Hunterdon County OEM Hunterdon County Communications Center Hunterdon County Technical Rescue Task Force, comprised of Flemington-Raritan First Aid & Rescue Squad Whitehouse First Aid Squad Lambertville Fire Department District #1
 Clinton, NJ...South Branch Emergency Services (SBES) will launch a paid EMT
apprenticeship program in February and now seeks applicants for the inaugural class. “The new South Branch Emergency Services EMT Apprenticeship Program will allow us to train and hire more EMTs - something we must do to meet the growing demand for SBES services,” said SBES Chief Frank Setnicky. “The program will also have a tremendous impact on the lives of our apprentices,” Setnicky added. “Training won’t cost them anything – in fact, we will pay them to train. Then, those who successfully complete the program will be offered an EMT position and a raise.”  Congratulations to volunteer EMT Kate Zelig, who graduated earlier today from Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Kate joined SBES in October 2020 and obtained her EMT last summer. She graduated with honors as part of the National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, and English Honor Society. She was President of the Latin Honor Society and Secretary of rho kappa, which is the HCRHS social studies Honor Society.
EMT Zelig will be heading off to Tulane University where she is entering pre-med as a Neuroscience Major. As she prepares for college, she notes, "Thank you for the support and experience! Couldn't have done it without SBES!" Best of Luck Kate!  Congratulations to Volunteer EMT Elizabeth Shalashova, who graduated today from North Hunterdon High School. Liz, who is from Clinton Township, joined the Squad in August 2020 and completed her EMT program with us.
Following graduation Liz will be headed off to the US Air Force Academy in July, where she plans on being assigned to the Aerospace Medical Service. Best of luck in Basic Liz, and thank you for continuing your service!  Congratulations to Cadet Volunteer Prerna Shankar of Clinton Township who graduated today from North Hunterdon High School. Following her graduation, Prerna will be headed off to Boston University's Kilachand Honors College where she will be majoring in Neurosciences. Prerna joined South Branch Emergency Services in March 2021 and has been volunteering since. We wish her best of luck in Boston!  |
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