Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department

InfoboxFireDepartment
name = Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department

motto =
established = 1932
staffing = Volunteer
strength = 50+
stations = 2
engines = 4
trucks = 1
squads = 1
rescues = 1
helicopters =
EMSunits =
per shift =
FirstResponderBLSorALS =
chief = Chief Dan FarrellThe Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department is a fire protection district in the town of Colonie, New York.

Background

The Shaker Road Fire Department was formally organized in 1932 when thirty members met and elected James J. Naughter President and Arthur G. Emerick Chief. The original station was located at 526 Albany Shaker Road at the site of an old Sunday School House. The original pumper was a 1918 White obtained from the Albany Fire Department. A newer station was constructed up the road in 1949 and remained the main station until 1989 when the current station was constructed. The second station, built in 1972 to meet the needs of the growing district is located on Old Niskayuna Road.

The department was renamed in the 1957 to be the Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department, or SRLFD.

Organization

SRLFD current has over 50+ volunteer members, three full-time paid firefighters and one part-time firefighter. There are no formal apparatus assignments.

The department has the following firematic officers:

*Chief - Dan Farrell
*Deputy Chief - Dave Leonardo
*Assistant Chief -
*Two Captains, one for each station - Christopher Douglas (Sta. 1) and Jonathan Schroll (Sta. 2)
*Four Lieutenants, one at each station for the engines, one for the ladder truck, and one for the rescue company - Patrick O'Connor (Rescue), Ryan Faulkner (Sta. 1 Engines), Adam Molesky (Truck), and Michael Hamila (Sta. 2 Engines)

The Chief appoints the following positions:

*Incident Safety Officer - John Hilson
*Health and Safety Officer - Robert Stewart
*EMS Coordinator - Joe Frasca

Apparatus

SRLFD currently has 6 fire suppression vehicles and a few auxiliary vehicles.

Station One Apparatus
*Engine 446 (2001 Pierce Enforcer - 1500gpm/750gwt/50gft)
*Engine 447 (1986 Ford/Saulsbury F350)
*Truck 9 (2007 KME Predator - 1500/300 - 102' AerialCat GSO 6746)
*Squad 9 (2002 Ford F350/Reading)
*M-481 (2006 Ford F350)
*M-475 (Ford V10 Bus)

Station Two Apparatus
*Engine 448 (1998 Pierce Saber)
*Engine 449 (1996 Pierce Saber - 1250gpm/750gwt/50gft)
*Rescue 9 (1993 Spartan/Saulsbury)
*Safety 9 (2006 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor)

Chiefs' Vehicles
*Car 51 (2006 Ford Expedition)
*Car 52 (2004 Ford Expedition)
*Car 53 (2004 Ford Expedition)

District

SRLFD's district covers from the Albany, New York city limits at the southern district border to the north, covering much of Albany International Airport. It goes east to west from Menands, New York to the borders of the Fuller Road Fire Protection District and the West Albany Fire District. Locations that are inside SRLFD's district are Loudonville, Newtonville, and Latham.

Notable places in SRLFD's district:

*Siena College
*Albany International Airport
*Town of Colonie Public Safety Building
*Town of Colonie Town Hall
*NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs
*New York State Police Troop G Headquarters
*Pruyn House
*The Crossings of Colonie
*A small stretch of I-87
*The Ann Lee Nursing Home(No longer in use)
*The Albany Times Union

SRLFD's district has about 10,000 permanent residents. The value of property that SRLFD covers is in excess of $9,000,000,000.

Calls

As of July 6, 2008, SRLFD has has almost 400 calls.

In 2007, SRLFD had 816 calls. Of these calls, 61 involved fire, 4 were extrications, 13 were gas leaks, and 19 were standbys at Albany International Airport.

In 2006, SRLFD has 742 calls. Of that, 66 incidents involved fire, 4 extrications, 23 gas leaks, and 23 were standbys at Albany International Airport.

How Alarms Are Received and Dispatched

There are many ways that alarms are received: walk-in requests for help, phone calls to the stations, or through the Colonie Dispatch Center.

Upon receiving a request for help, Colonie Dispatch tones out SRLFD and any other departments on the alarm box.

In the modern day, the bulky pagers that used to be carried to alert firefighters of a call are being supplemented by text messages sent to members' cell phones.

EMS

Currently, SRLFD is only activated for Echo response calls. Echo response calls are cardiac and respiratory arrests. However, the department will respond to EMS calls if in the area of the call or Colonie EMS is currently unavailable. Since 01/01/2005, the department has had only 30 EMS calls.

pecialties

SRLFD was once part of the Colonie Rope Rescue Team. However, Colonie EMS has overtaken those duties.

Currently, the department's runs a Firefighter Assist and Search Team to structure fires.

External links

* [http://www.shakerroadfire.com Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department web page]