BVFD - Station 36

BVFD Recruitment Video

Election Of Officers and Board of Directors Members

The Belle Valley Fire Department recently held elections for Officers and Board of Directors members for the coming year.

Fire Operations Officers (effective 12/5/18) 

• Chief: John Stephens
• Assistant Chief: Tom Krahnke Jr.
• Deputy Chief: Zach Kuhn

Business Operations Officers and Board of Directors Members (effective 1/1/19) 

• President: Jeff Skonieczki 
• Vice-President: Matt Rogers
• Secretary: Josh Horstman
• Assistant Secretary: Jeremy Kuhn
• Treasurer: Laura O'Connell Siren
• Assistant Treasurer: Steve Woytek
• Board of Directors 3 year term: Tom Lewis
• Board of Directors 3 year term: Matt Rogers
• Board of Directors 2 year term: Dave Soule

Congratulations to all!

Codolences

The Belle Valley Fire Department extends our condolences to the family of Paul J. Martin. Paul passed away on Wednesday, August 8th, 2018. He was a long time member of the Belle Valley Fire Department.

BVFD News, Calls and Information

Bingo Update

Bingo will resume again beginning Friday, March 16th at 6:15 PM! We appreciate the loyalty of all of our bingo players! We have missed you, and hope that you will be back. Please tell your friends! We know it's been a long time since the flood in November, but think that you will be pleased with the newly renovated hall. Thank you again for your past support - it means a great deal to the dedicated men and women of the department.

Bingo beginning again on Friday, March 16th

Bingo is held every Friday and Sunday evening. Doors open at 4:30 PM and bingo begins at 6:15 PM. For any additional information, please contact Tony at (814) 440-3528.

Erie Times News Article: Area Volunteer Fire Departments Face Shortage of Recruits

http://www.goerie.com/news/201...

Codolences

The Belle Valley Fire Department extends our condolences to the family of Mary Ann Brown on the passing of her husband Eugene on January 16th. Mary Ann served for many years as a member of the BVFD Auxiliary.

What We Do And Why We Do It

An "outsiders" view of what firefighters do. This article is from a magazine published in Arizona, and is about the author's experience with a program run by the fire departments of some Phoenix area suburbs to expose people to the the typical experiences of a firefighter. I have been on calls with Captain Doyle of the Goodyear FD (quoted in the article) and he is as professional as they get. Whether a paid fire department like his, or a volunteer department like Belle Valley, we all work hard to protect and preserve the lives and property of those in our community and surrounding communities.

Residential Structure Fire 12/18/2017

On Monday December 18th at 5:16 AM, Belle Valley was dispatched to a residential structure fire at 203 West Grandview Blvd. When we arrived at the location, the house was already fully involved in flames. Fortunately, the resident was alerted by his smoke alarm and escaped unharmed. The bulk of the fire was declared under control approximately 45 minutes later, although crews continued to work on extinguishing hot spots until almost three hours after the initial alarm. Belle Valley was dispatched again to this same location at 12:40 PM to extinguish some areas that rekindled, and cleared the scene at approximately 2:00 PM.

Units from Kearsarge, Brookside, Kuhl Hose, West Ridge, Perry Hi-Way, Erie Engine 12, and Millcreek Paramedic Service assisted on the initial call. BVFD Assistant Chief 361 had command. Photos courtesy of Kearsarge Fire Department, Erie Fire Dept Photographer Scooter Blakely, and BVFD member Steve Woytek.

BVFD Holiday/Members and Families Appreciation Party

On Saturday, December 16th, 2017, the Belle Valley Fire Department held it's annual Holiday/Members and Families Appreciation Party.

Santa distributed gifts to the children, and the following awards were also given out:

• Firefighter of the year: Matt Rogers 
• Rookie of the year: Josh Horstman 
• Rescue Technician of the year: Jeff Skonieczki 
• Kyle Swain Memorial EMS Provider of the year: Matt Rogers 
• Ron Norris Memorial Fire Police/Scene Supporter of the year: Pat Smith 
• Dave Teubert Memorial Safety Award: Tom Krahnke Sr. 
• Chief's Award: Zach Kuhn 
• Chief's Award: Josh Horstman 
• President's Award: Tom Krahnke Sr.

Election Of Officers and Board of Directors Members

The Belle Valley Fire Department recently held elections for Officers and Board of Directors members for the coming year.

Fire Operations Officers (effective 12/6/17) 

• Chief (360): Dion Blasco 
• Assistant Chief (361): Tom Krahnke Jr.

Business Operations Officers and Board of Directors Members (effective 1/1/18) 

• President: Jeff Skonieczki 
• Vice-President: Joe Altadonna 
• Board of Directors: Chris Altadonna 
• Board of Directors: Joe Altadonna 
• Secretary: Matt Rogers 
• Assistant Secretary: Ryan Geist

Congratulations to all!

2017 National Night Out August 1st

Belle Valley Fire Department was once again selected to host Millcreek Township's National Night Out. National Night Out is a fun event designed to encourage and promote interaction between members of the community and the public safety agencies (Fire/Police/EMS) that serve them.

This is free to the public so we don't have an exact count on the number of people who attend every year, but for 2017, we served over 1,000 hot dogs, so that's an indication of its growing popularity!

We would like to thank the community for their support, and also the various Millcreek Township, Erie County, and PA state public safety agencies who provided equipment, personnel, and most importantly their time for this gathering.

We would also like to especially thank the members of the Belle Valley Fire Department, the Ladies Auxiliary, and their families and friends for all of the help they provided to host this event.

Here are a few pictures provided by Department Fire Photographer Jeff Lopez. Additional pictures and videos can be seen at http://www.jslopezphotography....

BVFD Scuba/Water Rescue Team Discontinued June 2017

The Chiefs and the Board Of Directors of the Belle Valley Fire Department have reluctantly decided to discontinue the Scuba/Water Rescue Team.

Since there are a number of other agencies already providing this service in our area, our department was getting very few calls, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to justify the expense of maintaining the equipment, and the time and expense of ongoing training for our members.

We were able to sell the trailer and all of the equipment at a reasonable price to another Pennsylvania fire department who is in the process of establishing a dive team. We are happy that the equipment has found a good home, and will continue to serve the public safety needs of Pennsylvania citizens.

A Sad Day For Belle Valley

James M. Petrone, Sr., 75, of Greene Township, passed away, peacefully, at his residence on Saturday, March 4, 2017 following a brief battle with lung cancer. 

He was born in Dubois, Pa. on November 27, 1941 a son of the late Joseph M. and Rena Coltri Petrone.

James was a 1959 graduate of Cathedral Prep and worked at Port Erie Plastics for 42 years. He was owner of Jim Petrone Services and was a member, and former Chief, of the Belle Valley Fire Department for 52 years, most recently serving as Treasurer and on the Board of Directors. He was a member of the Erie County Firefighters Association for 40 years, the Fire Chiefs Association, and the Greene Township Planning Commission for 40 years. He served as the Greene Township Emergency Management Association Coordinator and enjoyed construction. He was a member of St. Boniface Catholic Church and various other county volunteer organizations.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by one sister, Marina Petrone Cockrell; his father and mother-in-law, Arthur and Mary Jean Murosky; a sister-in-law, Cheryl Meyer and her husband, Robert; and three brothers-in-law, J. Robert Tombaugh, Kenneth Holtz, and James A. Murosky.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Barbara Murosky Petrone; four sons, James M. Petrone, Jr. and his wife Lisa of Erie, Joseph A. Petrone, Sr. and his fiance, Kim, of Erie, Michael A. Petrone and his wife, Danielle, of New Castle, and Robert J. Petrone and his wife, Christine, of Erie; two brothers, Richard Petrone and his wife, Elaine, and John Petrone and his wife, Amy; 17 grandchildren, Stephanie, Joseph, Jr., Matteo, Maria, Angelo, Tiana, Benjamin, Christina, Hannah, Anthony, Lucia, Gavin, Mason, Francisco, Edward, Ruth, and Eli; one great-granddaughter, Leena; four brothers-in-law, Rodney Cockrell (Diane), David Murosky (Barbara), Thomas Murosky (Mary), and Donald Murosky (Cynthia); four sisters-in-law, Mary Helen Stuckbauer (John), Kitty Holtz, Karen LaKari (Richard), and Christine Tombaugh; a former daughter-in-law, Cheryl Petrone; and many nieces and nephews.

Friends may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., on Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. and on Tuesday at St. Boniface Catholic Church from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the Funeral Mass there at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to the Belle Valley Fire Department, 1514 Norcross Road, Erie, 16510 or St. Boniface Catholic Church, 9367 Wattsburg Rd., Erie, 16509.

Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits

Published in the Erie Times-News on Mar. 5, 2017

The gallery below contains pictures from the Belle Valley Fire Department archives showing some moments from Jim's 52 years of service to the department, and to the Belle Valley community. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them. They are in no particular order.

01/22/2017 Structure Fire 3017 Buffalo Road

Shortly after 1:15 PM on Sunday, January 22nd, Belle Valley was dispatched to send our tower to assist Wesleyville Hose Company (Station 30) with a reported structure fire at Bates Collision, 3017 Buffalo Road. Tower 369 and Utility 367 responded, and found a working fire on arrival.

Wesleyville Deputy Chief 310 had command, and we were first tasked to investigate the adjacent building (Coney Island Lunch) for extension of the fire to that building, then to proceed to the roof of Bates Collision to open holes in the roof to allow the smoke and heat from inside to escape. Shortly after beginning this task, all firefighters were ordered to leave the interior of the building and the roof due to concerns about roof collapse.

We were then requested to set up the tower and prepare to flow water to the roof if needed. Firefighters on the ground were able to bring the fire under control without the need for additional water from the tower. Belle Valley remained on the scene to assist with clean up.

Numerous units responded to this fire, including an engine from Wesleyville; an engine and a ladder from Brookside; an engine, ambulance, and rescue from Fairfield; an engine from Lawrence Park; an engine from Harborcreek; and an engine from Kuhl Hose. Crescent also sent a ladder to standby at Harborcreek; Fuller sent an engine and Greenfield sent a rescue and an ambulance to standby at Fairfield; and Kearsarge sent an engine to standby at Belle Valley. Quite a bit of juggling was needed to make sure all areas of the county were protected during this call.

We sometimes get asked "why do so many units get sent to what turns out to be a 'relatively small' fire"? There are several reasons. The first is that the officer in charge of the fire (typically the chief or assistant chief or deputy chief of the department in whose area the fire is) has to consider a number of factors when evaluating how much manpower and equipment to request. In this case, the structure was a commercial auto body repair and painting facility containing not only vehicles, but also many highly flammable paints and chemicals. In addition, the relative proximity of the buildings in that part of Wesleyville means that a fire that gets out of control could quickly spread to many other structures. The second is that with the decline in the number of volunteers available to the fire departments, we often have to try multiple units to make sure that we can get at least one who has enough personnel to respond. If this fire had occurred on a Monday afternoon instead of a Sunday afternoon, it's not likely that as many units would have been available.

Information on the units responding credit to Erie PA Fire News, and photo credit to Scooter Blakely and BVFD photographer Jeff Lopez.

Click on the photos below to enlarge them.

Fire Safety Video!

Click on the text above for an entertaining and informative short video about fire safety.

2016 Record Breaking Year For Calls!

2016 was a record breaking year for Belle Valley in terms of call volume! We handled a total of 977 calls, easily besting our previous high of 811 calls in 2014.

We would like to take a moment to thank our top ten responders for the year, as these men and women went above and beyond to serve their community.

1. Tom Krahnke Sr.  
2. Chris Altadonna 
3. Matthew Rogers 
4. Paul Rogers 
5. Zach Kuhn 
6. Jeremy Kuhn 
7. Luther Jones 
8. Jeremy Moreland 
9. Kaelin O'Leary 
10. Chris DiCarlo

Belle Valley couldn't operate without all of our dedicated and hardworking members, along with donations from the community. We would like to thank all of you who volunteer in any capacity, and who support us thru direct donations, as well as supporting our fundraisers such as bingo, craft fairs, and social hall rentals.

Thank you for yet another great year, and we look forward to serving Millcreek Township Residents and surrounding areas throughout 2017 and many years to come.

12/13/2016 Structure Fire 4800 Block Buffalo Road

On December 13th, Belle Valley was dispatched to assist Brookside Fire Department (24) at a structure fire with our tower. T-369 arrived on scene and assisted with both roof ventilation and interior fire fighting. Sadly, an occupant was found to have perished in the fire.

BVFD Annual Christmas Party and Dinner

On December 10th, Belle Valley Fire Department had our annual family Christmas party. President Jeff Skonieczki asked Santa for a new pumper.

Christmas came early for Station 36, as we are proud to announce that Engine 364 has officially been ordered from Sutphen. The new pumper is scheduled to arrive in July of 2017.

We would also like to thank Kearsarge Rescue 444 and crew for standing by at our station tonight so our members could enjoy a night with their families.

Also at our family Christmas party on Saturday, the annual awards ceremony took place. The 2016 award recipients are as follows:

• President’s Award – Chris Altadonna
• Chief’s Award – Steve Woytek
• Kyle Swain Award for EMS– Kaelin O’Leary
• Ron Norris Award for Fire Police (Scene Safety and Security) – Pat Smith
• Dave Tuebert Award for Safety – Zach Kuhn
• Rescue Technician(s) Of The Year – Jeremy Moreland, Jeremy Kuhn, Chris DiCarlo
• Firefighter(s) Of The Year – Jim Petrone Sr., Tom Krahnke Sr., Kaelin O’Leary

Thank you to all members for their hard work and dedication to the department this year. 

2017 Officer Line-Up

In early December, Belle Valley announced the officers and support personnel for 2017. In some departments these are elected positions, but at BVFD, the chiefs appoint these positions every year.

• Safety Officer 36S1 - Jeremy Moreland 
• Captain 371 - Jeremy Kuhn 
• Lieutenant L1 - Kaelin O'Leary 
• Lieutenant L2 - Matt Rogers 
• Lieutenant L3 - Luther Jones 
• Lieutenant L4 - Nick Rearick 
• Engineer - Steve Woytek 
• Engineer - Paul Rogers 
• Engineer - John Stephens  
• Traffic Support 3601- Pat Smith
• Quartermaster 3650 - Steve Woytek 
• Quartermaster 3651 - Pat Smith 
• EMS Coordinator 3670 - Kaelin O'Leary
• Dive Coordinator 3680 - Steve Woytek
• Lead Mechanic 3690 - Tom Krahnke Sr.  

We look forward to a great year!

Election Results for 2017 Chief & Business Officers

On November 6th 2016, BVFD held its elections for the 2017 Chiefs & Business Officers. Quite a few changes are taking place, as several long time members take a well-deserved break, including retiring Treasurer Jim Petrone.

Chief Officers

• Chief - Chris Altadonna 
• Asst. Chief - Chris DiCarlo 
• Dpty. Chief - Zach Kuhn

Business Officers

• President - Jeff Skonieczki 
• Vice President - Zach Kuhn 
• Treasurer - Chris DiCarlo 
• Asst Treasurer - Zach Kuhn
• Secretary - Laura O'Connell

Board Members 

• Jeff Skonieczki 
• Dave Nientimp 
• Chris DiCarlo 
• Jeremy Moreland 
• Chris Altadonna 
• Zach Kuhn

Congratulations to all winners!

Early Morning Fire on Club House Drive

Club House Dr. - Brookwood Village Complex

Monday April 29

Command: Chief 360

Around 12:30 this morning, we were dispatched for a structure fire on Club House Drive in the Brookwood Village Apartments. Chief 360 arrived to find smoke showing from the apartment. After further investigating it was determined to be a working fire on the second floor. Engine 362 pulled an 1-3/4" line, backed up by a second line from Engine 683. Engine 444 supplied Engine 362 and their crew assisted in overhaul. Crews made a quick knockdown holding the fire to a bedroom. The apartment sustained a lot of heat, smoke and water damage. Several people in the apartment were displaced but there were no injuries. Command special called Erie FD Engine 13 due to the type and construction of the building, they were returned soon after arriving. Brookside Truck 249 held the RIT assignment. Engine 363 and Tower 369 were also on scene. BVFD official are conducting the investigation.

Agencies

Fire: Belle Valley, Kuhl Hose, Kearsarge, Brookside, Erie

EMS: Millcreek Paramedics

Law: Millcreek Police

BVFD Responds To Major Erie Fire

West 18th & Cranberry St

Monday April 11 

Command: Chief 360

On Monday afternoon all of the on-duty Erie FD crews along with West Ridge Tower 479 were battling a warehouse fire on West 20th St. Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles as it consumed the downtown area. As that fire was being fought a 911 call reported that the fire on West 20th had set a building at an asphalt plant on West 18th near Cranberry St. on fire. At the same time a third fire was reported in a residence on the lower west side. Belle Valley, West Lake, Kearsarge were dispatched to the fire on 18th Street. After a few minutes Lake Shore was also added to the assignment. Chief 360 arrived to find an industrial facility with a working fire. Truck 489 was the first rig on scene. They set up for master stream operations. Belle Valley Engines 362 & 363 both responded. Several blitz guns, deck guns, large handlines and elevated master streams were used in the operation. Lawrence Park and Brookside FD's also assisted for a while before being sent to yet another fire on 32nd Street. Later in the incident Rescue 368 along with Truck 478 were requested for air filling operations. Erie Co. Haz Mat were also on location of both the 18th & 20th street fires to conduct air quality tests. All units were on scene until approximately 8pm. There were no injuries.

18th Street Fire

Agencies 

Fire: Belle Valley (E362,E363,R368), West Lake (T489,E482), Kearsarge (E444), Lake Shore (E502,R508,A507), West Ridge (U478), Lawrence Park (E283), Brookside (R248), Millcreek 920, Erie Co. Haz Mat, Kuhl Hose (Tk685, Rehab 68)  

EMS: Emergycare

20th Street Fire 

Agencies 

Fire: Erie (E6,12,11,8,13, T2, E6x, E12x, 322, 325, 320), West Ridge (T479,E474), Kearsarge (E442), Perry HiWay (E434), Kuhl Hose (Tk686), Erie Co Haz Mat  

EMS: Emergycare

Rescue & Engine Assists at Perry HiWay Fatal MVA

Footmill Road south of Robison Road 

Friday April 1 

Command: Chief 420

Perry HiWay, BVFD and MPS were dispatched to an MVA on Footmill Road south of Robison around noon on Friday. First arriving crews found a single vehicle fully involved in fire head-on into a tree. One person was still inside the car. Crews from Engines 434 and 362 worked to extinguish the blaze. Rescue 368's crew contained fuel leaking into a small creek. After the fire was suppressed crews determined only one person was in the car and was deceased. PA State Police and the coroner were on scene and investigating.

Agencies 

Fire: Perry HiWay, Belle Valley  

EMS: Millcreek Paramedics 

Law: PA State Police, Erie County Coroner

MVA - School Bus Versus Car

Arbuckle Road & Old French Road

Tuesday February 16

Command: Chief 360