BVFD - Station 36

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BVFD News, Calls and Information

Children's Birthday Celebration Parades!

UPDATE 05/03/2020

In accordance with the Governor’s decision to ease some restrictions for Erie County on May 8^th, we will be discontinuing the birthday parade celebration activities effective May 10^th. We hope that it has helped lift the spirits of the children that we have been able to do this for. We know that seeing the smiling faces of the children and adults has certainly helped lift our spirits, but we also know that everyone wants to start getting back to normal conditions as soon as possible.

Many of you have mentioned wanting to visit the station with your children when it is possible, which should be after May 8^thunless we are given other instructions by Millcreek Township or Erie County. You can private message us here on Facebook, or send an email to visit@bellevalleyfire.com to see when we might be able to arrange a visit.

The Belle Valley Fire Department

ATTENTION - YOU MUST BE A RESIDENT OF THE BELLE VALLEY FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE AREA (THE AREA SHADED IN WHITE ON THE MAP ABOVE) FOR US TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE!

The COVID-19 virus pandemic has changed life for all of us in so many ways, but not as much as it has for children. While most of us adults are struggling to come to terms with what it means, it’s infinitely more confusing to explain to children why the things they have taken for granted are not possible at this time, including family gatherings for birthday parties.

As a partial solution, the Belle Valley Fire Department would like to offer our services to participate in any alternative birthday celebrations, especially drive by parades to honor birthday children. And since many other fire departments are offering the same service to their residents, we do need to limit this to Millcreek Township residents of our response district so that we don’t accidentally interfere with another department’s plans.

We can’t promise that we will be able to be at every celebration parade, but we will do our best, subject to the availability of vehicles, Firefighters, and company officers at the desired time. As always, the need to respond to any calls might change things for us at the last minute, but if it’s at all possible, we will be there with lights and sirens!

Please let us know your name, your address, the child’s name, age, and gender, as well as the preferred date and time that you are planning the parade and we will respond as soon as possible to let you know if we are available.

You can either reach out to us with those details via direct message on our Facebook page, or by email to birthday@bellevalleyfire.com

And thanks to all of our residents for your ongoing support of our department, both financial and otherwise!

Bingo Canceled Until Further Notice

Due to concerns over the Coronavirus and the recommendations from authorities that we take care to avoid group events, Belle Valley Fire Department Bingo is canceled until further notice. We will be back up and running as soon as it is considered safe again. Thank you for your support of the department!

2020 Officers and Board of Directors

Here are the BVFD officers and support staff for 2020:

Chief 360 - John Stephens
Assistant Chief 361 - Zach Kuhn
Deputy Chief 370 - Tom Krahnke Jr.
Captain 371/Training Officer - Ryan Geist
Lieutenant 36L1 - Jeremy Kuhn
Lieutenant 36L2 - Josh Horstman
Safety Officer 36S1 - Steve Woytek
Safety Officer 36S2 - Dave Soule
362/364 Engineer - John Krahnke

Previously announced board of directors members and business officers for 2020 are:

Board Of Directors

Joe Altadonna
Jeremy Kuhn
Zach Kuhn
Tom Lewis
Matt Rogers
Jeff Skonieczki
Dave Soule
John Stephens

Business Officers

President – Jeff Skonieczki
Vice President – Joe Altadonna
Secretary – Jeremy Kuhn
Assistant Secretary – Josh Horstman
Treasurer – Laura O’Connell
Assistant Treasurer – Steve Woytek

Santa Claus Coming To Belle Valley!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Yes, Santa is coming to the Belle Valley area on Saturday, December 21st. He will be making his chimney and roof inspection rounds from the bucket of our ladder/tower truck 369, accompanied by firefighter elves. His reindeer and regular elves are getting ready for Santa’s big trip on December 25^th, so the fire department volunteered to help.

Santa was unable to determine exactly at what time he will be in each neighborhood, but he expects to be West of Route 8 from approximately 11 AM to 1 PM, and East of Route 8 from approximately 1 PM to 4 PM. Depending on the weather and the number of firefighter elves available, we will try to have one of our fire trucks precede Santa so that you will know he is in your neighborhood.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your Belle Valley Fire Department – “Protectors Of The Valley”!

2019 Christmas Party and Awards Banquet

Our annual Christmas Party and Awards Banquet was held on Saturday, December 7^th, at the Siebenbuerger Club.

Santa made an appearance and presented gifts to the children and grandchildren of members, and gifts were also presented to the members by the Board of Directors.

The following service awards were made:

President’s Award – Joe Altadonna
Chief’s Award – Steve Woytek
Safety Award – Tom Krahnke Sr.
Rookie of The Year Award – Ian Jaskiewicz
Citizen Supporter of The Year Award – Bill Kuhn
Vehicle Rescue Related Awards – John Stephens, Zach Kuhn, Tom Krahnke Jr., Ryan Geist, Tom Krahnke Sr., Dave Soule, Dakota Moreland, Ian Jaskiewicz
EMS Related Awards – John Stephens, Zach Kuhn, Matt Rogers, Ryan Geist, Jeremy Kuhn, Josh Horstman, Ray Bauer, Jeremy Moreland, Jason Wilson, Parker Cerneck, Ian Jaskiewicz

Special thanks to the Auxiliary for their donation of $5000 to be used towards the cost of the recently installed exhaust hood and fire suppression system for the station kitchen; and to member Kaitlyn Zimmer for her gift of a copy of her award winning framed picture of our firefighters in a recent parade.

And additional thanks to the Siebenbuerger Club for their hospitality and consideration in support of the department and our mission.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Elections For 2020 Officers

Here are the results for the BVFD elections held on Sunday, 11/10/2019. All positions are effective January 1, 2020:

Chief Officers

Chief 360 – John Stephens

Assistant Chief 361 – Zach Kuhn

Deputy Chief 370 – Tom Krahnke Jr.

Board Of Directors

Joe Altadonna

Jeremy Kuhn

Zach Kuhn

Tom Lewis

Matt Rogers

Jeff Skonieczki

Dave Soule

John Stephens

Business Officers

President – Jeff Skonieczki

Vice President – Joe Altadonna

Secretary – Jeremy Kuhn

Assistant Secretary – Josh Horstman

Treasurer – Laura O’Connell

Assistant Treasurer – Steve Woytek

Congratulations!

Designer Purse Bingo

Designer Purse Bingo!!!

Hosted by The Belle Valley Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary
Proceeds benefit The Belle Valley Fire Department

Saturday, October 5th, 2019
12:00 - 3:00 PM (doors open at 11:00)

Food and beverages available to purchase. BYOB!
50 - 50 raffle

Tickets $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Must have a ticket to enter.

To order tickets online via PayPal, click here: Designer Purse Bingo tickets

For tickets or additional information, contact Laura at (814) 825-4359

The rain may have washed away the plans that some of you made to attend The Belle Valley Community National Night Out celebration at our station on Tuesday evening, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the many Emergency Services and community-minded organizations who participated, nor the enthusiasm of the community members who were able to attend. Some of the participating organizations came from as far away as Butler, PA and Ellington, NY, and we really appreciate their extra travel effort in the rain.

Events like this are impossible to conduct without the dedicated hard work of the organizers and planners, and the community members who participate in one way or another. Thanks to some contingency plans, we were able to minimize the impact of the rain, and keep the attendees safe, dry, and well fed!

Special thanks to our major sponsor The Siebenbuerger Club, as well as additional sponsors The Belle Valley Fire Department, The Belle Valley Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, Green Acreage Landscaping, The Belle Valley Presbyterian Church, United Way of Erie, Smith’s Provision Company, UTZ Quality Foods, The Schwebel Baking Company, TOPS Markets, and former Millcreek Township Supervisor Joe Kujawa.

We expect to have pictures and videos to post soon.

Belle Valley Community 2019 National Night Out

The Belle Valley Fire Department will once again be hosting the National Night Out event for our area. This event is free, and all are welcome. It will be held at the Belle Valley Fire Department Station 36 (1514 Norcross Road Erie, PA 16510) on Tuesday 8/6/19 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

National Night Out is an event designed to allow the members of the community to interact with public safety and other community service groups to promote better understanding of what their roles are, and the services they provide.

Here is a partial listing of the expected participants:

Emergency Services (Millcreek Paramedic Service, Millcreek Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Erie County Sheriffs, Erie County 911 Center, Erie County Ropes Team, NW PA K9 Search and Rescue, Erie County Fire Safety House, Belle Valley Fire Department)

Local Organizations (Petting Zoo, Erie Bayhawks, Anna Shelter, Belle Valley Presbyterian Church)

Rockdale Farm Percheron Horses

Local Media (WICU/WSEE, WJET)

This will be a fun, family friendly, kid friendly event, with free food, a bounce house, gaming trailer, temporary tattoo parlor, petting zoo, and music by DJ Justin O'Connell, in addition to the organizations listed above.

Hope to see you there!

The Belle Valley Fire Department mourns the loss of long time member Gary Baughman, who passed away Tuesday morning, April 30th, after a brief illness. Our deepest condolences go out to Gary's family and friends.

There will be a memorial viewing from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Saturday 05/04/2019 at the Burton Wintergreen Funeral Home, 2532 Norcross Road, Erie PA.

From 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Saturday, there will be a Celebration of Life at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1101 South Hill Road, Erie PA.

BINGO CANCELED 01/27/2019

Bingo is canceled Sunday, January 27th 2019 due to the inclement weather. Please stay safe and warm, and if possible, clear the snow from your nearest hydrant in case we need to make a house call!

Bingo!

Just a reminder that bingo is held at the Belle Valley Fire Department Social Hall every Friday and Sunday evening. Entrance is from the rear (North) of the building. Doors open at 4:30 PM and bingo begins at 6:15 PM. Come on down! Have some fun, and support the Fire Department at the same time. Thank you! For any questions, please contact Tony at (814) 440-3528.

2019 Officers

OFFICERS
Chief	360	John Stephens
Assistant Chief	361	Tom Krahnke Jr.
Deputy Chief	370	Zach Kuhn
Captain	371	Ryan Geist
Captain / Training Officer	372	Matt Rogers
Lieutenant	36-L1	Josh Horstman
Lieutenant	36-L2	Jeremy Kuhn
Lieutenant	36-L3	Paul Rogers
Safety Officer	36-S1	Steve Woytek

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!

Condolences

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.

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.

Tom Krahnke Sr.
Chris Altadonna
Matthew Rogers
Paul Rogers
Zach Kuhn
Jeremy Kuhn
Luther Jones
Jeremy Moreland
Kaelin O'Leary
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.