Rank Structure:
Danielson Fire Department is a paramilitary organization; therefore the rank structure is similar to that of the U.S military, allowing for many opportunities for members to work in leadership roles. Like any organization there is someone in charge, The Chief; he is ultimately responsible for the dept., its members, and functions. Below the Chief is the Deputy Chief and an Assistant Chief; Chief Officers who have responsibilities of the Chief that he has delegated to them, also very important roles in the Department. Next, the Line Officers, an exceptionally important piece to the puzzle; the managers of the Firefighters. Currently there is 1 Captain and 5 Lieutenants (4 Line Fire, 1 Medical). The line officers are the personnel who make all the important decisions below the level of the Chief or Incident commander. Finally, the Drivers, Firefighter/EMS and support personnel. These are the members who carryout out the tasks at hand such as fire suppression, technical rescue, medical care and other situations that may come up.
What we respond to:
Danielson Fire responds to any reports of fire, smoke, or alarm to investigate and if necessary suppress and mitigate. Motor Vehicle Accidents providing vehicle extrication, fire suppression, and emergency patient care. Medical Emergencies and Traumatic Injuries initiating emergency medical care. They respond to water emergencies, confined space emergencies, low and high angle climbing emergencies, and any non-emergency call for service. In the event that investigation is necessary the department will hold the scene until the proper investigative personnel arrive, at this point the scene is handed over for them to begin their investigations.
How do we know there is a call:
Up until 2011 QV Dispatch was alerted to Emergencies in Danielson in two ways; Of course the modern day version, Cellular phones and Landlines. Pre 2011 there was also a box alarm system throughout the Borough, when pulled it sent a signal to the Fire Station which in turn would blow the horn in a specific pattern for the individual box while another signal was sent to the dispatchers to be paged out. Before pagers and 911, this was the alerting system for Firefighters to know there was an emergency. The first fire alarm system in Danielson was installed in 1908 by Gamewell Fire Alarm Co. of Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts. The system consisted of a Switchboard and batteries and a bell on top of the fire house, a “whistle blowing machine” for a steam whistle at the mill on lower Main Street, and a gong in the Chief’s house. The initial system consisted of 12 fire alarm boxes located throughout the borough. As time went on additional boxes were added to the system and the bell atop the Fire House was replaced with an air horn.
The First Responder Program
Previous to the requirement for the fire department to provide First Responders(EMS) the department only responded to Fire’s, MVA’s, and emergencies requiring specialized equipment or training not implemented on an Ambulance. In 1980 that all changed. Initially, the Ford Service truck would respond to medical emergencies, it became more of a Heavy Rescue truck. Previous to the Engine the service carried the tools for vehicle extrication. In 1998, the new R-1 rescue truck replaced the Ford Service being put on the front line for medical emergencies. Today the department has a 6 night duty schedule, each night at least two medical personnel and one officer are assigned to respond to ensure that the truck is properly staffed. Medical personnel are trained to a minimum of EMR(Emergency Medical Responder) which fulfills the First Responder license that certifies us to provide BLS(Basic Life Support) when necessary.
When do we train
The Danielson Fire Department holds training weekly on Wednesday nights at 1830 hours. (With the exception of holidays).