A series of vicious thunder storms rolled through Hamlin on the morning of Monday August 11 with high winds, frequent lightning, heavy downpours and plenty of hail. Several members of the Hamlin Fire Department went to the firehouse to prepare for the inevitable emergency calls. At 7:11 AM the call came in for a willow tree down on wires at the intersection of West Fork and North Hamlin Rd. The crew of Daryl Prince, Joe Burke, Keith Gay, Aaron Lewis, Pat Doerrer and John Deserto took engine 242 to the scene, which looked more like mid winter due to the covering of hail on the ground. Assistant Chief Tom Maier arrived on location first and updated the dispatch information that the wires involved were telephone and cable lines only. The fire police squad of Tony Bovenzi, John Bello and Willie Stevenson closed West Fork Rd. between North Hamlin Rd and Moscow Rd. The crew used several chain saws to remove as much of the willow tree as possible to lighten the load on the wires. Once this was accomplished a line crew from Frontier Communication arrived and 242 was put back into service. Chief Maier and the fire police stayed on scene for several more hours until a private contractor removed the tree and the Frontier crew completed repairs. Deputy Chief Smith and firefighter Chris Penny supplied much appreciated coffee at the scene.

Story by John Deserto, photo’s by Keith Gay.

Hamlin Engine 242 and its crew of four spent an enjoyable six hours in the public eye on Saturday reminding the community to stay vigilant about fire prevention. The day began preparing Engine 242 and the fire prevention materials for the first stop at Top’s Friendly Market on Lake Rd. in Hamlin. This was the first partnership between the Hamlin Fire Department and Top’s but we hope this continues to blossom. The shine from the engine was quite the attention getter and brought several families over to chat and tour the engine. After a wonderful meal cooked up by the Tops employees, 242 and crew were off to their second engagement at Hamlin Beach.

The Morton Fire Department organized a “Safety Day” in area 5 at Hamlin Beach State Park and invited many organizations to join them, including the Hamlin Fire Department. The Hamlin crew joined members of the Morton and Hilton Fire Departments, the Park Police, Hamlin Volunteer Ambulance, the Border Patrol and FUSE (Firefighters United for Safety Education) giving beach goers a wide variety of experiences, materials and equipment to explore.

The Hilton Fire Department had the largest amount of equipment on location. Their Safety Trailer provides excellent opportunities to teach people about the importance of smoke detectors and EDITH Drills. Their new brushfire truck and 4-wheeler were also on display. The Border Patrol helicopter flew out from Niagara Falls for the afternoon. This was the second time in seven days that they had come out to Hamlin. This was the same helicopter and pilot that were at the Hamlin Safety Day on Sunday August 3.

The robot fire truck from FUSE was a huge hit with the multitude of children at the event. It is unbeatable at drawing attention to itself and drawing young people into conversations about safety and fire prevention. Caroline Hungerford worked tirelessly all afternoon at the controls, guiding people to the FUSE table where they could get all types of materials, information and ask questions.

The crew from 242 continued with the message of fire prevention explaining how the bunker gear and air packs protect us from the heat and smoke from fires, which led naturally to discussions about EDITH Drills, smoke and CO detectors. Younger folks enjoyed the opportunity to try on the bunker gear and air packs while parents were content to take pictures. Another popular activity was spraying water from a fire hose. This was set-up by the Hamlin crew and enjoyed by many beach goers on a warm August afternoon.

The main event was the Morton Fire Department’s extrication demonstration using the crew and tools from Rescue 218. The event was narrated by a policeman from the Brockport P.D.. and included the Hamlin Ambulance crew as well as the Park Police.

The whole event ended just as the storm clouds began to gather in the west and the crew of Hamlin Engine 242 made their way back to the fire house, filled out paper work and checked out the equipment. It was a long day, but one that brought many happy memories to many members of the Hamlin community.

I would like to thank Chief Tom Maier, Lt. Rick Wood, Firefighter Mike Stevenson and Probationary Firefighter Aaron Lewis for spending their time away from home and families to make the Hamlin FD look good.

Story and pictures by John Deserto

Three years ago the carnival dropped its customary opening on Wednesday and stayed open on Sunday in the hopes that the extra weekend day would boost attendance. Each year since attendance has gotten stronger and stronger and this year was the best yet. An added bonus has been the addition of another live band and additional special attractions for the community. The special events began early with a karaoke contest in the event tent, the kiddie parade, Safety Day Demonstrations and the country western band Flint Creek on the beer tent stage.

The Kiddie Parade is always a favorite and memorable event for the parents and the children. This year was no different but unfortunately I missed getting pictures of it because we had a fire call. If you have pictures that you would like to share here on the website please e-mail them to me at mandurr@earthlink.net. I’ll trade it for a fire truck ride.

New York Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman Stephen Hawley dropped by to accept the fire departments thanks for a grant to purchase several automated external defibrillators for the chief vehicles, fire trucks, the fire house and Merritt Hall. These AED’s are proven to improve the chances of surviving heart attacks. Senator Maziarz and Assemblyman Hawley teamed up to help the Hamlin Fire Department help the community. Thank You.

The Karaoke Contest in the Event Tent has grown in popularity every year. It always brings out the talented members of the Hamlin Community including some members of the fire department.

Life Solutions of Hamlin continued their fund drive titled “Locked Up To Lock Out Huger In Hamlin”. Several more notable members of the Hamlin Fire Department were behind bars and Chief Sercu called in the grass fire truck to hose down the rioting inmates. If you read the page dedicated to Saturday’s carnival you will notice that Chief Sercu was locked up and the response from his fellow chiefs to his calls for help were not enthusiastically answered. So when long time department member and past President Paul Seifert , Commisioner Jack Prince and firefighter Tim Slossar started “acting up” the chief was quick to respond. The people of Life Solutions are an incredibly hard working group who provide a large variety of services for the less fortunate of Hamlin. The fire department has been proud to help them deliver food and presents for the last few Christmas’ with our “Santa Run”.

Another popular attraction is the Safety Day. This year in addition to a display of Hamlin engine 243, a representative of Mercy Flight and the State Of New York Safety House, the Border Patrol came out from Niagara Falls with their helicopter. They were the stars of Safety Day.

The country western band Flint Creek had the crowd in the event tent standing and dancing from 1-5 PM. The band also spent their only break in the border patrol helicopter, which was a thrill for the pilot because he’s a country western fan.

Once the crowds were gone and the Hammerl Amusements people began breaking down the rides the final event of the Hamlin Carnival begins, which is limited to department members only. After working all out for four days of carnival (and many days prior to it) the workers celebrate the end of carnival with the “Thorton Fryer Grand Finale. This is when Firefighter Tim Slossar and Commissioner Scott Whitte make up a special supper of buffalo wings. The beer tent crew also mix’s up something nice and everyone gets to sit down and unwind before cleaning up the carnival grounds and stands.

The Hamlin Fire Department’s 2008 Carnival is over. It was lots of work and some fun for the members; hopefully it was just a lot of fun for the community.

Story by John Deserto, photo's by Deserto and Kelly Slossar

Another early day that lasted well into the evening for the members of the Hamlin Fire Department. A morning page from the chief looking for people to help pick up trash around the grounds got some members out of bed and some stayed until past 2 AM Sunday morning cleaning up the beer tent. The cooks in the food tent arrived before Noon to begin preparations for the longest day of the four-day carnival. Commissioner Jack Prince, Chiefs Sercu, Smith and Maier were joined by Lt. Fey and Lt. Woods filling up the refrigerators and warming up the grills. At Noon the fill in crew from Hilton arrived to cover all Hamlin fire calls.

The public not only enjoyed the rides and food but the Monroe Car Cruise In and the Horse Shoe Tournament that were held in the beer tent until the early evening. The weather looked threatening several times during the day but we only had a few drops actually fall that produced a beautiful rainbow for everyone to enjoy. The fill in companies from Walker and Brockport covered fire calls.

By 6PM the evening entertainment began with the acoustic trio Turner Brown delighting the crowd at the event tent with a blend of soft rock and country music balanced off by 7th Heaven in the beer tent. The crowd for 7th Heaven is always very large and this year was no different. The band had the crowd singing, dancing and screaming until 1:30 AM on Sunday, with a blend of 70-90’s rock songs played with in a very polished performance. Workers in the beer tent have been very pleased with all the bands this year and attribute them to the increased revenue from sales. A new addition to the beer tent this year is a grill and nacho stand that provided hotdogs, hamburgers and sausage to the audience.

Other assorted happenings were the surprise lock-up of people (all in good fun) by the group, Life Solutions of Hamlin. This year the fundraiser is “Locked Up to Lock Out Hunger in Hamlin” where people could pay to have someone “locked-up” then the “prisoner” had to get donations for bail. Members said that this fund drive is going very well and several notable members of the fire department were behind bars. I spent my time “in the pen” with Hamlin Fire Chief Tom Sercu. Several phone calls to the other chiefs netted a few dollars for bail but the promise of much more money to keep him in.

Story and photos by John Deserto

Friday August 1 started early in preparation for the Firemen’s Parade. Seven fire trucks had to be meticulously cleaned for inspection by the community. This was accomplished starting at 9 AM by Kelly Slossar, Jessica Breeze, Hannah Deserto, Brianna Marchetti and Stephanie Clary. Once this was accomplished the truck bay floor was cleaned, swept and washed out. These jobs were completed by Noon even with an interruption due to an EMS job for Kelly and Jessica to run.

Parade preparations also began early with Parade Coordinators, Jake Putney and John Thorton getting ready to organize all 44 units that participated in the parade. An engine from Gates and an engine from North Greece arrived to fill in for Hamlin. Then at 7 PM the siren at the firehouse sounded to kick-off the parade. Past Hamlin Chief John Baase was the grand marshal and rode through on Hamlin’s first new engine, 55. The weather was good, the crowd was happy and the parade went very well.

Hamlin Parade results:
Best Appearing Fire Department 1-14 members: Spencerport
Best Appearing Fire Department 14 and over: Brockport
Best Appearing Pumper: Spencerport
Best Appearing Tanker: Walker
Best Appearing Rescue: Hilton
Best Appearing Ladder: Brockport
Best Appearing Explorers: Brockport
Best Appearing Antique: Lakeshore
Best Appearing Color Guard: Hamlin Explorers
Best Fire Department Band: Orleans (County) East Battalion
Best Music Group: Gates Keystone Pipes and Drums

When the parade ended the carnival grounds filled up. Bands from the parade continued to play in the event tent with each band taking turns playing a few songs. The Gates Keystone Pipes and Drum’s (the Brockport Fire Department’s band) and the Rochester Scottish Pipe Band (the Barnard Fire Department’s band) combined for several songs.

40 Rod Lightning played a mix of southern rock and country songs in the event tent while Hint of Red played a mix of classic rock and current alternative favorites from Led Zeppelin, to Fallout Boy in the beer tent until early Saturday morning.

Story and photo’s by John Deserto

The Fireman’s Carnival kicked off at 6 PM Thursday night. The fire police squad was directing the parking of cars while Nevada Tickets and chances at the $1,000 raffle were selling well. Steve Lauth (of C&S Remodeling fame, see the last few news stories) was back with his band Swamp Moose. Gill Eller joined him; Zack Chasman couldn’t make it, in the event tent playing acoustic rock songs. They enjoy performing in several venues in the area.

The headline band of the night was Detour who played a variety of rock classics from the 1970’s through the present. They became the first band to play on the new bandstand, which was built by Steve Lauth and C&S Remodeling. This was Detour’s first appearance at the carnival but likely not the last.

The band for Friday night is Hint of Red playing a little bit of everything. 7th Heaven will be playing popular rock and alternative on Saturday night. Both Hint of Red and 7th Heaven start at 9 PM in the beer tent and will play until 1AM. On Sunday the Country Western band Flint Creek will take the stage at 1 PM and play until 5 PM.

Story and photo's by John Deserto

Wednesday started off slowly at the carnival grounds but got busier as the day went on. Lawns were mowed, refrigerators were stocked, C&S Remodeling continued the mad dash to finish the bandstand and Lauderback Electric was working on the power lines. Hammerl Amusements seems pretty well finished setting up. As the day went on and people got back into town from work they filtered down to the carnival grounds and by the late evening the grounds were buzzing with activity.

Story and photo's by John Deserto

With two days to go until the carnival opens the grounds were humming with multiple crews working on the multitude of details that have to be done. The C&S Remodeling crew was hard at it early Tuesday morning working on the roof and siding. Jesse Seeler, of Seeler Construction and a Hamlin firefighter joined the crew later in the day to donate some of his time to help out.

A Lauterborn Electric crew of Dave Ianiro and Joe Boyle were replacing the primary power line to the bandstand that had been pulled out when the original bandstand was blown away during the winter. They also ran power to the new bandstand and installed several more poles on the north end of the grounds that will allow the North side parking lot to be illuminated.

A crew of firefighters were working in the beer tent replacing the worn out picnic tables with new lumber. Beer venders lined up on Beach Boys Lane delivering truckloads of refreshments. Out on the main grounds the Hammerl Amusements crew began setting up the rides and concession stands.

Story and photos by John Deserto

When the winter wind picked up the old bandstand and spread it across the Hamlin Ambulance parking lot it seemed like a major setback for the fire department. In reality this turned out to be an opportunity to build a much better bandstand that includes several opportunities for firefighter training. The old bandstand was in need of repairs and C&S Remodeling was going to donate the time and labor needed in return for placing their advertising on it. This all changed with the wind. C&S Remodeling is still involved but they are building a whole new structure and still donating some of the materials and labor needed. They began working on Wednesday, July 23 and will have it complete for the carnival on Thursday July 31. One Monday July 28, Steve Lauth, Chris Lauth, Cory Lauth and “Big” Bill Hafner were hard at work with plenty of work and a short deadline.

The design of the bandstand has several items that the Hamlin Fire Department can use to sharpen their skills after the carnival is over. The most obvious being the two areas in the roof that allow firefighters to practice “vertical ventilation” which is when holes are cut into the roof of a burning building to allow the heat and smoke to escape. By getting the heat and smoke out a building the environment inside improves for the firefighters and any victims. A second training opportunity are the two windows where firefighters can practice “bailing out” of a building when the conditions become too dangerous to be inside and they have to get out, NOW! Ideas for other training opportunities are still being contemplated.

Story and photo’s by John Deserto

Heavy rain during the evening of July 23 caused a serious accident on Route 18 in Hamlin. Hamlin Fire Department Photographer Jerry Clement covered the event and posted a story to the Monroe County Fire Wire. The link to that story is below.

John Deserto

On Wednesday July 16 Anthony Deserto officially graduated from Firefighter 1 in a ceremony at MCC. Chief Sercu was the official representative from Hamlin and joined him on stage when he received his diploma, pin and congratulations from representatives from Monroe County Fire Bureau, The County Fire Coordinator Sam DeRosa, Public Safety and the City of Rochester Fire Department. The list of instructors included Skip and Steve Dorgan, both are past chiefs of the Hamlin Fire Department.

Anthony completed the class in May after spending almost 100 hours at the PSTF and is now the newest firefighter in the department, still waiting for a fire.

Thank You Chief Sercu for taking several hours out of your day to attend.

Story by John Deserto, photo's by Marie Deserto

On Monday July 14 some of the Hamlin Fire Department’s Explorer Post drilled on their hydrant skills. This was review for some and new information for others. Drill began at the fire house with a review of the S.O.G’s, equipment and the three “most common” hook-ups used. Then it was out to the hydrant with engine 242 and everyone had a chance to demonstrate their understanding by doing at least one hydrant. All in all a good drill.

Story and photo's by John Deserto

No one will dispute the fact that being a firefighter can be very dangerous, but there is one job that even firefighters dread...traffic control. Luckily for Hamlin firefighters the specially trained Fire Police Squad takes care of these responsibilities. Each year dozens of first responders are killed and injured by automobiles traveling through emergency scenes. Locally, Kendall lost a member who was killed when he was hit by a vehicle in January 2001, and Brockport had a member injured in the Fall of 2006 when he was hit by a car and knocked into a ditch. The Hamlin Fire Police Squad is specifically tasked with protecting the first responders of Hamlin from this type of accident by putting themselves in danger manning roadblocks with only a lime green vest and a flashlight as protection. In order to protect an emergency scene they may have to reroute traffic around the scene. They do not do this to inconvenience people but to ensure the safety of Hamlin Fire Department personnel. People should know an alternate route to work and home in case an emergency incident closes their regular route. Before getting mad at the Fire Police remember, they didn't cause the emergency, they don't really want to stand in the road, they don't want to make you late but they do deserve respect. The Hamlin Fire Police has 10 members and is one of the largest and most active fire police units in Monroe County. They are designated as peace officers, and have been trained by New York State certified instructors for their positions. They take an oath of office with the Hamlin Town Clerk and are required to fulfill all necessary training within the Fire Department. Fire Police responsibilities include traffic and crowd control at emergency situations, and the preservation of evidence for the Sheriff's Department. In addition the Fire Police members also participate in all the fund raising, work details and events in the fire department. One of the most popular events in the department is the Santa Run each December and the Fire Police are the unsung hero's who carry all the food and toys in their vehicles. Fire Police are not paid, but volunteers in Hamlin, doing a tough job in all kinds of weather and at times of the day just like the firefighters and EMT's. They may not be perfect, but they do their best. So please when you see them in their lime-green coats or vest directing traffic, give them the same consideration you would want if you were standing out in the road.

The following update is from Monroe County Fire Wire (mcfw.com)Firefighter Hit by a Truck

July 11, 2008  

A Wayne County volunteer firefighter was seriously injured after he was hit by a pickup truck Friday afternoon. Police say Gary Wahl, 65, was directing traffic at an accident scene. The rollover crash happened at the intersection of route 104 and King Street in the town of Williamson.

Wahl was reportedly hit by a pick-up truck that was traveling around 55 miles-an-hour.

Police say the driver was reaching for an object and didn’t see the fireman. Wahl is now in satisfactory condition at Strong Memorial Hospital. Charges are pending against the driver of the pickup truck, who suffered minor injuries.

The Hamlin Fire Department quickly snuffed out a car fire on July 4th. Chief Sercu and Asst. Chief Maier were the first on scene and each one emptied their 20 lb dry chemical extinguishers on the engine compartment. This slowed the fire but didn’t extinguish it. Engine 242 arrived on scene soon afterward with Past Chief Daryl Prince, Lt. Rick Woods, firefighter Tim Slossar and probationary firefighter Rich Breslowski. Slossar and Breslowski pulled a line while Lt. Woods ran the pump on his first call as a pump operator. The call went smoothly with the damage contained mostly to the engine compartment. No one was injured.

On Thursday July 3 the Hamlin Fire Department was called to Kendall in Orleans County as the FAST for a working house fire. Upon arrival the Kendall and Morton Fire Departments were using an exterior attack but this soon switched to an interior attack. Most of the fire was in the second floor and attic space. The FAST members were Chief Tom Sercu, Daryl Prince, Keith Gay, Anthony Deserto and John Deserto. While engine 243 was in Kendall, Hamlin was covered using a stand-by crew for 242 or 248 and a fill-in engine from Walker. The fire was extinguished without incident. Morton's Heavy Rescue 218 filled air bottles at the scene and then its cascade system was recharged using the new high pressure compressor at the Hamlin fire house. Story and photo's by John Deserto

Link to Oreans County Fire Wire Photo's