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