Latest news with #ManchesterFireDepartment
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
NH Heroes: Manchester firefighters were rescuers in storm-ravaged N.C.
When the Swiftwater Rescue Team from the Manchester Fire Department arrived in Boone, North Carolina, during Hurricane Helene last September, they knew their skills would be tested. Nothing in the Merrimack River or in floods they had dealt with in New Hampshire or Vermont prepared them for the enormity of what they encountered. Heroes Award logo NH Heroes: Brady Procon stopped a runaway boat from plowing into sailing students Navy Seaman Recruit Brady Procon was 17 last July 4 weekend, when a crisis erupted in a quiet cove of Lake Winnipesaukee. Rapidly changing hurricane conditions. High winds and pounding rain. Racing water in swollen or overflowed creeks and rivers. Landslides and mudslides that dislodged and crushed houses. Flooding that submerged parking lots in 20 minutes and inundated the first floors of commercial buildings. Fire trucks stranded in water. They had driven 18 hours to get there on the morning of Friday, Sept. 25, with their two rescue boats. The parking lot behind the Boone firehouse had become a river. Trees, dumpsters, parts of demolished cars sped by in an overflowing creek, piling under a bridge and popping the span four to five feet in the air. Two Manchester rescue team members swam through 6 feet of water in the halls of an evacuated National Guard Armory to locate a woman trapped inside, not knowing whether she was still alive. They lifted up each floating backpack to see if she was holding on or submerged. 'I've never experienced anything to this magnitude,' said Battalion Chief Jon Fosher. 'What was normally a babbling brook, a lazy creek, turned into a roaring river. You could hear boulders moving by.' 'Once they showed up, the storm switched so fast. I'm proud of the members' ability to adapt on the fly and manage a very high-risk situation without having any understanding of the area or region they were in,' said Manchester Fire Chief Ryan Cashin. 'It comes down to the training they do throughout the year, and their dedication to their craft on a daily basis. They consistently try to make themselves better and I couldn't be prouder.' The team members paid for swift water training and did it in their off hours. 'I'd put our guys up against any other fire department in the country,' Cashin said. New Hampshire Heroes On Wednesday, Fosher, Safety Officer Kevin Grebinar and Swiftwater Rescue Team members Capt. Adam Iverson, Lt. Tom Defina and Rescue 1 firefighters James Langley, Adam Langlois, Tyler Gaudette, Craig Robichaud, Bob McKechnie and Jason Coulter will be honored as New Hampshire Heroes by the Union Leader. The Manchester crew expected to spend a week in North Carolina and stayed 12 days. Some of the men were disappointed to leave. 'These were people whose whole town and communities were wiped out and they went our of their way to feed us, do our laundry and give us a sendoff with a bluegrass band,' said Iverson. 'It was a humbling time,' said Coulter. 'We train all the time on our skills, oftentimes with ourselves. When you put real people into the event, it's as realistic as it can be. When it's a real event, it's humbling to do it and have a good outcome.' Their work involved 'the most technical things we've done in my career,' said Defina, who has been with the Manchester department for 26 years and also serves on a federal search and rescue team in Massachusetts. At one point, firefighter Langley leaned against a tree and looked up to see the high-water mark well above his head. 'You could look up and see the water line 30 feet up in the trees,' said Defina. 'I saw a reclining chair sitting on a tree limb.' 'The first 24 to 36 hours,' when the storm hit Boone, a town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, 'probably most shocking was (how) it picked and chose which neighborhoods it hit,' Gaudette said. 'Some parts of town were totally gone, with nothing left but the foundations.' 'Just the amount of water coming down and the level of destruction,' said Langley. 'Cars turned into a small portion of what they used to be. The water erased everything that used to be.' A toppled tree lying across the uphill side of a house saved the mother, daughter and dog inside. Sliding mud had 'caved in the 80-year-old mother's second-floor bedroom. She had to crawl across a mud-filled, caved-in room to get out,' said Robichaud. 'If that tree didn't land horizontally across the back, the mud would have overtaken the house and it would have been a different outcome.' The rescue team rigged a high line to transport the women and their dog down the wreckage-strewn mountainside, amid trees piled like matchsticks and the remains of homes. When the team entered Boone, the parking lot behind the Boone Fire Department had filled with five feet of water. Defina had to hold onto the roofline in order to rescue the woman stranded in the National Guard Armory from a window and bring her inside his team's rescue boat. 'We could stand up in our boat and get onto the roof of the building.' 'Swift water is the most dangerous thing we have to do,' said Defina. 'When you're dealing with water, you're dealing with a force you can't imagine.' 'At some points the boat would have been outpowered by the water,' said Robichaud. The nearly opaque water hid hazardous materials such as auto parts and oil tanks. Military helicopters evacuated people who otherwise could not be reached. Second call to help This was the second time the City of Manchester answered a call for help in North Carolina through the federal Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) system. The first time was in 2018, during Hurricane Florence in the state's eastern half. But that paled in comparison to what they saw last September in western North Carolina. 'The damage (in 2018) was nothing like I saw here,' said Defina. 'I've never seen the damage I saw here, all because of the mountains' and the water pouring down them. They worked in other towns around the region, including Marion and Green Valley. On Oct. 5 they returned to Manchester. 'Manchester is fortunate because we have a really well-trained rescue company,' Fosher said. Rescue teams respond when a governor declares a state of emergency and contacts the federal government and other states for help. 'We're lucky we had highly trained individuals who knew what to do. Everyone worked together to do what needed to be done,' said McKechnie. 'We started our mornings by 4:30 every day,' commuting to where they were needed, 90 to 120 minutes each way, Iverson said. 'Places you'd think you could get to were flooded out themselves.' 'The ultimate thing for our department is to be able to respond to more of those EMAC requests,' said Defina, who also belongs to Massachusetts Task One Urban Search and Rescue, one of 28 teams nationwide developed to respond to earthquakes. 'Now it's mostly swift water with the amount of hurricanes.' rbaker@
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
NH Heroes: Brady Procon stopped a runaway boat from plowing into sailing students
Navy Seaman Recruit Brady Procon was 17 last July 4 weekend, when a crisis erupted in a quiet cove of Lake Winnipesaukee. On Wednesday, the New Hampshire Union Leader will honor him as a New Hampshire Hero of 2024. Hero Awards logo NH Heroes: Manchester firefighters were rescuers in storm-ravaged N.C. When the Swiftwater Rescue Team from the Manchester Fire Department arrived in Boone, North Carolina, during Hurricane Helene last September, they knew their skills would be tested. Procon and friends were cooking hot dogs and hamburgers, talking and laughing on a Saturday afternoon when a loud motor boat roared into peaceful Smith Cove in Gilford, where his father, Jeremy Procon, owns vacation property. 'We heard the sound of a roaring boat engine, which was super out of place because it's a no-wake zone. There usually isn't any loud noise or chaos,' Procon said Monday by phone from Navy boot camp. He saw an out-of-control boat with no one aboard — 'a danger to everyone who was around the water.' People were screaming. 'It unfolded before my eyes. My dad said, 'There's nobody on that boat.'' The operator of a sailing school motor boat had fallen out of the boat, which was careening toward sailing students in their sailboats. Procon's father jumped in his own boat to get kids out of the water. Procon climbed aboard a neighbor's personal watercraft. The neighbor drove his craft as close to the boat as he could get, Procon said, but someone had to jump onto the boat, which he estimates was going 15 to 20 mph. 'He looked at me like I was crazy. We circled once, then got close and I jumped on.' His ribs struck the center console. 'I grabbled the steering and turned the throttle way down' to get it away from the dock and the youngsters sailing. 'When I got it, I was shaking. People were clapping a lot. My ribs hurt. I hit that boat pretty hard,' Procon said. 'My friends at the dock said, 'What did you just do?' 'I don't even know,' I said.' 'It was just so random, out of the blue, just another Saturday. The summer before was the first time I drove a jet ski,' he said. 'At first, it was tunnel vision. I saw that boat and wanted to stop it.' Procon, an avid dirt bike rider and power sports fan, said his goal in the Navy is 'to find a good career for myself. I've always loved the military and the Navy. The movie 'Top Gun.' The discipline and the traditional aspect. The uniform looks good. So far, it's the people. The people in the Navy are awesome. I've met some friends for life.' 'Brady's a pretty courageous kid, pretty athletic as well,' said his father, Jeremy. 'There had to be 15 little sailboats out there that day. We ran out to get the kids out of the situation.' It was Brady's idea to stop the motorboat, his father said. 'He's always the first to jump off a boat, the first to jump in the river, the first to do a back flip. He's a go-getter. He lives life on the edge.' 'In hindsight, I would have just cleared the people out of the way. He was focused on stopping the boat itself.' rbaker@
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Unsafe disposal of smoking material and wind destroy Manchester home
A fire destroyed a split-level home Sunday afternoon in Manchester after high winds helped flames from "improperly discarded smoking materials" spread rapidly throughout the structure, according to the Manchester Fire Department. Fire crews responded at 1:17 p.m. to 220 Joseph St. Extension, where they found flames engulfing the rear of the home and extending through the first floor and attic, they said. All occupants escaped safely before firefighters arrived. No civilian or emergency service injuries were reported. The fire was brought under control by 1:51 p.m. Fire officials determined the blaze originated on the rear porch and was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials. "The home sustained major damage and will likely be a total loss," officials said in a news release. The American Red Cross of Northern New England was able to assist four adults, according to a post on Facebook. "We are providing financial assistance and comfort kits to meet these individuals' immediate needs," according to the post. Officials noted that high winds at the time contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. Ten engine companies and additional support units responded to the scene.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Three survive small plane crash into Vermont mountain in latest aviation disaster
Three people aboard a small plane survived after their aircraft slammed into the side of one of the highest mountains in Vermont, officials reported. A Piper PA-28, carrying the three flyers, crashed into Mount Equinox, the highest peak in the Taconic range, in Manchester, around 3:50 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Manchester authorities received reports of the crash about five hours later. The survivors, who have not yet been identified, were rescued two hours after that. All three are suffering non-life-threatening injuries. One patient was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation, Jamie Greene, first assistant chief of the Manchester Fire Department, said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Rescuers trekked through 'extremely difficult conditions,' including four feet of snow in 'rugged terrain' near the top of the mountain, Greene said. They located the crash site around 10:15 a.m. The New York State Police aviation team airlifted the victims and transported them to the Manchester Public Safety facility, Greene said. All three were evaluated at the hospital, and one was airlifted to Albany Medical Center for further examination, he added. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The FAA is investigating the incident. Wednesday's crash is the latest in a rash of aviation disasters in recent weeks. In January, a Black Hawk military helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts. Days later, a medical jet carrying six people crashed in northeast Philadelphia, leaving no survivors. All were killed, along with a victim in a car. A week later, a Bering Air flight carrying 10 people to Nome, Alaska vanished. The bodies of all of the victims and the plane wreckage were recovered days later. In mid-February, a Delta Airlines plane landed upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport. All 80 passengers survived, but several suffered injuries. Two days later, disaster struck again when two planes — a Lancair and Cessna 172 — collided in mid-air near an Arizona airport without an air traffic control tower, killing two people. This week, a Southwest Airlines plane was involved in a near miss when it narrowly dodged colliding with a private jet at Chicago Midway Airport upon landing. Despite growing concerns around air safety, given the recent alarming incidents, data underscores that air travel is still extraordinarily safe. The National Safety Council estimates that Americans have a 1-in-93 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash, while the odds of dying on airplanes are too rare to calculate.
The Independent
26-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Three survive small plane crash into Vermont mountain in latest aviation disaster
Three people aboard a small plane survived after their aircraft slammed into the side of one of the highest mountains in Vermont, officials reported. A Piper PA-28, carrying the three flyers, crashed into Mount Equinox, the highest peak in the Taconic range, in Manchester, around 3:50 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Manchester authorities received reports of the crash about five hours later. The survivors, who have not yet been identified, were rescued two hours after that. All three are suffering non-life-threatening injuries. One patient was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation, Jamie Greene, first assistant chief of the Manchester Fire Department, said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. Rescuers trekked through 'extremely difficult conditions,' including four feet of snow in 'rugged terrain' near the top of the mountain, Greene said. They located the crash site around 10:15 a.m. The New York State Police aviation team airlifted the victims and transported them to the Manchester Public Safety facility, Greene said. All three were evaluated at the hospital, and one was airlifted to Albany Medical Center for further examination, he added. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The FAA is investigating the incident. Wednesday's crash is the latest in a rash of aviation disasters in recent weeks. In January, a Black Hawk military helicopter and an American Airlines jet collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts. Days later, a medical jet carrying six people crashed in northeast Philadelphia, leaving no survivors. All were killed, along with a victim in a car. A week later, a Bering Air flight carrying 10 people to Nome, Alaska vanished. The bodies of all of the victims and the plane wreckage were recovered days later. In mid-February, a Delta Airlines plane landed upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport. All 80 passengers survived, but several suffered injuries. Two days later, disaster struck again when two planes — a Lancair and Cessna 172 — collided in mid-air near an Arizona airport without an air traffic control tower, killing two people. This week, a Southwest Airlines plane was involved in a near miss when it narrowly dodged colliding with a private jet at Chicago Midway Airport upon landing. Despite growing concerns around air safety, given the recent alarming incidents, data underscores that air travel is still extraordinarily safe. The National Safety Council estimates that Americans have a 1-in-93 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash, while the odds of dying on airplanes are too rare to calculate.
