As West Grove Fire Chief Eric Felker has been regularly reporting to fire company members and staff, increasingly the fire company is seeing emergency calls that overlap -- meaning the next emergency is dispatched even while a first call is being handled. As a result, he has been helping WGFC first responders to think about apparatus response patterns that anticipate multiple calls at the same time.

Such was the case on Halloween night when three fire emergencies happened together -- and were handled by the WGFC team and its mutual aid partners.

First Emergency: House Fire

WGFC crews were on station in West Grove to host Halloween visitors on Walnut Street when the first emergency was dispatched at 7:15pm for a reported house fire on Castlerea Road in the Inniscrone development in London Grove Township. Units from West Grove and neighboring companies were sent to the call. First arriving units were faced with smoke showing, and a fire in the garage of the home. Crews from Engine 22-1 deployed an attack line to the garage, with other arriving units laddering the house, conducting searches, and establishing water supply. Units from Avondale, Kennett Square, Longwood, Hockessin, Oxford, and Medic 94 were on the emergency. Quick work by the first-arriving units avoided fire spread beyond the garage to the main residence. Crews were on scene at this incident for approximately 2 hours.

During the house fire, the Fire Chief moved a standby crew into Station 22. Lancaster County Tanker 52, a pumper/tanker from the Christiana Fire Company transferred to West Grove to cover the district.

Second Emergency: Gas Leak

During the first incident, the WGFC was dispatched for a second call at 9:09pm - a reported gas leak outside on Silver Maple Way in London Grove Township just outside the Borough. The standby unit at West Grove Lancaster County Tanker 52 and Tanker 22 responded. Residents reported smelling gas and hearing a hissing sound. Units arrived to find that a vehicle had struck the top of a buried 1,000 gallon propane tank which was actively leaking.

First responders worked to evacuate residents in the immediate area and set up a safety zone. Units remained on standby at the scene until propane company workers could secure the leak and assure a safe environment.

Third Emergency: Accident with Reported Entrapment

Just two minutes after the gas leak call was dispatched, as the first two incidents were being handled, the WGFC was alerted for a third emergency - a reported crash on the Route 1 Bypass at 9:11pm. That call, reported as a two-car crash on Route 1 east of Route 41 in London Grove Township, was then updated by the 911 Center to one with reported entrapment. Units from West Grove, Medic 94, and an EMS unit from Longwood were sent to that call, including Engine 22-2, Ambulance 22-2, Utility 22-1, Ladder 22.

Fortunately there was no entrapment, and units were onscene at that call for about an hour, with two patients transported by ambulance to area hospitals.

In addition to these three emergencies, the WGFC was also dispatched to two medical emergencies. One in Penn Township was handled by our partners from Oxford and Medic 94. The second call was a New Garden Township call that WGFC EMS handled for Avondale 23. The West Grove Fire Company thanks its mutual aid partners for their support during these multiple incidents.