Yesterday while out in the district a citizen asked if I enjoyed being the Fire Chief. I politely replied that I love it, the fire service has encompassed the majority of my life and that I am blessed to serve as a 4th generation Firefighter and Fire Chief.

Fast-forward to this morning as I watched our Firefighters and Officers execute a technical and challenging rescue. Our members were originally requested for a serious medical emergency, involving a patient in the basement of a residence. Quickly, they ascertained that due to the weight of the patient and the physical constraints of the structure, a low-mid level rope system would be needed to extract the patient safely, while medical care ensued. Further complicating the rescue was the lack of room in removing the patient from the basement to the exterior of the house, in addition to the lack an “anchor” for our members to secure the rope system to. Anchors are often fixed objects (trees, vehicles, telephone poles) with the ability to carry the load of the rescue system and any rescuers working on rope. Due to the unique location, our members quickly created an Anchor System using a picket anchor system(a common rope rescue anchor). Over a 20 minute time frame, firefighters and officers established the anchor, built a rope system, hauled the victim out of the basement and continued delivering medical care the entire time. 15 firefighters and officers from Irondequoit Fire District and St. Paul Boulevard Fire Association along with Paramedics/EMT’s from Irondequoit Ambulance, Inc. and with assistance from Irondequoit Police Department safely and effectively delivered the patient to be transported to a local hospital.

As I watched those firefighters and officers, I silently came back to the innocent question posed to me yesterday. It goes without saying that I am extremely proud of the firefighters and officers of this organization and all of our supporting emergency responders in this town. Day in and day out, these dedicated and professional first responders handle every type of emergency thrown their way. Being the Fire Chief is easy when the men and women of this Fire District rise to the occasion each and every day, for the citizens of this Town.

Respectfully,
Fire Chief Shane Metcalfe