Fire Department

Location: 257 Charles Bancroft Highway on Rt. 3A
Phone: 603-424-8071
Hours: Monday thru Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM


permit: Is required before doing ALL outside burning all year round.
meetings: Are held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 7 pm

Fire Activity Log

Fire Log Archive

LITCHFIELD FIRE-RESCUE SERVICES
ANNUAL REPORT- 2007

Honorable Members of the Board of Selectmen
Litchfield Residents

Ladies and Gentlemen:

   It is my pleasure to present the annual report of the Fire-Rescue Services to you.
During 2007, the department responded to 823 incidents of various types and durations.
Most notable during the year was the ice storm in January and the collapse of the culvert on Brickyard Drive and associated spring flooding which kept our employees busy.

   One of the highlights of the year included the training of 9 fire department members and myself in Emmetsburg, Maryland at the National Fire Academy. Litchfield Firefighters attended classes ranging from Fire Prevention, Company Officer Leadership, Managing Large Scale Incidents and Juvenile Fire setter Interventionist programs.

Other out of town training classes attended during the year included Clandestine Drug Lab Awareness and Fire Investigation. Four firefighters attended and obtained certification at Emergency Medical Technician level.  Three employees have continued on and are attending their Intermediate level certification in an effort to provide better, more advanced medical services to you, the resident. This will bring our total number of medically trained personnel to twelve (12). After course completion, these three will be able to administer thirteen (13) different drugs in certain medical emergency situations.

At the request of the Litchfield Public Schools and under my direction, the fire department
has been working on an initiative to certify teachers and staff in the use of AED’s (automated external defibrillators), basic first aid and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation).

Our Fire Prevention Week activities this year kicked off with the annual fire truck parade through town that is always well received by all.  Presentations were made at all the schools teaching children from kindergarten through 5th grade. The end of the week was rounded out by our annual Fire Station Open House to remind everyone to be fire safe throughout the year. It is also an opportunity to allow residents to see the equipment purchased with their tax dollars to help us do our jobs and better serve you.

  During the month of November, the firefighters volunteered their time on a Sunday to re-roof and repair the dog kennel located at the incinerator. This effort allowed the firefighters to help the community and save some taxpayer money by not having to hire a contractor to do the needed work and repairs.

As of the writing of this report, plans are being finalized to bring a proposal for your approval to construct a new fire- emergency services facility to be located near the current Town Hall & Police Station on Liberty Way.  If this facility is approved and constructed, plans will begin in the next couple of years to explore the feasibility of  providing or contracting an ambulance service to be housed in this new facility in order to better serve you. Realizing people will have questions as to what will happen with the current fire station located on Charles Bancroft Hwy, my recommendation to the Board of Selectmen is going to be for the formation of a committee appointed by the Board of Selectmen to explore how to best re-purpose the use of the current facility.

I’m pleased to report that while the year started out rough between the fire and police department administrations, we have put our differences aside and have worked extremely hard to produce a productive working relationship that you our customers can be proud of. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to the Citizens of Litchfield for the disappointment I may have caused you in my handling of the situation. While I wish this incident never occurred in the first place, I can assure each and every one of you that it will never happen again. I have personally grown from it, and am a better leader because of it.

I wish to sincerely thank the firefighters and their families for their countless hours of service in responding to the community’s needs day and night. As the town continues to grow, so do the number of emergency incidents they respond to while still holding their regular jobs. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to balance their very limited free time with the almost daily responses to emergency calls and training.

I would like to recognize and thank both Roland Bergeron and Cecile Durocher for their many years of service to the Town of Litchfield. Thank you both for all your guidance, assistance and wisdom given to the fire department during your tenure with the Town.
Congratulations on your retirements!

Following this report you will find an overview of the fire apparatus and equipment Litchfield maintains to provide adequate fire protection and emergency medical response to its residents. The narrative explains the function and use of each vehicle so you, the taxpayer, can have a better understanding the need to have each vehicle and how we utilize the current fleet of apparatus.

In closing I would like to thank all the other boards, commissions and committees in town for their support and cooperation throughout the year, and to you the taxpayers for providing us with the tools, equipment and support we need to get the job done.

Respectfully Submitted,

Thomas B. Schofield
Fire Chief

The Litchfield Fire/Rescue Services provides emergency response to all fire, emergency medical, rescue, and hazardous materials incidents occurring in the town. In the event of natural or man-made disasters, the fire station serves as the town’s Emergency Operations Center, where responses are coordinated by the Fire Chief who also serves as the Town’s Emergency Management Director.
The Department has 32 firefighters, 30 of them being part-time or “call” firefighters, meaning they respond from their homes or, in some cases, businesses in the event of an emergency call. The remaining two firefighters are “full-time”, working at the station from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, as most of the “call” firefighter’s work out of town.

Emergency Medical first response is also provided by firefighters. There is currently 2 Paramedics, 10 Emergency Medical Technicians, with ambulance service provided by the Hudson Fire Department under a contractual agreement.

The department maintains a fleet of 2 engines, 2 tanker/pumpers, 2 brush fire trucks, 2 rescue boats, 1 off road utility vehicle, 1 towable light tower unit, (2) 4x4 SUV vehicles. The 2 primary response engines carry Automatic External Defibrillators, emergency medical equipment, including airbags, the ”Jaws of Life” rescue tool, and thermal imaging cameras in addition to a myriad of other firefighting equipment. The Department responds to approximately 800 emergencies a year.

Litchfield Fire Apparatus Job Descriptions:

  Engines perform several functions:
It responds as a first-due truck to all medical emergencies, building fires, automobile accidents and service calls. Litchfield Engines carry everything necessary for any type of medical emergency. The first-due and second-due Engines both carry defibrillators on-board. They carry tools necessary to combat building fires, and extrication equipment to remove trapped patients involved in automobile accidents.

 Pumper-Tankers have the main responsibility of carrying lots of water to a fire scene. It is a critical piece of apparatus at building fires, car fires and brush fires where it connects to the Engine and keeps water flowing in non-fire hydrant areas. The term Pumper-Tanker means the truck is not only a tanker that carries water; it has a large fire pump the same as an Engine, allowing it to perform as either an Engine or Tanker. The Pumper-Tanker carries many of the common tools found on the Engine, supplying firefighters with forcible entry tools, hand-lights and air-packs for personnel arriving in private vehicles to a fire.

Forestry Units respond to brush fires, forest fires, and any type of emergency located on or off-road. These trucks carry water, pumps, hose, shovels, rakes, chainsaws, and firefighters for man-power deep in the woods to fight fires. They are multi-purposed all-wheel drive vehicles which allow them to be used during other events such as snow storms, flooding and hauling any type of the department’s towable trailers.

Command Vehicles serve the purpose of being a mobile command post or “Office on Wheels” at the scene of an emergency incident. The vehicle is assigned to the Fire Chief for his use to respond to an emergency where he can make an initial assessment of the situation, commands can be issued to arriving apparatus, the need for additional resources can be requested if needed and (1) person has overall charge of an emergency from a safe, dry working environment. The Fire Chief is most commonly in charge and is called the Incident Commander. Command vehicles can be equipped with green roof-top mounted emergency beacons which when activated announces to all incoming firefighters the location of the Incident Commander. Command vehicles carry pre-plans, investigation equipment, books and other resources to aide in decision making and mitigation of an emergency incident and serve an important and vital role.

Rescue Boats respond to emergencies on Litchfield’s numerous ponds and the 8 mile stretch of the Merrimack River with its ever increasing recreational use. (2) Boats are kept on separate trailers housed at the fire station that are designated Marine-1, Marine-2. While both boats can traverse the river, one boat is designed specifically for river rescue operations in shallow water as the rivers water level fluctuates at different times of the year.

The Kubota OHRV (Utility-1) is a four-wheel-drive diesel powered off highway vehicle smaller than a car, bigger than an ATV which responds to all types of emergencies. Its versatility allows it to be used for search & rescue, off-road medical emergencies, forest fires and flooding to carry men, equipment, or patients.

Apparatus Overview:

While most department’s run specific apparatus first-due all the time putting high mileage and wear/tear on one truck, Litchfield cycles its fleet to the first-out role using each Engine for a 4-month period each, which has cut down on costly repairs, keeps apparatus drivers proficient with each vehicle, spreads the mileage out on each vehicle allowing the fleet to last longer before replacement is required. The oldest Engine is run first-out during winter months when road conditions can be the most hazardous and road salts, frost heaves can cause a myriad of other problems.  The newest Engine typically is run during the spring/summer, while the middle aged Engine is run summer through fall. The rotation time is affected if one of the Engine’s is taken out of service for repair.

Litchfield Engine’s are also unique to other area fire departments where we carry more equipment than a typical fire engine because we lack a rescue truck or ladder truck. Because of this, we carry some of the equipment commonly found on these specialty vehicles and assign our Engines to fill most, but not all of the roles of these vehicles.

Engine-1 responds first-due from early spring to mid-summer. Engine-1 is our newest truck. A 2003 Emergency-One Typhoon Custom Pumper seating 5 firefighters, it carries 1,000 gallons of water, is our largest fire pump, capable of pumping 1,500 gallons of water per minute from a sustained water source and is equipped with a foam system for extinguishing ordinary combustible fires. An on-board PTO driven hydraulic generator provides up to 5500 watts of power for the (2) truck mounted scene flood lights and any tool requiring electricity.
A  Hurst “Jaws of Life” combination cutter/spreader, 30” hydraulic ram, Scott thermal imaging camera,  a 4-gas air monitor for detecting hazardous gases, and a cardiac defibulator are shared between Engine-1 and Engine-4, depending on which truck is first-due.

Engine-2 responds first-due from late fall through the winter months until spring. Engine-2 is our oldest truck; however, it serves a dual-role as it carries the department’s rescue equipment to handle automobile extrications, industrial accidents, water & ice rescues or any other rescue requiring our specialized equipment. A 1996 Spartan / 3D Custom Pumper seating 6 firefighters, it carries 1,000 gallons of water, has a fire pump capable of 1,250 gallons of water per minute from a sustained water source and is equipped with an on-board diesel powered generator which provides 7500 watts of lighting power to the (3) truck mounted quartz scene floodlights or any tool requiring electricity. It is equipped with a foam system for extinguishing ordinary combustible fires.
In addition to the compliment of firefighting equipment which includes an MSA Thermal Imaging Camera, Engine-2 is equipped with a front bumper mounted 12,000 lb Warn winch, a full size set of Hurst “Jaws of Life” rescue spreaders, Hurst Cutters and Hurst 60” Ram pre-connected to the power unit on dual reels. Engine-2 carries an assortment of Paratech Rescue Lifting Air-Bags capable of lifting objects as heavy as 32 tons. A full compliment of medical equipment including a cardiac defibulator is also carried.

Engine-4 responds first-due from mid-summer through the fall. Engine-4 is designated as our mutual aid Engine to respond to surrounding communities unless another truck is specifically requested. Engine-4 is equipped with a special two-way radio provided by the City of Manchester for responses to the City. Engine-4 is a 2001 KME Excel Custom Pumper seating 6 firefighters, it carries 1,250 gallons of water, has a fire pump capable of 1,250 gallons of water per minute from a sustained source of water. Engine-4 is equipped with a 10” rear dump allowing the truck to fill the role of a tanker if needed. The truck has an on-board powered generator which provides 6000 watts of lighting power to (2) truck mounted quartz scene floodlights. It is equipped with a foam system for extinguishing ordinary combustible fires. Engine-4 has a rear receiver hitch allowing it to tow any of the department’s boats, or trailers.
A  Hurst “Jaws of Life” combination cutter/spreader, 30” hydraulic ram, Scott thermal imaging camera,  a 4-gas air monitor for detecting hazardous gases, and a cardiac defibulator are shared between Engine-1 and Engine-4, depending on which truck is first-due.
Tanker-3 responds to any type of fire with lots of water. The trucks primary purpose is to supply water to fire incidents by either directly feeding an Engine from its 2,500 gallon water tank, or by shuttling loads of water from a distant water source to the scene of the fire as quickly as possible. The truck is equipped with a 10” rear quick dump allowing it to dump its entire load of water in just over 1 minute into a portable “swimming pool” called a port-a-tank. The truck carries (2) port-a-tanks, the first tank holds 2,500 gallons of water; the second tank holds 1,500 gallons of water.  The truck dumps its water, and then continues traveling back to the water supply source for more loads of water. Tanker-3 is designated as our mutual aid Tanker and is often called by communities because of the large amount of water it carries.
Tanker-3 is a 1992 Mack / KME pumper-tanker that has seating for 2 firefighters. It carries 2,500 gallons of water and is capable of pumping 1,250 gallons of water per minute. It is the only Litchfield truck that has a foam system to combat large flammable liquid fires.

Forestry-1 serves multiple roles at most emergency incidents. Although designated as a forestry, forest fires are just a small percentage of what the vehicle is used for. In the summer the truck is equipped with a slide-in skid unit carrying 200 gallons of water, a 300 gallon per minute fire pump, forestry fire hose, rakes, shovels and chainsaws. It also tows all the departments trailered rescue boats, Kubota OHRV and light tower.
The truck is equipped with a 7,500 lb Warn winch that can be mounted to the front or back of the truck in the towing receiver hitch. During the winter months, the skid unit is taken out and the truck has a Fisher Minute Mount V- plow which is mounted during snowstorms. A mini-version salt sander is installed in the rear bed for use at emergency scenes to prevent slips & falls to the firefighters. The truck can open inaccessible driveways, plow a path down one of the many private roads not maintained by the Town during an emergency, spread sand/ salt for either fire apparatus or an ambulance to gain access safely to an area. Because the mini-sander doesn’t take up much room, there is a large tool box mounted in the front of the truck with chainsaws, and other equipment safely stored out of the weather, with room left over in the bed for picking up hose, or carrying other equipment. Forestry-1 is a 2003 Ford F-350 4-wheel drive diesel pick-up truck that has seating for 3 firefighters.

Forestry-2 like the rest of the fleet also serves in multiple roles at emergencies. Forestry-2 is a large capacity forestry tanker that has been reinforced all around the truck with thick steel for offensive firefighting in heavily wooded, normally inaccessible, remote areas. The truck when needed is capable of pushing/ driving over moderate to large size trees to create a fire road where one never existed for crews to access difficult to reach locations. The truck is able to accomplish this amazing feat due to the incredible torque produced by its 10 wheel drive system mounted on three independent floating axles. At no time is there any tire that is not in direct contact with whatever is being driven over including large rocks. Forestry-2 carries 1,300 feet of forestry fire hose, 1,000 gallons of water, chainsaws, portable pumps, axes, shovels, rakes. The truck is equipped with LED emergency warning lights safely protected by the truck body or the brush bars welded to the front bumper and over the cab of the truck. Six off road floodlights are integrated into the front of the light-bar and around the top of the body of the truck for safe night time operations to avoid trips and falls operating in uneven hazardous wooded environments.
The truck is equipped with one side and one rear 6” water dump making it very versatile for water supply in the woods or on a paved street. The truck can be used for search, rescue, firefighting or natural disaster response, and is capable of towing any sized trailer.

Forestry-2 is a 1976 American General diesel powered 5-ton military surplus vehicle with seating for two firefighters. A former Air Force supply unit, the truck is on loan to the State of NH Division of Forest & Lands under the Federal Excess Personal Property Program and was acquired by Litchfield from Forest & Lands in 1997. The FEPP Program enables the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands to acquire “on loan” from the Federal
Government, property that assists the Division and fire departments in fulfilling their emergency response mission.
Litchfield Fire-Rescue is responsible for equipping the truck for firefighting, any additional repairs, operating costs, maintenance, upkeep and housing the vehicle. The truck is staffed by Litchfield Fire-Rescue for emergency response or mutual-aid anywhere in the state if requested.

Car-1 is assigned to the Fire Chief for his use as his “Office on Wheels” for responding to emergency calls. The SUV is set up like an office including laptop computer with internet access and printer for researching any information required to assist the Chief in the mitigation or investigation of an emergency incident. Building pre-plans, dry erase boards for tracking apparatus and firefighter accountability, multiple channel mobile radios are some of the equipment carried. The vehicle is a dry, warm, working environment usually located a safe distance away from the loud, often chaotic emergency scene. This is where the Chief can observe, analysis and command an incident free of constant disruptions and focus on the safety of the firefighters and rescue of victims. The SUV is used by the Chief to transport extra firefighters mutual aid to incidents that require more man-power, but not necessarily more apparatus or equipment.

Car-1 is a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4x4 Special Services vehicle designed specifically for heavy duty fire or police service use requiring less maintenance compared to a regular Tahoe performing the same function. The vehicle is equipped with a special V8 motor which shuts down un-needed cylinders of the motor when not needed helping to conserve gasoline consumption, resulting in better gas mileage. The motor runs on Flex Fuel, capable of running on unleaded fuel or up to 85% ethanol, which will become a more widely used fuel in the future. The vehicle is equipped with a towing package to pull any of the department’s boats, OHRV, or light tower trailers. It has seating for 5 firefighters.

Car-2 is assigned as a support vehicle in a dual role. Originally purchased as the Fire Chief’s Command SUV, Car-2 has been re-purposed after the acquisition of the Chevy Tahoe.
Car-2 carries the department’s fire investigation equipment, responds on calls with the light tower trailer and transports extra firefighters or medical personnel to emergency incidents. It is still set up as a command vehicle carrying dry erase boards for tracking apparatus and firefighter accountability making it a back-up to Car-1 if it is out of service for maintenance or repairs. Car-2 is used by fire department personnel and Town employees when attending training classes or seminars out of town saving the town money on mileage re-imbursement which can be very expensive.
Car-1 is a 1999 Ford Explorer 4x4 with V6 gasoline engine with seating for 4 firefighters.

OHRV-1 is a four-wheel-drive diesel powered off highway vehicle smaller than a car, bigger than an ATV which responds to all types of emergencies. Its versatility allows it to be used for search & rescue, off-road medical emergencies, forest fires and flooding to carry men, equipment, or patients.
Utility-1 is a 2006 Kubota RTV-900 with a powerful 21.6 horsepower diesel engine. Standard features include hydraulic power steering, independent front, rear suspension, hydraulic dumping body and a rear receiver hitch for towing the department’s rescue boats. Due to its light weight compared to a regular vehicle, the Kubota can pull the rescue boats through the deep mud found in the town’s farm fields in the early spring to access the Merrimack River for emergencies. Other 4-wheel drive vehicles often become stuck in the mud put in the same situation. The Kubota has a 2000 lb payload capacity and is equipped with a slide-in versatile skid unit that can perform both fire and rescue functions. On the fire side, the skid carries 75 gallons of water and a small pump for putting out small fires or slowing the spread of a brush fire until the arrival of more firefighters and equipment. The pump is equipped with suction hoses for refilling itself at a pond or stream in remote locations. On the rescue side, the fire pump can be quickly removed with the removal of three pins, allowing medical personnel to safely ride next to a patient strapped and secured in the back of the vehicle in a rescue litter basket. Special tubular bars on top of the water tank allow a rescue litter basket to be slid between the bars and safely strapped in with quick connect nylon belts.  The Kubota was purchased by the Litchfield Firefighter’s Association and donated to the fire department to assist the firefighters during certain situations without putting an added burden to the taxpayers of Litchfield. It is important to note that 31 members of the fire department are town taxpayers.

Marine-1 is a 1998 Zodiak 16 foot inflatable rescue boat equipped with a 25 horsepower short shaft outboard motor designed to navigate the often fast running, rocky, shallow Merrimack River or any of the numerous ponds in town. Marine-1 is trailered by any of the department’s vehicles set up for towing.

(Equipment shared by both boats includes ropes, hooks, cold water- ice rescue suits.)

Marine-2 is a 1984 Grumman 16 foot aluminum rescue boat equipped with a 15 horsepower long shaft outboard motor. Both Marine units work together during a water rescue to provide backup to each other on any waterway. Marine-2 is trailered by any of the department’s vehicles set up for towing. Marine-2 was purchased by the Litchfield Firefighter’s Association in 1984 due to the need for a rescue boat with the vast bodies of water in town to protect the public. Because the money wasn’t available through the Town Budget, the Firefighter’s Association purchased and donated the boat, trailer, motor to the Town.

(Equipment shared by both boats includes ropes, hooks, cold water- ice rescue suits.)

Fire Station – Built in 1959 at no cost to the taxpayer, the fire station was built by volunteer labor and donated materials, the lumber was cut down from the site and brought to the mill by the then volunteer firefighters. The construction which took several years resulted in a two bay garage fire station, with an unfinished open second floor meeting hall. Through the years two more additions were added to the building to accommodate more apparatus as the town grew, again, by volunteer labor and donated materials. Today, the Litchfield Fire Station, located at 257 Charles Bancroft Hwy boasts four overhead doors, containing the fleet of six fire apparatus housed here. Until recently, the two full-time personnel had worked for the last 20 years in a corner cubicle of the second floor conducting the fire department’s business. In 2004 under the direction of current Fire Chief Thomas Schofield, the firefighters during nights and weekends began converting the second floor into usable space. Two offices were built for department administrative work, one Emergency Operations Center, kitchen, bathroom/shower room, and small living/day room. Construction was completed in early 2007 through volunteer labor, with materials both donated by area businesses and a small portion through taxpayer money.

The Fire Station not only houses the fire apparatus, it serves many other purposes. The Emergency Operations Center located on the second floor is where the Fire Chief and staff routinely man during large scale incidents such as floods, snow storms and high wind events resulting in wide area power outages, damage. The Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has two flight paths which run through Litchfield increasing the potential of an aircraft crashing in Town. The fire department has been involved in a few searches for missing small aircraft in past years. The Emergency Operations Center would serve a vital role for the Town, State, and Federal Authorities during such an event. Chemical companies, railroads and defense contractors across the Merrimack River could also be potential incidents that would involve the Operations Centers use.
The Fire Station stores all the departments spare hose, spare equipment, a breathing air system for refilling our 60 air-bottles for our air-packs, communications equipment for contacting area fire, police, highway departments. The kitchen area and day room provide a place for the firefighters to eat or rest during an emergency event.
Mutual Aid Resources are a necessity whether you are a small community like Litchfield or a large city the size of Manchester and Nashua. It is impractical for any one community small or large to purchase, maintain or staff all the types of equipment that would be necessary and required to protect its citizens. Pooling our resources together between communities allows for a myriad of specialized emergency apparatus, equipment and sufficient manpower necessary to respond to even the largest incidents. The philosophy of the Fire Service has always been the “neighbor helping neighbor” attitude to help each other out and to provide these services at no cost to receiving communities.
Some of the specialized equipment and specially trained personnel available to Litchfield include: ladder trucks, rescue trucks, tankers, dive teams, hazardous materials teams,
and med-flight helicopters.

Specialized Mutual Aid Resources Litchfield can offer to neighboring communities include, but are not limited to: Large forestry-tanker, large pumper-tanker, remote scene lighting trailer, rescue boats, Kubota OHRV, thermal imaging cameras and extrication equipment to name just a few.

All fire department’s have extensive plans in place to provide “backfill” coverage when local resources are dispatched to other communities for emergency assistance. Litchfield being no exception has pre-determined mutual aid assignments to cover Litchfield with same type fire apparatus to protect our citizens when we respond out of town.

Fire Chief’s attend monthly meetings to work with each other to plan mutual aid. New equipment when purchased is done after exhaustive research for compatibility with nearby departments in mind. Fire Chief’s inform each other what they have available, the equipment information is given to local dispatch centers to be put on dispatch assignments or in a equipment resource list for use depending on the emergency.
Litchfield belongs to three (3) separate mutual aid systems. Border Area Mutual Aid is made up of 31 communities from Concord, NH south and east of the Merrimack River to communities in Northern Massachusetts. Souhegan Mutual Aid is made up of 16 communities on the west side of the Merrimack River into Massachusetts. While both these mutual aid groups provide much needed resources for most emergencies, there is still a void in the training intensive and expensive costs of hazardous materials incidents.
Because no one community could afford these costs alone, fourteen Southern NH communities pooled their money and resources to form the first regional hazardous materials team in the state. Litchfield is a charter member of the Southeastern NH Hazardous Materials Mutual Aid District. The district is made up of highly trained individuals representing the fourteen (14) charter communities. Each community pays a percentage of the district budget depending on the size of the community. Litchfield pays a mere five thousand dollars annually to belong to the district. The district has specialized apparatus and equipment strategically located at various communities throughout the district for immediate response to a hazardous material incidents.