Busy Evening for KFD
 
By Chief of Department Dean W. Pappas
December 18, 2017
 

For Katonah Fire Department, the early evening of Monday, December 18 became quite busy as volunteers were dispatched for numerous calls. At about 4:15 p.m., Katonah's Rescue 17 was placed on stand by in quarters for Bedford Hills FD, which was dealing with a very serious MVA on South Bedford Road involving a bus and a car. During the stand by, Rescue 17, along with Car 2211 and Car 2212, as well as Mount Kisco FD, which was also on stand by for Bedford Hills, responded to an apartment on Rome Avenue for an issue with the apartment's heating system. After investigating the situation, KFD turned the scene over to responding Bedford Hills units. Only minutes after being released from its stand by, KFD was dispatched to the Katonah Shopping Center for a report of an odor of gas next to the Northern Westchester Dance School. KFD cars 2211, 2212, 2213, Engine 115, Engine 117, Rescue 17 and Utility 8 all responded. The odor was traced to an area underneath the asphalt in an ally between the dance school and the adjacent Bank of America building. The school and the Wells Fargo bank were evacuated and Con Ed was called. Dancers and their instructors attending class at the dance school were able to sit in Rescue 17 until parents came to pick them up. Upon arriving at the scene, Con Ed conducted its own investigation and determined that gas service to the shopping center had to be shut off. KFD members notified the various businesses of the service shut-down, and, after Con Ed confirmed service had been shut off, KFD members returned to service. Finally, around 7:15 that evening, while members were attending a weekly drill, a call came in for smoke in the basement in a residence on Cherry Street. Cars 2211, 2212, 2213, Engine 115, Engine 116, Engine 117, Utility 8 and Rescue 17 all responded. Upon arrival, the homeowner reported smoke in the basement and a haze on the upper floors. As a precaution, Car 2211 called in Mount Kisco FD's FAST team. Meanwhile, KFD crews conducted a thorough search of the basement, first and second floors. After about 30 minutes, the cause of the smoke was traced to some burning paper labels on the gas-fed furnace in the basement. The burned papers were removed and the homeowner called its furnace service provider to follow-up. Katonah units wrapped up the busy evening, going back in service a little after 8 p.m. Members returned to quarters to get the apparatus back in service, and then went upstairs to the training classroom to finish the interrupted drill.

 
Units: Car 2211, Car 2212, Car 2213, Engine 115, Engine 116, Engine 117, Rescue 17, Utility 8, Mount Kisco FAST