Monday April 18 turned out to be quite the busy day. It started out with two quick back to back calls to assist the City of Reading, one for a possible structure fire at 952 N 10th St. at 10:39a.m. and one for a fire alarm at 1965 Linden St. at 10:51a.m. Fortunately both were found to be minor incidents and we were quickly cancelled and returned.
Next up was a dispatch at 10:54a.m. as the RIT to Yuasa Battery in Laureldale for an AFA sprinkler activation. Initially arriving crews found a sprinkler head knocked off by accident which caused an electrical short at the nearby panel box. The system was quickly shut down and drained and the power secured. Building maintenance took over and crews cleared within 30 minutes.
Just after 1:30p.m. the ladder was sent to 4827 Farming Ridge Blvd. in Exeter for a possible structure fire, house reported to be filling with smoke. Once Exeter arrived this was confirmed and the problem was traced to a malfunctioning hot water heater. The unit was shut down and the smoke vented. We were able to return within an hour.
About 6:20p.m. the engine was sent along with Rescue 25 to 3108 Perkiomen Ave. for a vehicle crash involving a motorcycle. It was found that the driver of the car was uninjured but the cyclist was down and suffering from several injuries. Crews worked with EMS to treat the injuries and package the patient for transport to Reading Hospital. This crash remains under investigation by the police.
At 8:15p.m. the ladder and engine were dispatched to assist Lower Alsace (Co 4) at 1017 Carsonia Ave. for a reported grill on fire next to the house. The fire was knocked down before the apparatus arrived and command held the call to engine 4 and ladder 1 who made sure the fire was out and checked for extension.
At 8:23p.m. as the engine was returning from the Carsonia Ave. call they were dispatched to 2145 Fairview Ave. in Mt. Penn for an odor in the house. Apparently the resident had flagged down a passing police officer who had the fire company sent to investigate. The crew metered the building and checked the appliances but nothing was found. The scene was cleared within 20 minutes.
