Welcome to Jackson Station 55

Jackson Fire District #3 Firefighters Vincent Schwartz, Jason Zimmerman and Lieutenant Edward Moore receive commendation for life saving actions

On Monday April 20, 2009 Station 57 responded to a serious motor vehicle accident in front of 964 East Veterans Highway. The crew from Engine 5701 consisted of Lieutenant Edward Moore, Firefighter Vincent Schwartz, and Firefighter Jason Zimmerman. Upon their arrival, the crew found a two vehicle MVA in which one person, a teenager, was found pinned in a vehicle and was unconscious.

Firefighters Vincent Schwartz and Jason Zimmerman immediately began patient care on the unconscious female who also had an obstructed airway due to blood and fluids in her mouth. The two firefighters worked together to provide spinal immobilization, suctioning, and patient stabilization while awaiting additional resources to arrive to help remove the victim from the vehicle.

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Just prior to 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon August 1, Station 55 and 54 were dispatched to a vehicle accident with entrapment on Bennetts Millls Road at County Line Road. Upon arrival, Chief Mike Fatovic 5500 established Command and instructed Rescue 5503 and Engine 5511, assisted by Ladder 5405 and Chief Ray Tremer to remove the roof of a new Honda Prius involved in a 2-car motor vehicle crash. Assistant Chief Tim Carson 5510 was the Operations Chief. Removal of the roof was required to free the driver who was pinned in the vehicle. Quality Medical, Jackson First Aid Squad and Jackson Police all were on the scene.

The various crews each performed their tasks quickly to cut the car and remove the roof. The driver was packaged and placed on a backboard and extricated. He was transported to the hospital by Quality Medical for treatment of his injuries. County Line Road eastbound lanes were closed for about 30 minutes for the extrication and police investigation. All fire crews took up at 5:40 p.m.

A Jackson Volunteer First Aid Squad 22 ambulance (with emergency lights on) was transporting an 87-year old woman trauma patient to a local hospital when it was struck head-on at approximately 11:48 p.m. Saturday June 12, 2010 by a 27 year-old motorcyclist driving a 1992 Harley Davidson.

Fortunately, the ambulance driver was wearing his seat belt, and driving a rig equipped with a front air bag that deployed, and managed to avoid injuries to his on-board patient and crew. The cyclist crossed the double yellow center line on a sloping downhill curved section of North Hope Chapel Road in Jackson, veering into the path of the on-coming ambulance. The 22 year-old driver of the Squad’s ambulance — Shane O’Brien — who is also a volunteer firefighter with the Jackson Mills Volunteer Fire Company Station 54 and son of one of their past chiefs — is credited with preventing further injuries by his calm decision-making keeping the ambulance under control and upright, despite the fact that the force of the impact sheared off the drivers side front wheel and suspension assembly.

The driver of the ambulance and a Squad Cadet riding in the rear of the ambulance were wearing seat-belts and were uninjured. An EMT providing care to the patient in the back of the ambulance suffered a few bumps and bruises but was otherwise unhurt. Immediately after the impact, even though the ambulance’s drivers side door jammed shut, the crew exited their vehicle and began providing aid to the injured motorcyclist. The incident commander was Jackson Vol. Fire Company No.1 Station 55 Chief Michael Fatovic. Initial assistance at the scene was also provided by Jackson Station 55 Assistant Chief Tim Carson, Jackson Township Fire District 3 off-duty career firefighter/EMT Jay Zimmerman, and Jackson First Aid Squad member EMT Sharon Brown — each arriving shortly after call dispatch.

First Aid Squad 22 Captain Al Cuciero also responded to the scene. The original woman patient in the ambulance did not suffer any further injury from the crash, and was transferred to another ambulance to continue her trip to a local hospital. The front airbag did deploy on the 2007 model year ambulance. The operator of the motorcycle suffered severe injuries, and due to weather conditions preventing two med-evac helicopters from flying, was transported via ground to the trauma center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center by another Jackson First Aid Squad ambulance, with paramedics from the MON-OC Hospital Corporation on board.

The motorcycle driver was pronounced dead after arrival at the Medical Center. The Jackson Township Station 55 assisted at the scene, as well as the Jackson Police Department and Quality Medical Care Ambulance Service. The Whitesville Fire Company Station 57 was also dispatched in the event of the need for a helicopter landing zone, however that was canceled. A full news report is available at Asbury Park Press Online.

Station 55 had a busy rainy Saturday on October 25 handling five calls, the worst being a three-vehicle accident with 2 trapped on North Hope Chapel.  Stations 55 and 57 were dispatched by Ocean County Fire at 20:09 hours for the multiple-vehicle MVA.  Jackson PD and Jackson First Aid were already on scene when Whitesville Captain Dave Johnson 5720 arrived on location and advised that he had two people pinned in one vehicle, with two other cars involved. Rescue Pumper 5701, Ladder 5705 responded, followed by Chief Smith 5500, Assistant Chief Scott Rauch 5710,  Rescue 5503 and Engine 5511.  Station 57 and 55 crews used numerous hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the rear seat passenger who was heavily pinned and seriously injured, as well as the front passenger who was instantly fatally injured and pinned in the accident itself.

During the North New Hope Chapel job, Station 55 was dispatched to two other calls with Station 54 with Station 56 included on the upgraded response via orders from 5400 on the scene for smoke in the building at the Holman School at 21:57 hours.  Following investigation of the source, 55, 54 and 56 crews determined the cause was a burnt-out motor in a heating unit.

Earlier in the day during the late afternoon, Stations 55 and 54 were dispatched for an MVA car vs. pole on North New Prospect Road near Andover Road.  In that accident, Engineer Kevin McGinn arrived on the scene and reported a pole split in half but with no power lines down nor need for extrication.  Engine 5521 stood by on the scene while the car was removed from the roadway.