Bartlett New Hampshire fire department

Mt Washington, March 30, 2008 6:45 a.m. - Maureen O'Connell Photo

FIRE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY- DIAL 911
P0 Box 104, Glen, NH 03838
Non-Emergency: Glen Station Office(603) 383-9555 - Bartlett Station Office(603) 374-2786
Please note: These offices do not dispatch firemen. Emergency calls should be made by dialing 911.
All other calls should be directed to the Glen Station Office.
Services: Heating system inspections, permit-to-occupy inspections, burn permits, permits of assembly, and other general fire matters.

Sept 15, 2007 UPDATE. The Chief's office hours are from 8:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
He may be out on business, but those are the official hours.

The PO Box for the Bartlett Firefighters' Association is Box 656 Glen, NH 03838. (Ernest Hiscox)

GLEN, NH, January 6, 2009 /Cambridge Who's Who/ -- James Langdon, Assistant Chief with the Bartlett Fire Department, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in all aspects of fire and rescue services. Mr. Langdon has 15 years of professional experience, four of which have been in his current position at the Bartlett Fire Department. At his post, he is responsible for ensuring public safety at the foot of Mount Washington, overseeing equipment and maintenance, preparing paperwork and time sheets, and handling telephone traffic. A member of the Bartlett Firefighters Association, Mr. Langdon received his Associate Degree in Diesel Hydraulics from Northern Maine Technical College in 1996. About Cambridge Who's Who Cambridge Who's Who is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. From healthcare to law, engineering to finance, manufacturing to education, every major industry is represented by its 250,000 active members. Cambridge Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, Cambridge Who's Who offers an online networking platform where members can establish new business relationships and achieve career advancement within their company, industry or profession. For more information, please see http://www.cambridgewhoswho.com.

BARTLETT FIRE DEPARTMENT

ANNUAL REPORT 2009

PDF File can be read HERE

BARTLETT FIRE DEPARTMENT

ANNUAL REPORT 2007

The year 2007 has been an ever increasing busy year reaching a record number of 309 responses. When I joined the Fire Department almost 30 years ago, we responded to about 30 calls annually. In 1989, when the Fire Chiefs position became full time, we responded to 90 calls and in 2003 we responded to 161 calls. These numbers go far in showing how quickly our Town is growing.

These increases are putting an additional strain on our apparatus and membership. Our mutual aid system is meeting monthly and moving forward in many positive directions. We rely heavily on our mutual aid departments to help provide manpower and equipment during our responses. One area we have been working on during our monthly meetings is improving and standardizing communications where we developed a common mutual aid zone in all of the mutual aid department radios.

We have seen a number of new applicants become members of the Department this year. We are pleased to welcome these new members to the department and look forward to them participating in incidents and training. We have tried hard to continue with our hands-on approach to training as well as classroom-type training.

There have been some very recent NFPA changes in the requirements of our turn out gear that has and will continue to have an impact on our department as well as our budget. We have requested a number of new sets of pants and coats this year as well as some additions to our boots, helmets, and gloves to address this issue. Our effort will be to request funding for a number of these items each year to keep our gear compliant while keeping the budget within reasonable limits.

In 2007 we wrote, applied, and were approved for a grant for 14 new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) without the use of a grant writer. The total grant is for $74,879 with the Town’s portion being $3,700 with the remainder funded by the grant. Our present SCBA’s total twelve units, eight units being 20 years old and four units being 10 years old. This will have a significant impact on firefighter safety as there have been dramatic changes in technology and design. We are still working through the purchase process and the new units should be in service by mid-summer. These new units will be on display at our annual open house in October along side of our present units to demonstrate the differences and improvements. We will be looking at our needs and plan on writing more grants to help provide better, updated equipment for the Department.

The job as Emergency Director for Bartlett was part of the Fire Chiefs responsibility. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, the Board of Selectmen decided to try to find an interested member of the community to assume this role to help reduce the work load of the Fire Chief. The Board found an interested community member whose name is Bob King and he has done an excellent job since accepting this position. Bob has updated the Town’s Emergency Plan, which is no small task. Bob also scheduled a table top exercise of the updated plan in December with the NH Office of Emergency Management and the Bartlett agencies. We were given a scenario, used our updated plan, and obtained a very positive review by the NH Office of Emergency Management staff who evaluated our performance.

As I close, I want to thank all the people and agencies for their efforts each day of the year. First, a thank you to all the members of the Bartlett Fire Department for their support, commitment, and dedication to the department. I consider it an honor and privilege to lead such a dedicated, professional group of people. Secondly, the Bartlett Fire Fighter’s Association for the fund raising events throughout the year as well as the people who are not members of the Association, but help out all they can. Third, the Bartlett/Jackson Ambulance Service, Bartlett Police Department, Highway Department, Town Hall Administration staff, and Board of Selectmen for their continuing support and assistance. Lastly, the taxpayers and voters of this Town who not only support us at Town Meeting but the other 364 days a year as well.

As always, if you find yourself in need of our assistance, please do not hesitate to call 911. This is what we do 24/7/365.

Respectfully submitted,

Chief L. PATRICK ROBERTS

Bartlett Fire Department .

ANNUAL REPORT 2006

The past year has been a very busy year. We ended 2006 with 284 calls. This represents a 315% increase since the Fire Chiefs position became full time and an increase of 176% since 2001. We will probably surpass the 300 call mark in 2007. We are no longer a small rural town and moving swiftly towards becoming a suburban type area.

We have had four members of the Fire Department participating in a certified Fire Fighter I course.
By the time the Town Report is published, these members will have graduated. These four members
will be better trained to serve the tax payers and protect all who live and visit Bartlett. The Fire Fighter I curriculum now exceeds 200 hours and takes about 6 months to complete.

As with all members of the past, each member donated their time and received no compensation for the
training. This is a significant savings to the tax payers. In 2006 i the
members of the Bartlett Fire Department donated over 1,000 hours to the
betterment of the Department and the Town. This time was spent on projects
like Fire Fighter I, renovations to the Village Station, truck committee meetings,
work details, etc. This represents a level of dedication that is difficult to find in today’s world.

The department has been moving towards a more hands on realistic type training.
We have been training as if it were an actual incident with some of the training being timed to add an element
of pressure. We will continue this type of training in 2007. There will be a significant amount of time dedicated
towards learning to operate the~ new piece of apparatus. As of this writing the projected delivery date for the
new truck is the first part of April 2007. Also I recently completed some computer training at Kennett High
through the Adult Educational Program. This has been extremely helpful in my understanding of computers and their usefulness.

During 2006 20 Tank 3 experienced a severe leaking problem with its water tank that necessitated its replacement. Unfortunately this problem was unforeseen and no funding was in the budget for this $23,000 repair. As a result we did not purchase much of the equipment and did not finish many of the maintenance items we had planned for 2006. We have included in our budget request provisions for a fund to allow for such an emergency of this type so in the future any problems similar to this will have no affect on our budget.

The Department’s budget that was submitted to the Selectmen for review does have a significant amount of increases. We have many areas that have sort of lagged behind in recent years. The average age of our current apparatus is 27 years old. Our air packs will be 20 years old this year and we have hose in service that is well over. 35 years of age. We still have a large amount of this hose still in service on our trucks that needs to be replaced.

The work load of the Fire Chief and the Fire Department has significantly~ increased over the past ten plus years. The job requirements have far surpassed the capabilities of one person being able to complete the tasks necessary, to the point of being overwhelmed.

This is a concern as it exposes the Town and the Fire Department to a greater level of liability and the possibility of resulting lawsuits. We have reached a point in time where we need to take a hard look at items like the additional staffing. Another area that needs to be addressed is the ratio these increases have had on the position of the Fire Chief and salary. The Fire Chief is one of the few Town Officials that truly is on call 24/7/365.

I want to express our appreciation to the other departments and agencies we work with throughout the year. We enjoy a close working relationship with Bartlett/Jackson Ambulance, Bartlett Police Department, Bartlett Highway, Jackson Fire, N. Conway Fire, and many others which space does not allow for their inclusion. Last but certainly not least, the taxpayers and Board of Selectmen for their continued support of the Department.

Lastly, I want to thank all the members of the Bartlett Fire Department for their support and dedication to the Department and the Town. I am extremely proud of this department and its membership for stepping up to the task when needed. We have responded to several tragic incidents during 2006 and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to those families affected. Our Department, along with other agencies, have been affected by these recent events as well.

As always, if you need us, do not hesitate to call. This is what we do, 24/7/365.

Respectfully submitted, Chief PAT ROBERTS

Bartlett Fire Department