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Chief provides update on activities
(by Kathryn A. Burger - April 15, 2008)
“Department Head Reports” have become regular agenda items at Park Ridge Mayor and Council public meetings. These reports began in February when Chief of Police Joseph Madden gave his report; in March, the borough’s construction code official, Nick Saluzzi, spoke. At the April 8 meeting, Chief Thomas Derienzo, representing the borough’s volunteer fire department, provided an update on a number of items.
He said the department currently has 35 active members and eight reserve members in the cadet corps. Cadets are between the ages of 13 and 17. He said three more cadets are expected to join the ranks this year, one of whom is his son.
Since Dec. 1, the department has gone on 49 calls; the busiest day is Wednesday. Derienzo commented that these statistics match the same period last year.
Training
He said the department is pursuing an aggressive training schedule that included a rapid intervention drill at the Rockland County Fire Academy, where volunteers train with “live” or actual fires. Derienzo said the academy is the only one in the area that offers “live-burning” training.
Earlier this month, members of the department joined with those of the Woodcliff Lake department at the Bergen County Fire Academy for a “smokehouse drill.”
New truck
A new fire truck will become part of the fleet in November, Derienzo said. The truck will be built at Pierce’s plant in Wisconsin. Department representatives will attend a pre-engineering meeting there in June. The truck is expected to arrive in southern New Jersey in mid-October where it will be fitted with the equipment specified by the department. Derienzo said the truck, that will have a heavy-duty aluminum ladder, will be the first of its kind in the state. Delivery of the fully-fitted truck is expected by mid-November. He said two days after the truck arrives, training on the truck will begin.
Shared services
Addressing shared services, a group of nine area departments purchased a machine that tests firefighter’s air masks. The testing is mandatory. The departments split the cost and share the machine. In another initiative, each of the towns in the group specializes in a specific type of rescue. “Park Ridge specializes in confined-space rescue; River Vale in water rescue and Old Tappan, ice rescue,” Derienzo said. In this way, all departments benefit from all the others and it eliminates the need for redundant and costly training.
Among other matters, the chief said that many of the repairs to the department’s gas-powered equipment are now being done in-house by members. “We are able to fix things this year that we would have had to send out last year,” he said, “and they are volunteering their time and that results in lots of savings for the department.”
Derienzo is in the last of his three-year term as chief. He said he appreciated the support of the mayor and council and that he felt he had accomplished what he wanted to during his term.
Mayor Donald Ruschman said, “You’ve done a great job and we appreciate what you do and what the department does,” for the borough.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
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