On Wednesday, March 12th at 14:36 District 1 companies were alerted to Mercury Street for reported smoke coming from the rear of a house.  District 1 crews were clearing a commercial fire alarm call and responded immediately.  Upon arrival Car 26 established command and upgraded the assignment to a structure fire in a detached garage on the property.  Deputy 28 (McDonnell) took operations and with the FM8 members forced entry into the garage.  Engine 261 crew contained the fire that was consuming the contents of the garage. Squad 28 arrived and supplied Engine 261 due to the lack of hydrants in the area.  Squad 28 crew along with crews from Ladder 26, Engine 561 and Tender 44 completed overhaul.  Scene was turned over to the fire marshals office (FM8) for investigation.  Air 28 was on scene to provide air bottle filling and rehab of the members operating.

UNITS ON SCENE:  Car 26, Engine 261, Ladder 26, Van 26, Car 282, Squad 28, Air 28, Car 44, Tender 44, Fire Police 44, Car 562, Engine 561, Air 27 (RIC), Engine 551, FM8C/D/F/G/H, RWJUH BLS, FTPD.

Photo Courtesy of MAC Mangino

Photo credit to Station 26

At 1:50 pm Fire District #1 was dispatched for smoke from the attic of a vacant house at 34 Ulysses Rd. Car 26 arrived first to find a heavy smoke condition throughout the entire structure and requested a 2nd alarm be transmitted. Engine 26-1 was first due and found a fire in the kitchen area and heavy smoke on the 2nd floor. The fire was extinguished with no further damage and no injuries reported. Mutual aid was provided by South Bound Brook, Bound Brook, East Franklin, Community, New Brunswick, Franklin Park, and Middlesex. The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time.

At approximately 2:35 am, Hillsborough Fire District responded to a reported structure fire. Upon arrival command had heavy fire in the rear and requested a full first alarm assignment, which included Station 28’s RIC. Air 28 responded and requested Station 26 to supplement our crew. No injuries or other property damage was reported.

On Thursday November 21st, Fire District #1 was dispatched for a brush fire in the area of 13 Jensen Dr. Car 26 arrived within minutes and found an area of brush approximately 100′ X 200′ burning, apparently started when a lawn mower with a leaf blower attachment overturned down an embankment. The high winds at the time quickly spread the fire into some trees and an open field, in the direction of some homes located on Mettlers Lane. The fire was contained by District #1 companies with the assistance of New Jersey Forest Fire Service and South Bound Brook FD. No injuries or other property damage occurred.

At approximately 03:15am on October 28th, Station 28 was requested in to Hillsborough Township as a RIC team for a working dwelling fire.  A crew of 6 members responded on Air28 along with Deputy28 in Car282.  Station 26 (Elizabeth Avenue VFC) was requested by Deputy 28 for additional RIC resources due to the structure involved being under renovation and a heavy fire load present.  Station 28 crews established a RIC on the A side of the structure while Station 26 crews established a RIC on the C side and Deputy 28 managed the RIC operations.  Crews operated as a Rapid Intervention Crew for approximately 3 hours and with out activation or incident.

In addition to the RIC duties, Air 28 provided scene lighting, bottle filling and basic responder rehab services.

All Hillsborough Fire Companies operated at the scene along with mutual aid tenders from Middlebush, Somerset , Griggstown, Montgomery (Belle Mead), and Neshanic due to lack of hydrants in the area.

Shortly after 3pm on Saturday 9/14, Ranger 28 was requested to assist Station 36 with multiple brush fires in a difficult to access area of Dukes Farm.  Ranger 28 and Ranger 36 were able to access the fires and utilized their on board foam tanks to extinguish them without incident.

On Sunday morning, September 8th, Station 28 was requested to standby at Station 27, East Franklin, while they operated at a 2nd alarm structure fire.  Squad 28 responded on the assignment and remained at Station 27 while crews operated for about an hour and a half.

On Saturday night 7/27, Station 28 was dispatched along with the other Fire District #1 companies for a fire alarm at the Crown Plaza at 110 Davidson Ave.  Shortly after dispatch, a call from the premise advised of a working fire in a room.  Car 28, Car 28B and Car 26B all arrived simultaneously with 28A establishing command, 26B assigned operations, and 28B assigned elevator control.  Engine 56-1 arrived first due and immediately deployed a high-rise pack for a fire on the second floor.  Upon entry to the fire room, it was found that towels placed over a lamp had caught fire and had since extinguished.  The balance of the assignment was cleared.

As Engine 28 was returning to quarters, Hillsborough Fire District was dispatched to 910 Renate Dr for a working apartment fire.  36C5 was first on scene confirming the fire and requested a 2nd alarm, for which Station 28 is the primary RIC for.  Air 28, Van 28 and Car 28 responded with a total manpower of 11 members.  Upon arrival on scene, RIC 28 was setup on the “A” side.  A quick knock down of the fire was made and all 28 units were able to clear the scene within 30 minutes.