chiefhac

Hap, Thank you for your many years of dedicated service. May you enjoy a long, healthy, and well deserved retirement. God Speed my friend!
chiefhac

Hap, Thank you for your many years of dedicated service. May you enjoy a long, healthy, and well deserved retirement. God Speed my friend!
chiefhac

Hap, Thank you for your many years of dedicated service. May you enjoy a long, healthy, and well deserved retirement. God Speed my friend!
chiefhac

Those doors were painted by firefighters in 1976 to comemerate the 200th nniversary of our country. The rescue was located at 151 South Fulton Avenue, Truck 1 at 23 South Sixth Avenue and Barry, it is 211 South Fourth Avenue.
chiefhac

Those doors were painted by firefighters in 1976 to comemerate the 200th nniversary of our country. The rescue was located at 151 South Fulton Avenue, Truck 1 at 23 South Sixth Avenue and Barry, it is 211 South Fourth Avenue.
chiefhac

Those doors were painted by firefighters in 1976 to comemerate the 200th nniversary of our country. The rescue was located at 151 South Fulton Avenue, Truck 1 at 23 South Sixth Avenue and Barry, it is 211 South Fourth Avenue.
chiefhac

The April 6, 1988 response was handled by Mount Vernon FD with no respnse from other departments. Both trains were carrying just train crew personnel when the first train was rammed by the second that had run a red signal. Coincidentally, this incident was 25 years ago this past April.

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

1 Dead, 121 Injured in Train Crash in Mount Vernon
By chiefhac
And so read the headlines in all the newspapers the morning after the trains collided in Mount Vernon on the evening of June 8, 1973, forty years ago.
The train collision would spark 10 days busy activity for the Mount Vernon Fire Department (MVFD) using all of its resources and with neighboring communities responding to the incident(s) or relocating to staff fire stations.
It was 40 years ago on Friday evening June 8, 1973 at approximately 7:30 PM on a warm spring evening that 2 trains collided on the east bound express track on the New Haven line near Brookdale Place and East First Street. The relocated Mount Vernon East station platform was still under construction and the local track was temporarily out of service, thereby both local and express trains were operating through Mount Vernon on the express track. The local was in the station to disembark passengers when the express train, failing to stop for a red signal, ran head on into the rear of the stopped train.
The fire department was dispatched and upon arrival was met by a thousand or so of people wondering about and attempting to exit both trains. Additional alarms were transmitted and additional manpower was readily available as it was the evening of the volunteer firefighter’s annual inspection and they responded in force. Almost all responding personnel were used in assisting passengers off the train and to those requiring medical assistance, to an aid station and then transported to the local hospitals.
In the rear car of the local train 2 victims were trapped, one dead on arrival, and the other, seriously injured, was pinned in the lavatory of the last car. Rescue 1 and Ladder 1 were assigned to extricate these individuals. The individual in the lavatory was an Australian Consulate to the UN. The extrication required cutting through the floor under where he was located and then smashing the toilet and letting it drop through the opening made in the floor, allowing for his safe removal. A sloppy and time consuming job it was, ask me!
Mutual aid companies responded for a variety of reasons, scene lighting being a major issue, and some companies self dispatched, adding to scene confusion when everyone wants to help. Most of the passengers requiring medical treatment were transported within the first hour or so. For each injured passenger there had to be 10 other passengers whose sole interest was in how they were going to complete their journey to Connecticut and home.
Somewhere in the middle of the week there was a third alarm fire on South Thirteenth or Fourteenth Avenue which consumed 3 attached row apartments.
On Saturday evening June 16 at approximately 7 PM a fire was reported in the Pioneer super market located on Park Avenue and Elm Avenue, just over the Park Avenue Bridge over the New Haven rail line and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. The fire would require a general alarm with all MVFD companies operating at the fire scene until after midnight.
On Sunday morning, June 17, around 8 AM fire alarm box 1231 was pulled by a passerby for a fire in the A & P super market located on East First Street and First Avenue, on the other side of the Park Avenue Bridge from the previous night’s fire and 2/10ths of a mile from the train crash. This fire would also require all MVFD companies to bring it under control, with the last units picking up at 4 PM.
I was the assigned driver of the rescue company for the train crash and, back working days, the A & P fire. At approximately 7:45 AM Sunday morning we were dispatched to meet Con Edison at a gas leak at Ninth Avenue and West First Street and en route passed the A & P and did not notice any sign of smoke or fire. When we were called by dispatch to respond on the initial alarm, we couldn’t believe the column of smoke in the air as we headed back down First Street.
Each of these incidents required the full complement of MVFD companies and surrounding mutual aid companies to backfill in Mount Vernon fire stations.
The good news was no fire station commissary was in need of coffee, condiments, etc. for at least 6 months.
And so it was 40 years ago!
chiefhac
6/7/2013
Slideshow of incident:

That was a mutual aid drill in Mount Vernon for a supposed incident in the oil storage facility city area of the city. At the time MV was the third largest oil and gasoline storage area on the east coast.
The rig is Rescue 1, MVFD on an International.
chiefhac

That was a mutual aid drill in Mount Vernon for a supposed incident in the oil storage facility city area of the city. At the time MV was the third largest oil and gasoline storage area on the east coast.
The rig is Rescue 1, MVFD on an International.
chiefhac

That was a mutual aid drill in Mount Vernon for a supposed incident in the oil storage facility city area of the city. At the time MV was the third largest oil and gasoline storage area on the east coast.
The rig is Rescue 1, MVFD on an International.
chiefhac

That was a mutual aid drill in Mount Vernon for a supposed incident in the oil storage facility city area of the city. At the time MV was the third largest oil and gasoline storage area on the east coast.
The rig is Rescue 1, MVFD on an International.
chiefhac

Happy Anniversary EMT Bravo! Truly a labor of love Seth!
And ever quickly did those 8 years go.
chiefhac

Sorry to hear that Barry! Shades of 35 or so years ago. Bad for the troops then, and still bad now.
chiefhac

To: Members of the Westchester County Fire Service
From: Henry A. Campbell
I urge you to be informed about the proposed Consolidation of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and Department of Emergency Services.
Read the Proposal, see attachment, and make your decision as to whether this will be a positive undertaking for the fire service, or detrimental to what you presently have.
A few questions to ask yourself:
Is it a consolidation, a merger, or a take over?
How will it make emergency services better and at what cost?
How will the broader chain of command impact overall operations? Who is in charge?
Think about overtime and call back expenses that may not be figured into the proposal.
How will grant monies and equipment be disbursed?
Is the information provided in the report adequate, accurate or misleading?
Where will the most positions be eliminated?
Don't be afraid to discuss this with other members of your department, other departments, and Westchester Fire Organizations.
Move slowly, ask questions, get answers, then make an informed decision as to whether the fire service should support, or not support the proposed consolidation.
Read the attached report and share it and this e-mail with others.

To: Members of the Westchester County Fire Service
From: Henry A. Campbell
I urge you to be informed about the proposed Consolidation of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and Department of Emergency Services.
Read the Proposal, see attachment, and make your decision as to whether this will be a positive undertaking for the fire service, or detrimental to what you presently have.
A few questions to ask yourself:
Is it a consolidation, a merger, or a take over?
How will it make emergency services better and at what cost?
How will the broader chain of command impact overall operations? Who is in charge?
Think about overtime and call back expenses that may not be figured into the proposal.
How will grant monies and equipment be disbursed?
Is the information provided in the report adequate, accurate or misleading?
Where will the most positions be eliminated?
Don't be afraid to discuss this with other members of your department, other departments, and Westchester Fire Organizations.
Move slowly, ask questions, get answers, then make an informed decision as to whether the fire service should support, or not support the proposed consolidation.
Read the attached report and share it and this e-mail with others.

To: Members of the Westchester County Fire Service
From: Henry A. Campbell
I urge you to be informed about the proposed Consolidation of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and Department of Emergency Services.
Read the Proposal, see attachment, and make your decision as to whether this will be a positive undertaking for the fire service, or detrimental to what you presently have.
A few questions to ask yourself:
Is it a consolidation, a merger, or a take over?
How will it make emergency services better and at what cost?
How will the broader chain of command impact overall operations? Who is in charge?
Think about overtime and call back expenses that may not be figured into the proposal.
How will grant monies and equipment be disbursed?
Is the information provided in the report adequate, accurate or misleading?
Where will the most positions be eliminated?
Don't be afraid to discuss this with other members of your department, other departments, and Westchester Fire Organizations.
Move slowly, ask questions, get answers, then make an informed decision as to whether the fire service should support, or not support the proposed consolidation.
Read the attached report and share it and this e-mail with others.