Rescue Squad members Ian Lewis, Ed Winsor, Nick Route and Madison Lawton took part in a startlingly real enactment of a distracted driving crash outside Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School on December 12th. Sponsored by the Scotch Plains and Fanwood Police Departments and emergency personnel along with the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA), students from Scotch Plains – Fanwood High School, the Municipal Alliance Committee and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood PTA Chemical Dependence Committee, the event took place on Happel Court, which was closed to traffic for much of the day.
The scene included a car that slammed into a tree, students acting as patients, one of whom “died”, and a distraught mother, also an actor. Fanwood Police, Fanwood Rescue Squad and Scotch Plains Fire Department responded to the scene and staged a full extrication of the patients, who were made up with fake blood. The scene was repeated for each high school gym class and was designed to show the real effects of distracted driving. Fanwood Police Chief Richard Trigo and Scotch Plains Police Chief Ted Connelly spoke to the students after each enactment. Also present were the Mayors of Scotch Plains and Fanwood, other local officials and parents.
The Rescue Squad was among Fanwood volunteers celebrated at an annual holiday dinner held this year at the new Fanwood Grille on Martine Avenue. Mayor Colleen Mahr and the Borough Council hosted the dinner to thank the town’s many volunteers, who populate our commissions and boards in addition to the Rescue Squad and Fire Department. The Mayor and Council are also volunteers. Rescue Squad members in attendance were incoming president Ed Winsor and members Jamie Pedinoff, Shreya Kachroo, Lisa Walker, Dante Clausen, Nick Tripodi, Rob Villegas and Ralph Palazzi.
The Rescue Squad joined the Fanwood Fire Department at the scene of a house fire at 27 Winchester Drive, Scotch Plains, early on Friday, October 20th. The fire apparently started in or near the garage and spread quickly up through the second floor. All the occupants got out safely. One Scotch Plains firefighter received a minor burn. Squad members Tom Kranz, Joan Lozowski, Melissa Padulsky, Ed Winsor and Nick Tripodi manned both a Fanwood and Scotch Plains ambulance for rehab of the firefighters and to transport the injured firefighter.