On Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 4:10pm, the Putnam Valley Fire Department was requested to respond to Cold Spring Road for reports of smoke coming from the roof of a house, additional calls stated possible fire. First on scene, a Putnam County Sheriff Deputy advised that in fact the home was on fire with visible flames through the roof. When the first engine arrived, firefighters quickly stretched two 1 ¾ hand lines and began to extinguish the fire. Water was originally being supplied by tankers until a portable pump was brought to the lake. Once the lake source was established, the tankers were eliminated. Chief Savino requested Mohegan FAST and a rescue from Mahopac Falls to the scene along with standby crews from Mahopac Falls and Continental Village. The cause of this fire is still under investigation as of the writing of this article. At approximately 6:48pm that very same night, Putnam 911 alerted Putnam Valley, Mahopac Falls and Continental Village fire departments to respond to an address on Meyer Drive for yet another possible structure fire. Due to the fact that Putnam Valley still had numerous units still operating at the first incident the two mutual aid departments along with available Putnam Valley units handled the second fire scene. Units arriving to the home on Meyer Drive encountered a heavy smoke condition inside the home; all occupants were out of the house and accounted for. Upon investigation, firefighters found a fire in the basement of the structure with extension to the first floor. Crews quickly doused the blaze, opened up the walls in the surrounding area of the fire and ventilated the structure. The fire was caused by a failed exhaust pipe for an oil fired furnace in the basement. Kent Fire Department was also requested to standby in their own headquarters while units were operating at the second fire. Putnam Valley Ambulance Corp. stood by at each fire for firefighter rehab. Crews were released and back in service by midnight from both calls. Photos taken by: Andrew Backus and Kevin Tompkins

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At approximately 6:15pm on January 9, 2010, the Putnam Valley Fire Department along with Putnam Valley Ambulance Corp., Transcare paramedics (Putnam County Medic 2) and Putnam County Sheriff's patrol were requested to respond to Barger St. in the area of Stephen Smith Dr. for a personal injury auto accident with the occupant possibly trapped in the vehicle. Upon arrival, firefighters quickly found one victim trapped in a vehicle that was on its side against an embankment. Firefighters quickly cut out the windshield to gain access to the patient and began assessment of his injuries. Once fire apparatus arrived (Engine/Rescue 24-2-1), firefighters cut the roof and rolled it back so EMS could properly stabilize the patient for removal from the vehicle. Putnam Valley Ambulance transported the patient to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla along with Medic 2.

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Directed by Maryann Arrien of Brain Trust Productions, this full length documentary explores the membership of the Putnam Valley Fire Department. Asking what made members get involved, local history, how they interact with other departments. Includes live footage from training exercises as well as actual fires. You can view the file by going to the link below. http://www.putnamvalley.com/specialprograms.htm

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On Saturday, September 12, 2009 the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department threw a picnic for all the dedicated volunteers and their families. This picnic was in appreciation of the hard work and endless amount of time the members have spent this year responding to emergencies, aiding their neighbors in time of need and maintaining the buildings and apparatus. Their families were also invited for their understanding of how much time is needed to be spent away from them in order to keep the department moving ahead. During this day the members enjoyed food cooked and served by our very own members, playing football games and horse shoes. Due to the weather, the picnic was moved to PVFD's Headquarters, but the weather did not put a damper on the members and their families having a great time.

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The Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department was requested to respond to Pleasant Road in the Lake Peekskill section of Putnam Valley last night for a reported house fire. Due to the location of the home, which was set up on a mountain, residents from other towns and counties were able to see the fire and dialed 9-1-1. At approximately 9:05 pm Putnam County 9-1-1 began to receive numerous calls from residents stating that they saw a house on fire. Several firefighters living in the immediate area confirmed the worst. Seconds after being dispatched, they stepped outside and saw that the house was in fact "fully involved". Incident commander Chief Adam Savino quickly began requesting mutual aid departments respond to the scene as well as to stand by in both of Putnam Valley's fire stations. He requested Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire department to stand by at Putnam Valley's station 2 and also requested Continental Village Volunteer Fire Department to the scene with one tanker. Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corp. was also requested to stand by at the scene for firefighter rehab and tend to any injury that may occur. One ambulance was also requested to standby in their quarters. Due to the home's remote location, the only access was via a very narrow and windy driveway. The fire engine was not able to proceed down the narrow driveway so firefighters quickly stretched approximately 450 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose line with a gated "Y" from the engine (a gated "Y" allows firefighters to split the 1 line into 2 and control them individually if necessary). They then connected two 1 3/4 inch hand lines from the gated "Y" and began to extinguish the fire. Prior to the water source being established, the engine was being supplied by the 3 tankers on scene?2 from Putnam Valley and one from Continental Village. Firefighters were fortunate to be able to set up a drafting site only 200 feet from the engine supplying the fire scene. The town of Putnam Valley has no municipal water system so water must be trucked in via tanker trucks or pumped out of local stream, ponds, lakes, or buried storage tanks to supply fire scenes. Once the water source was established, a 5 inch supply line was charged to feed the source engine. At this point there was no longer a need for the tankers on the scene so Chief Savino relocated the tanker and personnel from Continental Village to standby in Putnam Valley's main station, as well returned the 2 tankers from Putnam Valley to their respective stations. While units were operating at the house fire, they received a call for an auto accident with injuries on Lake Drive, also in the Lake Peekskill section of Putnam Valley. The crew on standby from Mahopac Falls covered the accident along with the Garrison Volunteer Ambulance corps. The cause of the blaze was determined by the Putnam County Fire Investigation Team to be accidental, caused by "Careless disposal of smoking materials" Units operated for approximately 4 hours Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski and President Larry Cobb Local television news footage can be viewed by visiting http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=228389&position=1&news_type=news

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Early this afternoon the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department, along with the NYSP, Putnam Medic 2 and the Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corp., were requested to respond to the southbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway at mile marker 27.5 for a reported Personal Injury Automobile Accident, possibly a "rollover". Upon arrival, Putnam Valley Firefighters found the vehicle that had come to rest on its roof un occupied as all 5 of the occupants (2 adults and 3 children) had self extricated themselves from the vehicle. Due to the number of patients needing transport to the hospital, Chief Savino requested a second ambulance to the scene. Both of Putnam Valley's ambulances along with Putnam Medic 2 transported all of the patients to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. With both of Putnam Valley's ambulances tied up, Mahopac Volunteer Fire Dept. Ambulance was placed on standby in Putnam Valley's Ambulance Headquarters to cover their district. The children were riding in properly installed child restraint seats which minimized their injuries. All occupants were treated at the medical center for non life threatening injuries. Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski and Chief Adam Savino

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At approximately 5:20 p.m. Yesterday afternoon, the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department, Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corp, Putnam County Medic 2 and the New York State Police were dispatched to the southbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway South of Route 301 for a personal injury auto accident. First arriving units advised there was a single vehicle accident with one injury. Putnam Valley Fire Police controlled traffic while firefighters stabilized the patient until the ambulance arrived. Putnam Valley Ambulance transported the single patient to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla along with Medic 2 with non life threatening injuries. Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski

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At approximately 5:36 pm on March 20th, 2009 the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department was requested to respond to the Roaring Brook section of Putnam Valley to assist the Putnam County Sheriff's Department with a search. Prior to the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department being dispatched, the Sheriff's department received a call that a two year old boy was missing and he could not be located. With the Sheriff's department on location with their K-9 unit, they also requested a blood hound and helicopter from the New York State Police. The Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corp. was also requested to go on standby along with the Putnam Valley Fire Department at the fire department's station two, located at Peekskill Hollow Road and Wiccopee Road, with their water rescue vehicle, 24-6-2 and their all terrain vehicle, 24-8-3. Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Department was simultaneously dispatched and placed on standby at their headquarters with their dive team. Shortly into Putnam Valley Fire Department's response Assistant Chief Luongo, already on location, requested 24-8-3 and 24-6-2 to respond to the scene to assist in the search. Mahopac Fall's Dive Team was also requested to respond to the scene with the possibility that the boy has fell into the lake. With 24-8-3 and 24-6-2 on location, firefighters and divers began to prepare for the worst. The all terrain vehicle was off loaded and divers began to suit up, while the boat was inflated. The moment both the divers and the ATV were ready to begin their searches, the boy was located a few hundred yards in the woods behind his residence. EMS evaluated the boy and determined the boy did not suffer any injuries. Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski

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Approximately an hour after Putnam Valley Volunteer firefighters cleared the missing person call, they were requested to respond to the Taconic State Parkway North Bound in the area of Pudding Street for a 2 car accident with injuries. While en-route, a member on the scene reported the accident was at the Pudding street crossover and involved 3 vehicles with one victim possibly trapped. Upon arrival, the crew members from pumper/rescue 24-2-1 were directed to "pop" the passenger's side door of one of the vehicles to gain access to the patient. Firefighters were able to do this using a halligan tool to pry the door open. 3 victims were transported, all by Putnam Valley Volunteer Ambulance Corp., 34-7-1 and 34-7-2 and Medic's 2 and 3, to local hospitals. Shortly after the victims were transported, the scene was turned over to NYSP. Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski

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Firefighters received an early wakeup call today. At approximately 5:18am, the Putnam Valley Volunteer Fire Department was requested to respond to the Taconic State Parkway in the area of mile marker 26.4 for a reported property damage auto accident involving a tractor trailer. The first arriving officer advised Putnam 9-1-1 that there was a tractor trailer blocking both southbound and one of the northbound lanes as well as leaking fuel. New York State Police shut down the roadway while Firefighters put out absorbent material to soak up the fuel, located the source of the leak and contained it. The scene was then handed back to the New York State Police. Fire units cleared the scene shortly before 6:30am. The Taconic Parkway remained closed from Route 301 to Route 6 approximately a 13 mile stretch of the heavily traveled roadway) until 10:00 a.m. when 1 Northbound lane was opened. The Southbound lanes were opened in the early afternoon hours. Photos taken by Firefighter William Jakubowski.

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