| On Thursday, June 1st, 2006 the City of Coatesville Fire Department and Westwood Fire Company were simultaneously dispatched at 1415 to a report of a brush fire along side the roadway on Route 82 at the Route 30 Bypass.
Deputy Chief Johnson of the West End Fire Company was responding and came across a second incident at the intersection of Route 340 and Route 82. A dump truck had taken down wires across the entire intersection and some attached to the Turkey Hill Mini Market causing a complete closure of the intersection. It is suspected that this may have caused an electrical arc, which in turn caused the small brush fire just down the road.
Chief 44 arrived and found a small area smouldering just under the Route 30 Bypass and directed the Westwood units to respond to that location to soak the area down.
Deputy Chief Johnson advised the Coatesville City units to stage at Route 340 and Route 82 at the second incident until it was determined no fire department services would be required.
The brush fire situation was quickly ruled under control and units cleared that scene.
Chief Sly & Deputy Chief Johnson coordinated with representatives from PECO Energy, Verizon Phone Service, and Comcast Cable to determine the length of time it would require to correct the situation at Route 340 & Route 82. An approximate time of "4-5 hours" was determined and crews began to establish road closures in 3 directions. The Krapf's Bus Company & Shadow Traffic were both notified of the extended closure.
The roadway was closed off at Route 340 and Pratts Dam Road by Wagontown Squad 35 & Fire Police. The West Brandywine Township Road Department was requested to bring barricades to the intersections of Route 340 and Hurley Road and Route 82 and Monacy Road. The West Caln Township Road Department also brought road barricades to Route 340 and Pratts Dam Road to relieve the Wagontown personnel at that location. Northbound Route 82 traffic was allowed to continue and traffic was diverted East on Route 340 by police and road construction workers.
The roadway remained closed throughout rush hour and into the evening.
The final Westwood personnel cleared the scene at 1557.
This was the 5th of a total of 8 calls for our Company today, which included 5 Ambulance calls, 2 Fire Calls, and 1 Vehicle Accident. We remain the only 100% full-time volunteer Fire & Ambulance Company in Chester County and we are proud of the services we provide. |
