Beacon Hose recently received a grant from the Ion Bank Foundation which allowed us to purchase a FAST Rescue Board. This equipment is typically used as part of a Rapid Intervention Team to rescue a downed firefighter.

The grant also provided for an upgrade to include water- and ice-rescue capabilities to this board, which will allow us to use it in many more capacities as part of our developing special operations unit. Beacon Hose trained with this new equipment June 22.

There will be many upgrades coming to our repurposed special operations trailer in the coming months — stay tuned for updates and information on the Aug. 7 fundraiser dinner. Thank you to the Ion Bank Foundation for helping our community with this great tool!

On Feb. 15, a few Beacon Hose members sat around the firehouse trying to figure out an idea for a quick training exercise. In just a few moments of tinkering, former lieutenants Cal Brennan and Paul DeGeorge whipped up a five-stage drill that ended up being the basis of a viral Facebook video.

This five-stage drill included a one-minute drill (gearing and packing up), following a hoseline, dragging a heavy dummy, taking 10 swings of a sledgehammer, and blindly navigating through an entrapment hazard.

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