The Borough of Bergenfield, New Jersey has become one of the few municipalities in Bergen County, if not the State, to require the placarding of all single family dwellings that are constructed utilizing lightweight building materials.

In December, following in the foot steps of the River Edge Fire Department, Chief Robert E. Byrnes, Jr. made a presentation to the mayor and Council on the hazards of Lightweight and pre-engineered wood construction, the Mayor and Council moved quickly to introduce an ordinance.  This year, Chief Edward J. Kniesler, II and Deputy Chiefs Robert E. Byrnes, Sr. and James P. Lodato picked up where Chief Byrnes, Jr. had left off at the end of 2009.  Councilman and Fire Department Commissioner Thomas A. Lodato was instrumental in getting the ordinance introduced.

Ordinance #10-2427 was passed on February 16^th and will require all homes constructed with lightweight materials in the Borough to display a 4” x 4” reflective Maltese cross on the electrical meter pan.  The new requirement will also include all homes that were built prior to the enacting of the ordinance. 

The Maltese cross consists of the letters “LW” in the center for Lightweight.  If the structure has a lightweight roof, the letter “R” will appear in the right side of the cross.  Should the structure have both lightweight floor and roof system, then both letters will be present.

In addition to the placarding, all of the affected addresses are in the CAD system of our dispatch center.  Anyone requiring any additional information or are interested in obtaining a copy of the ordinance can call the Bergenfield Fire Department at 201.387.4000.

On Friday morning career firefighter Robert E. Byrnes, Jr. was on duty at Prospect firehouse when he overheard Bergenfield PD requesting medics and an AED on an expedite to Bergenfield High School. 

Without hesitation, Bob grabbed an AED off of Engine 745 and bolted across the street to the high school.  He made his way to second floor and found Bergenfield PD officers performing CPR on a 15 year old female.  Bob set-up the AED and administered one shock to the patient.  She immediately began to a normal heart rythum. 

Members of the Bergenfield Ambulance Corps. arrived and removed the patient to Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck.

The officers and members of the Bergenfield Fire Department would like to commend Robert E. Byrnes, Jr. for his quick action that saved the life of a young girl.

Ex-Chief Carmine Perrone passed away peacefully on February 21, 2010 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Carmine was born on November 11, 1927 in New York City. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Adelaide; daughter, Cathy; son, Dominick; grandchildren John, Jeffrey, Jennifer and five great-grandchildren. Carmine served in the US Navy during WWII.

 
Carmine was a dedicated volunteer fireman in the Borough of Bergenfield for 24 years and in 1979 he served as Chief of the Bergenfield Volunteer Fire department.  

The members of the BVFD would like to our condolences go out the Perrone family.

At 1118 hrs, the Bergen Regional Special Operations Team (BRSO) and their support units were requested to respond to 15 Piermont Rd. in Tenafly for a commercial building collapse.  Tenafly Fire was on scene at a grocery store whose roof had collapsed under the heavy weight of snow with workers and customers inside at the time of the incident.  It was believed that everyone inside had evacuated safely, but the entire structure needed to be checked.

Squad 732 with the trailer and 3 members of the team, the Rescue and Deputy Chiefs Byrnes, Sr. and Lodato responded to the call.  DC Byrnes was assigned to the command post and DC Lodato was assigned rear sector officer.  Members from the Rescue set up lighting in a rear entrance to the building while members of the team, led by Lt. Kirsch made entry.  Crews used cameras to search for any possible victims.

BRSO command made the decision that the NJ Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team as well as special search dogs were needed at the scene.  The building was very unstable and concern of a complete collapse was a major reason to request the State team be activated. After an extensive search of the building is was determined that everyone had safely made it out of the building. 

Tenafly Chief Philpott was in command of the incident and the BRSO command was led by Lt. Kirsch of the Bergenfield FD and Chief Moran of the Englewood FD. 

For more information about the Bergen Regional Special Operations Team, please see the link on our website.