At 16:37 hrs, Prospect Fire Company No. 1 was dispatched on a still alarm for a strange odor at 129 Liberty Road. Deputy Chief Byrnes arrived on scene and established command. As units arrived on scene, a strong smell of natural gas was present, but there were no readings on the meters. As a search of the complex began, officers on the scene felt that the entire three-building area should be evacuated.  DC Byrnes upgraded the call to a general for additional manpower and PSEG was notified and responding.

  PSEG searched the entire complex and located a leak under the ground between two buildings. Gas was shut off to several apartments until repairs could be made. There were no injuries and some tenants had to be relocated for the evening.

  A Teaneck engine, Englewood truck, Dumont engine and a Bogota engine stood-by at Alert firehouse and covered the borough. There were no runs while they were in quarters. Chief Gomez would like to thank the mutual aid units, the Bergenfield Ambulance Corps, Bergenfield OEM and Mid-Bergen Haz Mat for their assistance.

Just before 0100 hrs., an Alert Company still was transmitted for one ladder to respond to the borough of Dumont for a working fire at the Frontier Room.  Deputy 2, Chief Kneisler, truck 742 under the command of Portable 4, Captain Lopez, and six firefighters responded.  With the Dumont truck out of service, truck 742 was assigned as the first due ladder.  Upon their arrival, Dumont units had the fire knocked down.  The truck’s crew was instructed to setup the positive pressure fan on the B side of the building to assist in venting.  All Bergenfield units were released and back in the borough in a half hour.

At 04:03 hrs, Alert Fire Co. responded to 8 Bedford Ave. on a reported commercial fire alarm. Deputy Chief Kneisler arrived first and after making entry to the structure found a smoke condition. The alarm was then upgraded to a general alarm and all companies responded.

  The initial crews on the scene made their way into the kitchen and found the grill still on and the items on top were boiling over and burning. The grill was turned off and all items removed to the exterior of the structure. Members on the Rescue assisted with setting up fans and removing all of the smoke. Units cleared the scene in 60 minutes.

Members of the department along with the BVAC paid a visit to a new structure at 47 Legion Drive on Sunday morning. The four story 90 unit condominium building has just opened for new residents that are 65 or older. The building is still mostly vacant and the tour allowed members to see lay outs of the units and began a pre-plan for the structure.

 

At 21:57 the Bergenfield FD was dispatched on a general alarm assignment to the reported house fire at 41 Brook Street. Chief Gomez arrived on scene and reported the fire in the single family home was out but a good smoke condition remained. Members from Ladder 742 and Engine 745 entered the structure to check for extension and remove the smoke. Units cleared the scene in 30 minutes.

John Pampaloni of Bergenfield Fire Company No. 2 has resigned from active membership after serving for more thirty years.  John served twice as Chief of the Department in 1999 and 2005.  He was elected to the rank of Deputy Chief, Captain and Lieutenant several times.  John also served as President of the Bergenfield Volunteer Fire Department in 2005 and in the past was elected and served as President of Company 2.  The entire membership of the BVFD would like to thank John for his many years of service to us and the residents of Bergenfield. We wish him the very best.