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FIre severly damages Wellington home: DOn DeLucia/Photos by investigator Summers. Posted on December 15^th , 2011
On Wednesday December 14 at around 11 am, units responded to a fire at 12024 Old Country Road in Wellington. Flames were seen coming from a rear bedroom and smoke was coming from most of the openings in the home. FIre crews found the source of the fire in the back bedroom. It was intense enough to burn through the roof and damage a good portion of the interior of the home. There were no injuries. A dog was rescued and the crews did a great job getting the fire out while saving a good portion of the structure. Investigators determined the origin of the fire to be an unattended incense candle and was accidental.
PBCFR Personnel Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity - Lake Worth build: Deputy Chief James St. Pierre. Posted on December 14^th , 2011
On Saturday December 10, members of PBCFR turned out once again to combat substandard housing in our community by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County. The home they worked on was in the City of Lake Worth.

This is the third team build conducted in this area by our department's personnel over the past 3 months. The mission on this build was to install the hardy plank siding on the south wall of the 3 bedroom, two bath home on S E street.

The team worked most of the day taking only for a short lunch break until the task was finally finished around 2:00 pm. The narrow space between the wall and the neighbor's home made it challenging to move materials in and out of the area while others were installing the siding.

The hard work paid off though when the team took a look at their accomplishment at the end of the day. "Performing finish work is a bit more challenging but the payoff is greater as well", noted Pete Murphy who joined the team mid morning after getting off shift.

By Deputy Chief James St. Pierre
PBCFR Pipes and Drums attend Miami Dade FR Funeral: D/O Jon Ferguson. Posted on December 14^th , 2011
PBCFR's Pipes and Drums were invited to play at the funeral of Miami Dade Lt. Michael Falco on December 13 in Stuart. Lt. Falco had been assigned to station #32 in North Miami Beach. A memorial fund has been established in his name at Wells Fargo Bank in Stuart. Our thought and prayers to his family.
Wreaths Across America Event held at the VA Cemetary: Jon Ferguson. Posted on December 12^th , 2011
On Saturday, Dec 10, members of the pipes and drums and Engine 33 were at the South Florida National Cemetery to participate in Wreaths Across America. 1600 holiday wreaths were layed on the graves of the fallen. In 2010, Wreaths Across America and the national network of volunteers laid over 220,000 memorial wreaths at 545 locations in the United States and beyond.
Jimmy Hotchkiss gets the Ax: Sam Haubert, DC3 B-Shift. Posted on December 12^th , 2011
Body: The crew of station #37 "B" held a farewell dinner for PM Jimmy Hotchkiss on Dec. 9th. Jimmy's last shift was Dec. 12th. Jimmy is leaving Fire-Rescue to pursue academic interests in Astrophysics among other things! He begins a full course-load beginning in January 2012. It was nice to have Jimmy's dad (Jim) and his fiance' Maria Fadiman attend. DVP Lt. Peter Murphy presented Jimmy with the ax from the Local. Members of his crew and the Battalion also presented him with some "funding" that all college students require. He also received a personalized pocket protector - a requisite for all rocket scientists! PM Hotchkiss developed an impressive work record and reputation during his 13 year tenure with P.B.C.F.R. We will certainly miss him and his contribution to our efforts to provide the best service to our community! Jimmy, we know you'll be successful at whatever you do!
Fire in a 30 unit apartment building in Belle Glade: Battalion Chief Lupo. Posted on December 12^th , 2011
Crews from battalion 7 arrived on a two story apartment fire with occupants evacuating the building by every means. There were reports
that people were jumping from the windows and front porch. On arrival there was heavy black smoke showing from the front door, with
smoke and flames on side �D� . Crews were faced with a number of priorities on arrival and were able to evacuate the fire building and
exposure without anyone getting injured. There are 15 one room apartments on each floor and all were dead bolted shut. Crews had to
force entry into 29 units. The fire apartment door was left open when the occupants evacuated. The fire was mainly held to the room of origin,
with some extension into the apartment above. There was heavy smoke damage to the first floor apartments with limited smoke damage
to the second floor. Fire Rescue, PBSO, Red Cross, City officials and the building owner assisted with the relocation of over 60 people.
PBCFR Puts on a South County Emergency Services Seminar: Don DeLucia. Posted on December 8^th , 2011
On Wednesday December 7, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue along with the Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, presented an Emergency Services Seminar. People from numerous communities in Western Delray Beach attended and were treated to a number of sites and sounds. Emergencey equipment and trucks were on display inside and outside the South County Civic Center. A number of demonstrations were put on by Fire Rescue including a crew putting out a fire on stage, a simulated cardiac arrest, a presentation about the CAT team, and others. It was well attended and well received.
Battalion 4 talks to young students: Anthony Tozzi. Posted on December 7^th , 2011
During a recent English/Spanish Pub-Ed presentation at Hagen Road Elementary personnel from stations 41 and 47 along with Elyse Brown provided students with an up close look at Firefighting as a profession!
(left to right, FF/PM Ryan Gornall and D/O Jason Cohen Q-47).
Captain Dennis Peek Retires: Don DeLucia. Posted on December 1^st , 2011
For the first time ever, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue held a formal retirement ceremony for one of its Captains, Dennis Peek. Dennis has been a member of the Fire Rescue family for 31+ years. During that time he served on the Trauma Hawk as a flight medic, worked as a training officer instructing new recruits then became a shift station officer at station 33. Captain Peek was also a Sgt. Major in the Army Special Forces. News media was on hand to cover today's event. We all wish Dennis good health and good times in retirement. There are plans to make this type of ceremony an option for outgoing department officers.
Two Fire Rescue Employees Receive Golden Palm Award: Don DeLucia. Posted on November 29^th , 2011
Two Palm Beach County Fire Rescue employees were some of the recipients of this year's Golden Palm Awards. Bonnie Stein, our Fiscal Analyst III, received recognition for saving the Department (and the County) thousands of dollars this past year. She and her department determined a vendor had billed us incorrectly and some programs were streamlined saving valuable hours of work. Anna Stewart, the Drowning Prevention Coalition Manager, was recognized for the many innovative programs that were developed to educate the citizens of Palm Beach County on how to prevent drowning. She also has partnered with the Volunteer Division to promote water safety. Congratulations to both for their outstanding work.
Carbon monoxide detectors save lives: Don DeLucia . Posted on November 29^th , 2011
When you find out two families had a carbon monoxide incident within two week of one another and you also find out they both were saved by carbon monoxide alarms, that's a story you want to get out to the public. All three local television stations and the Palm Beach Post interviewed the two families who stated they were grateful to be alive thanks to their CO detectors (purchased after neighbors died from carbon monoxide poisoning). Both incidents were caused by cars left running in the garage, one of which had a push button ignition.

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