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Letter: Wilton Fire Department Shows Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

WILTON, Conn. -- The Wilton Daily Voice accepts signed letters to the editor. Send letters to wilton@dailyvoice.com.

To the editor:

Saturday, July 12, 2014 started out like any other ordinary day for the Wilton Fire Department.

The shift started and roll call was taken at 7 a.m. followed by equipment and apparatus checks, house-keeping and the like. Two firefighters came in a bit later for a special detail to staff Engine Co. 3 for the Wilton Town Fair. Their job that day was to interact with the public, hand out fire prevention literature and answer questions residents may have regarding how to better protect their families and perhaps their businesses as well.

We attempt to get out to as many public events as possible in order to provide this service for those who can’t get to the firehouse or call during the week.

At approximately 3:45 p.m., as the fair wound down, one our CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members working at the fair gravely injured himself. As he quickly realized the extent of his injuries, he ran towards Engine 3 for help and upon arrival was starting to lose consciousness.

The two F.D. members working (Lt. Gregg Kitik and FF Mike Blatchley) immediately saw that in fact he had nicked an artery on his arm and took quick action to stop the bleeding. The Lt. called for an EMS response while FF Blatchley pinched off the artery and applied pressure to wound. The ambulance that was on duty at the fair responded quickly while the paramedics rolled to the scene.

For fear of a worsening condition, FF Blatchley held his position all the way to Norwalk Hospital where they transferred the patient to team who administered advanced medical care. Three days later, the CERT member walked in to fire headquarters to thank Lieutenant Kitik and Firefighter Baltchley for saving his life.

The Wilton firefighters have an aggressive training schedule that includes all facets of what they are expected to do, or may have to do in the course of their work. We hone our KSA’s (knowledge, skills and abilities) each and every time we come to work in order to be as prepared as we can be. Apparently our EMS training paid off at this incident.

Our Dive Rescue Team (joint team with the Wilton Police Department) was called in to action on Memorial Day in Norwalk Harbor. The victim’s outcome that day was different from the incident on July 12, however all that were on scene had accolades for our team. We are ready.

As always, please feel free to drop by Headquarters at Town Hall or Station 2 at 707 Ridgefield Road, during daylight hours. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and show you around.

Be safe and have a great summer.

Chief Ronald E. Kanterman

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