Firehouse magazine has named station 29 the 10Th busiest station in the United States. The total number combined between the Engine,Truck, Ambulance, and Medic Unit was a total of 15,690 calls for the year 2009.

Congratulations to the Men and Women, Paid and Volunteer that make this possible day in and day for the equipment to hit the streets everyday.

Also, Congratulations to the men and women at Morningside Volunteer Fire Department for being the 14th Busiest Heavy Rescue Squad. Keep up the great work.

For the 29th year, the fire service takes to the pages of Firehouse® Magazine to share and compare statistics about company and department activity levels, funding, staffing and pay. A total of 287 fire departments took part in this year's survey, representing 47 states, the District of Columbia and six Canadian provinces. The departments represented in this latest survey protect 78,613,514 people, and they have budgets totaling nearly $14 billion (budgets are listed in millions of dollars). They provide this service with 4,034 engine companies, 1,389 ladder companies, 1,983 ambulances and numerous specialized units. They responded to 1,459,246 fire calls, 7,417,481 EMS calls and 10,516,114 total calls last year.
Article Courtesy from Firehouse Magazine.


As in past years, Station 29 is always in the top 15 for being the busiest station. So in this survey we are proud to say for 2009 Engine Company 29 was ranked the 27th Busiest Engine Company in the US running a total of 4,131 engine calls which also makes us the busiest engine company in the county that we serve. Stay tuned for the busiest station in part 3 of the survey that should come out in Firehouse Magazine next month. We also would like to give Congratulations to West Lanham Volunteer Fire Department for ranking the 170th Busiest Truck Company for 2009 keep up the good work guys.
 So if you're interested in being part of a very busy department and gaining a lot of experience come join Silver Hill and become part of the best and the busiest Engine Company, Station and hopefully Truck Company for next year. We're currently in the process of making live-in space separate from the general sleeping space for live in program. If you’re interested please contact our membership coordinator for info by clicking on the membership tab and visit us to see what it is like at one of the busiest stations in the U.S. and become part of our team.

Just after 3:00 pm, firefighters from Oxon Hill and surrounding communities were alerted to a house fire. Engine 842  arrived at 5604 Miles Drive in the Forest Heights subdivision of Oxon Hill.  The house is a 1 1/2 story, with basement, Cape Cod, single family home which has been without electrical power since the powerful storm of Sunday afternoon.  About 5 - 10 minutes of power being restored to the area residents noticed smoke inside the home and called 911.  When firefighters arrived they encountered heavy smoke and fire on the first floor with extension to the second.  The bulk of the fire was knocked down in about 30 minutes by first arriving personnel and additional firefighters were called to the scene to replace personnel experiencing exhaustion and minor injuries. No civilian injuries were reported, however, two firefighters were transported to the Burn Unit with minor burns and one firefighter went to the hospital suffering from exhaustion.The cause is accidental and appears to be related with the restoration of electrical power

At 4:30 am, Wednesday, July 21, 2010, Engine 829 responded to automatic fire alarm activation at the Green Valley Park School located at 2215 Chadwick Street in Silver Hill.  Upon arrival, Engine 829 found a fire that appears to have started on the exterior of a temporary classroom and extended into the structure.  Engine 829 quickly extinguished the fire and limited damage to an estimated $5,000.  Fire Investigators continue to investigate this fire and have it listed as “under investigation.”  No injuries were reported.

Just before midnight, firefighters from Silver Hill and surrounding communities were alerted to a townhouse fire in Temple Hills.  Engine 829 arrived at 2212 Anvil Lane and encountered a 2-story townhouse with fire showing from the basement.  A Task Force brought additional units to the scene as the fire was extending to the first floor.  Initial arriving firefighters advanced hoselines in an aggressive interior attack on the fire and had the bulk of the fire contained and extinguished in about 20 minutes.  One firefighter fell from the first floor into the basement after the fire had been extinguished; he was not injured.  It is believed that the hole in the weakened floor was caused by the fire in the basement.  Fire Investigators say this fire is “accidental” and estimate fire loss at $240,000.  The displaced occupants will stay with other family members.  No injuries were reported.

2319 hrs the Engine and Truck was disp for the report of house fire at 8923 Woodyard Rd. The Engine and Truck responded with 11 Volunteers, Chief 825 arrived on the scene and reported that he had a vacant house fully involved and he held it with 2 engines and 2 trucks due to it being a vacant house he was going to exterior operations only. That placed the engine in service and PSC put the engine on a transfer to company 25 to cover there first due while they were on the fire. Both units returned to service at 0112 hrs headed home.

At 2210 hrs the truck company was dispatched for a house fire at 7204 Shockley Ct in company 32's area. The truck responded with 6 Volunteers, Engine 832 arrived on the scene with smoke showing with a possible garage fire. The engine cleared the brush fire and requested to run the call and command let them due to a engine failing and responded with 5 Volunteers.The truck arrived first due and went to work opening the house open and checking for extension. The engine arrived and picked up engine 847 line and help the truck with there job. Both units cleared shortly after wards.

The Volunteer Members went to Ocean City for the  annual Maryland State Fireman convention, While some went to the meetings others enjoyed the fun in the sun. We also got the together for the annual company dinner.  Hope to see everyone next year.

While in the station with 3 Volunteer crews, Company 29 was alerted to 3500 Silver Park Dr for smoke coming from the buidling. Both Engines went on the scene with nothing showing from Side A but the ambulance went to the charlie side and found smoke showing from the top floor and advised the engine company they had a working fire. Both crews went to work finding a vacant apartment with a fire in the kitchen area, the crews made a qiuck knock on the fire and started venting until truck comapny 26 could get up there. Command Held it with Company 29 and Truck 26 until the investigators arrived.
 

Engine Company 29 runs a 2 story garage fire in company 32’s area in the 7300 block of Webster Ln.