9.20.09 Early Afternoon Car Fire

At just before 3 pm on Sunday, September 20th, 2009, Cherry Hill Firefighters were just clearing from another incident and were dispatched to a reported car fire on Cuthbert Road, near Hampton. Firefighters arrived to find a vehicle fully involved in fire. A hose line was deployed and the fire was extinguished in just a couple minutes. This fire is under investigation by the Cherry Hill Fire Marshal's Office.

9.17.09 Accident Traps One, Backs Up Traffic for Hours

At just before 11:00 AM, on Thursday, September 17, 2009, Cherry Hill Firefighters and EMTs were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident on West Route 70 near Donahue Ave. An EMS supervisor was first to arrive and advised incoming units the accident involved one vehicle that had taken down a utility pole with multiple power lines down, a traffic light standard was in the roadway, and one victim was trapped in the vehicle, which ended up just a couple feet from a home located just off the roadway. Witnesses later said the car, which was travelling east bound, had flipped several times before coming to a stop.

Firefighters and EMTs stabilized the vehicle and used hydraulic rescue tools to free the victim, which took about ten minutes. The victim was transported by Cherry Hill Fire Department ambulance to the Trauma Center at Cooper Hospital in Camden. Traffic in the area had to be re-routed for several hours as firefighters and utility crews worked to clean up the roadway in conjunction with Department of Transportation personnel. This accident is under investigation by the Cherry Hill Police Department.

9.11.09 September 11th In Memoriam

September 11, 2001 is a day most will always remember. Whether in New York City, or thousands of miles away, we all remember where we were and what we were doing the instant the news reached us. For the men and women of the Cherry Hill Fire Department, we also remember what it did to galvanize our resolve and commitment to providing our region with an emergency response, ready 24 hours a day, to meet any challenge before us.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to recognize that eight years has gone by since so many victims lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, and so many of our colleagues made the ultimate sacrifice when they rushed into both World Trade Center towers to do what any of us would do. In 2009, by the end of August, we have already lost 69 firefighters who have answered their last call and we recognize their service and sacrifice. Equally, we recognize the continued commitment, dedication and ultimate devotion to public safety we witness every day by Firefighters, EMTs, Police and all emergency workers around the world, and especially here in America. The two wildland firefighters who recently lost their lives during their battle to quell the severe wildland fires in California on August 30th remind us to always be safe in what we do. In addition, we recognize the accomplishments of the thousands of military personnel who continue to fight for our freedom, the cost of which has come at a high price for them and their familes.

We hope that you will take a minute to remember the efforts of those at Ground Zero six years ago, and know that the Cherry Hill Fire Department recognizes those efforts every day as we prepare and train, ensuring we are ready to respond to your emergency.

Southhampton Technical Rescue

On Thursday, August 27, 2009 the Cherry Hill Fire Department's Technical Rescue team responded to Southampton Township, in Burlington County, for a report of a worker trapped in a trench. When they arrived, members of the rescue team encountered a worker that was trapped up to his waste in a trench that was 3 feet wide, 6 feet long and 8 feet deep. Rescue team members immediately began to protect the worker from further collapse by using wooden panels and Paratech shores. The rescue teams had to deal with Type C soil (soil that is very granular and had water free flowing through it) almost like an hour glass. This is the most dangerous type of soil to work in or around, making the chance of a secondary collapse extremely high. The Cherry Hill Rescue team along with rescue teams from across Burlington County and the New Jersey State Urban Search and Rescue Team, NJ-TF1, worked for over five hours in extreme heat to free the trapped worker. Once freed, the worker was flown to Cooper Trauma Center in Camden where he is expected to make a full recovery.