**Happy Autumn**

Fire Prevention Week

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Litchfield NH Fire Department

The Litchfield Fire & Rescue Services provide emergency response to all fire, emergency medical, rescue, and hazardous materials incidents occurring in the town.

In the event of natural or man-made disasters, the fire station serves as the town’s Emergency Operations Center, where responses are coordinated by the Fire Chief who also serves as the Town’s Emergency Management Director.

The Department has 32 firefighters, 30 of them being part-time or “call” firefighters, meaning they respond from their homes or, in some cases, businesses in the event of a call. The remaining two firefighters are “full-time”, working at the station from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, as most of the “call” firefighter’s work out of town.

Emergency Medical first response is also provided by firefighters. There is currently 2 Paramedics, 10 Emergency Medical Technicians, with ambulance service provided by the Hudson Fire Department under a contractual agreement.

The department maintains a fleet of 2 engines, 2 tanker/pumpers, 2 brush fire trucks, 2 rescue boats, 1 off road utility vehicle, 1 towable light tower unit, (2) 4x4 SUV vehicles. The 2 primary response engines carry Automatic External Defibrillators, emergency medical equipment, including airbags, the ”Jaws of Life” rescue tool, and thermal imaging cameras in addition to a myriad of other firefighting equipment.

The Department responds to approximately 800 emergencies a year.

Litchfield Fire Station

Built in 1957 at no cost to the taxpayer, the fire station was built by volunteer labor and donated materials, the lumber was cut down from the site and brought to the mill by the volunteer firefighters. The construction which took several years resulted in a two bay garage fire station, with an unfinished open second floor meeting hall. Through the years two more additions were added to the building to accommodate more apparatus as the town grew, again, by volunteer labor and donated materials. Today, the Litchfield Fire Station, located at 257 Charles Bancroft Hwy boasts four overhead doors, containing the fleet of six fire apparatus housed here. Until recently, the two full-time personnel had worked for the last 20 years in a corner cubicle of the second floor conducting the fire department’s business. In 2004 under the direction of current Fire Chief Thomas Schofield, the firefighters during nights and weekends began converting the second floor into usable space. Two offices were built for department administrative work, one Emergency Operations Center, kitchen, bathroom/shower room, and small living/day room. Construction was completed in early 2007 through volunteer labor, with materials both donated by area businesses and a small portion through taxpayer money.

The Fire Station not only houses the fire apparatus, it serves many other purposes. The Emergency Operations Center located on the second floor is where the Fire Chief and staff routinely man during large scale incidents such as floods, snow storms and high wind events resulting in wide area power outages, damage. The Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has two flight paths which run through Litchfield increasing the potential of an aircraft crashing in Town. The fire department has been involved in a few searches for missing small aircraft in past years. The Emergency Operations Center would serve a vital role for the Town, State, and Federal Authorities during such an event. Chemical companies, railroads and defense contractors across the Merrimack River could also be potential incidents that would involve the Operations Centers use.

**Emergencies Call 911 Immediately**