Despite 1,000 fire calls in 2022, 2023 starts quietly

Contributed by Judy Fish

Lake Monticello firefighters responded to 1,000 calls in 2022, but fortunately rang in the New Year in relative quiet, according to the Lake Monticello fire chief.

“New Year’s Eve was quiet, thank God,” Lake Monticello Fire Chief Richie Constantino said. “The only incident we had was a motor vehicle accident around 10 p.m. on South Boston Road in the area of CVEC sub-station where a vehicle drove off the roadway, struck a telephone pole, breaking the phone pole in half and causing the vehicle to roll several times.” 

The chief said the driver had fled the scene before police, fire and rescue arrived.

“Fire department personnel searched the wooded areas around the scene with thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to determine whether the driver was thrown from the vehicle, lying injured in the woods or fled and was hiding from police,” Constantino said. 

“The pole was broken in half and the telephone wires were hanging over the roadway,” he said. “Fire officials and a CVEC employee tied a rope to the top of the broken pole and pulled the wires to the side of the road and secured it to a tree so the road could be opened until the pole gets replaced.” The chief said there was no disruption of service due the crash.

One of those 1,000 fire calls in 2022 was a home fire on Dec. 30 on Jefferson Drive at Lake Monticello, where the chief said the homeowner did “everything right.”

“When the homeowner smelled smoke, she immediately called 911 for a fire department response and her smoke detectors alerted her to the smoke condition,” he said. “This was a straightforward situation.”

He said that microwave fire caused about $25,000 in damage and has been ruled an accident. No occupants or firefighters were injured, he added.

The Lake Monticello Police Department was on the scene to control traffic because Jefferson Drive was blocked by fire apparatus for approximately 45 minutes, the chief said.

Chief Constantino offers these tips to make 2023 a safer year:

Immediately call 911 when you believe you have an emergency or possible emergency and do not call the Lake Monticello Main Gate.

Do not waste time procrastinating trying to rectify the situation yourself, valuable seconds and minutes are lost which can cause loss of life, injuries, and greater property damage.

Don’t feel you are “bothering” the firefighters, that is our job. Reporting delays make matters worse for the firefighters. 

Be sure your smoke detectors and other early warning devices are operational, and batteries are replaced twice a year.

If your smoke detectors are ten years or older, replace them.

Exit the premises and do not go
back in.