Springfield FAS: Driver Swerved to Avoid Deer, Hit Pole

Emergency responders assisted in evening accident.

The Springfield First Aid Squad was called to Milltown Road for a motor vehicle accident on Wednesday, Dec. 12. At approximately 11:30 p.m. a car struck a pole. The driver told responders he lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid a deer in the road. The First Aid Squad crew called in off-duty members to staff its second ambulance to assist at the scene and transport two individuals to a nearby trauma center. Squad members said the injuries did not appear to be serious. Springfield Police officers also responded to the scene. The Springfield Fire Department was also requested to secure the scene and assist the First Aid Squad. A First Aid Squad member noted that deer breed during the late fall and early winter. Because they are …

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Hurricane Sandy

Emergency Preparedness Information Bulletin from Mayor Shehady, Oct. 26

Overview of action taken by Springfield Township officials and employees in build-up to storm.

The following message from Mayor Shehady was posted at 11 a.m. on Oct. 26. ---------- Township of Springfield officials have been meeting to discuss preparations and plan for pre-emptive activities ahead of the approaching major storm. We have been working around town to mitigate flooding that includes the collection of leaves and debris, the running of street sweepers, inspection and maintenance of storm drains and stormwater basins and inspection of municipal waterways. Authorization has been given to work through the weekend if necessary so crews will be working beyond close of business Friday. We have requested that Union County and the State send crews to Springfield to check county streams, waterways and under the Morris Avenue …

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Car Crashes into Morris Ave. Home

Two members of family sent to hospital following accident.

A car crashed into a Morris Avenue home, sending two people to the hospital, including a small child. Emergency responders said that some time around 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, an elderly driver of a town car lost control of his vehicle. Reportedly swaying the vehicle as he drove the one-way street, the driver—described by neighbors and emergency responders as in his 70s or older—lost control of his vehicle and spun into a single family home set set back from the road.  His car was lodged into the home up to the windshield and required firefighters and emergency responders from Springfield and neighboring towns to perform emergency carpentry to extract the vehicle. Neighbors said the man was not injured in the accident.  The car slammed …

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Firefighters Battle Cranford Blaze

Fire broke out around 7:30 p.m., with firefighters from nearby towns helping to bring it under control.

A heavy fire tore through a two-story woodframe home at 21 Normandie Place in Cranford on Tuesday night. Cranford firefighters responded to the scene of the two-alarm fire at approximately 7:30 p.m. to find the home engulfed in smoke and flames. Westfield firefighters arrived just after 7:30 pm to provide mutual aid. Crews from the nighboring township used a ladder truck to access the roof of the home. Roselle firefighters were also called to assist in efforts to extinguish the blaze. The main body of the fire was reportedly extinguished at about 8:05 p.m. The cause of the fire is unknown.

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Photos: Irene Hits Springfield

Please add photos of your neighborhood here.

Patch contributor Scott Sandler sent in some pics taken outside his home Sunday morning when the water had risen to over a foot.  How is your neighborhood doing? Upload your pictures here and send me reports at adamb@patch.com. Please be mindful that Springfield has closed streets to non-emergency response traffic. Stay safe. 

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Photos: Bracing for Irene

Businesses board up and try to communicate with storm.

Employees at Kay's Hardware report that the Morris Ave. store is out of flashlights, batteries and duct tape and they are running low on tarp, sandbags and mulch.  Some residents got in their last dogwalks and jogs in before battening down the hatches during breaks in rain. A handful of homes and stores have boarded their windows.  Parking has been banned around Springfield's Town Hall, and signs have been placed around the flood-prone area warning motorists away. Police cruisers and other township vehicles have been moved to the Dayton High parking lot.  Stores are open on Rte 22, with one business owner attempting to open communications with the hurricane itself, asking it to not harm the public face of the company. 

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Springfield’s First Aid Squad Members Share Hurricane Tips

EMTs remind residents to prepare for the storm.

Springfield First Aid Squad Captain Apu Mullick reminds residents that in addition to checking on food, water, flashlights, and medications they might take everyday, etc., we would remind residents to check on the medical devices as well.  He said that many residents may need in-home oxygen that uses electricity to separate oxygen from the air and probably also have cylinders of compressed gas for emergencies. Those residents should make sure those tanks are full, that all of the pieces needed to use the tanks are available and working, and that the patients and their families know how to use them. “About a month ago, a resident called with difficulty breathing in the middle of the night,” Mullick said. “Two police officers, a fire engine…

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Brett Biebelberg

4:06 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011

A tip I just learned this morning: because a power outage may leave you without a working freezer/fridge for a period of time, fill up a few empty bottles of soda with water and stick them in your freezer. You can use them as ice to keep food cool if the power goes out without having to worry about venturing out to buy bags of ice.   more ›

Fire and Police Battle Fire at Morris Ave. Apartment

Emergency services make quick work of small, smoky fire.

Springfield emergency services made quick work of a smoky fire in a Morris Ave. apartment this afternoon. Township police responded to the fire first, getting to the first floor apartment in the building behind Kris’s Family Barbershop shortly before 2:45 p.m. Captain John Cook, the Officer in Charge of Springfield’s police department, said that the officers responding to the fire found that no people were in the apartment, but that smoke was quickly filling up the structure. The police evacuated people from nearby storefronts. Kris Yawnick, co-owner of the barbershop, said that he and his staff, who were eating lunch during a lull in business, did not know about the fire until alerted by the police. “Thank God we didn’t have anybody in …

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How Well Do You Know 10 N. Trivett Ave.?

Or for that matter, how well do you know the Springfield First Aid Squad?

10 North Trivett Avenue. You drive by it as we all do traveling up or down Mountain Avenue. You pass the library and before you know it you see Town Hall. You never give 10 North Trivett Avenue a second glance. Ask anybody in town where the fire house is, and they know; the police department, and they know that, too. But where is the building that is home to the Springfield First Aid Squad? Well, it is not a very impressive building. Owned by the First Aid Squad, it's a a small kind of white very tired looking aluminum siding. Double driveway, small front porch. Up until last week not much to look at from the inside either. Carpeting worn thin buy members, as well as others who have held events in the building including Mended Hearts and S…

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