Monday February 14th 2011

Here is the recap of this past weeks work night.

Cleanup was needed after the visit of the Capital Outlay Committee on Saturday morning. The committee was very impressed with the tour of our facility and listened intently to our capital needs. The group was split off in two groups and were shown all of our equipment in our trailers and in our garage. Coffee and pastries were served and much appreciated by the members. Tours were lead by Director Polimer and Off. Levine.

The capital needs for the department for this year are: a replacement four wheel drive vehicle, this would be replacing our Utility Truck which is over 30 years old. Also a replacement of our large generator on the Squad Truck. This generator is over 50 years old and would be replaced by a larger capacity, diesel generator.

See the picture below of our breakfast set up and a mock set up of our portable sign systems. It showed the versatility of the Velcro sign overlays.

 A new project was launched, making secure straps for leaving generators or large items in public ways unattended. The straps were made using quarter inch steel wire, wire clamps and heat shrink. Purchased were keyed alike padlocks that can be used to lock up an item to a traffic sign, telephone pole, etc.

The wire was cut using our plasma torch, then the ends were finished using our TIG welder, so the wire would slip into the clamp. Then the ends were secured using heat shrink.

Two straps will be added to each vehicle. See pictures below of the production line.

Another project that is underway is helping the Health Department. They have purchased through Federal funding, a special vaccine refrigerator. It can be powered by a wall outlet, 12 volt car outlet and a separate power supply. The idea being loading up the fridge with vaccine at the Health Office, and then transporting it to the dispensing site. The Health Department would like the large fridge and its components to be put on a cart so it can be easily  moved from site to site. This will be an ongoing project in future weeks. See the picture below of the fridge.

Monday February 7th, 2011

This monday was the first official monday of the month. Monthly radio drill with Region 2D RACES network was preformed. A radio was not transmitting properly and was fixed during the drill. These monthly drills help Sharon CD maintain their equipment to top performance.

A needed reorganization of our wire storage cabinet has been needed for years. With some members off at other meetings this night, it was a good time to reorganize and throw away not needed items.

First aid kits in our LEPC trailer was inspected and expired items were ordered.

Sharon's Capital Outlay Committee is meeting this saturday with Director Polimer and Off. Levine. Talking points and the capital procedures were talked about with the CD members and the EOC was cleaned for the committee. Capital items wanted this coming year are: a replacement 50 kw generator, and a new Utility Truck.

See the picture below of the completed electric control panel for the installed diesel generator on the Bucket Truck.

Monday January 31, 2011

Another monday night, another impending storm on the horizon. Its been a long, snowy winter in Massachusetts. CD members have been constantly shoveling and plowing out our equipment, so they are ready in case of deployment.

This monday worked continued on the bucket truck generator project. Control wires were fished through the boxes and are ready to connect to the control panel. The panel was check for wiring issues, and the box was correctly wired.

First aid kits on all CD vehicles were checked and expired materials are being ordered. During all deployments, a full first aid kit is taken with CD members. Thanks to our Medical Liaison, Randy Vogenberg, he has made our safety procedures and equipment up to date.

CD members are also in process of updating our emergency contacts for all emergencies. This includes, CD members, MEMA, Red Cross, and other Town of Sharon contacts.

Director Polimer and Plans and Training Officer Levine attend the Town's Open Meeting Law review. Civil Defense Department has been compliant with the State's Law's.

Our large capacity battery was fabricated with a triple 12 volt power outlet. This battery can be used for anything that runs on 12 volts like hand held spot lights, warning beacons, cell phones, and our search light box.

A new project has been thought about during the search light box. Making a large scale cell phone charging station. A board would be made to have 20 + power outlets available during a sheltering or warming event. The board would only have enough power to charge cell phones and could be powered by any generator.