Serving the community extends beyond fighting fires for the Glendora Volunteer Fire Company. It also involves some creative adaptive reuse.
Glendora firefighters recently converted the fire company’s 1998 trailer into a mobile charging station using existing equipment — and with donations from sponsors and support from the Gloucester Township Board of Fire Commissioners District 1. Now, when a storm or natural disaster disrupts power, Glendora firefighters will be able to provide a mobile charging station for the community to use during prolonged outages.
“This is an extension of our commitment to providing emergency services within Gloucester Township,” Glendora Fire Chief Michael Ricciardelli said. “We hope our community won’t be impacted by a disaster any time soon, but at least now we will be prepared in the event it is.”
The resource will be made available to the entire Gloucester Township community, in addition to emergency responder partners.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the fire company has expanded the use of the trailer to assist with training and education, recruitment, fire prevention, community involvement and disaster recovery.
The mobile charging station features 36 110v outlets, two 10-port USB hubs, a 3500-watt Honda generator, and tables and tents. The trailer includes a 16-inch standalone 1000-watt air light and two 50-inch mounted LED light bars. Additionally, the audio/video system includes an AM/FM receiver with Bluetooth, four mounted speakers, a standalone loudspeaker (with radio, a microphone and Bluetooth), a DVD player and 55-inch flatscreen monitor.
“Hopefully, the County can add this as a recourse to its computer-aided dispatch system,” Ricciardelli said.
When used in conjunction with the fire company’s drone, firefighters can stream live aerial footage to the 55-inch monitor during training and various incident responses.
“When a section of town is without power, we can supply the charging station to keep resident’s electronics charged and broadcast weather information via the radio or the monitor,” Ricciardelli said.
During prolonged incidents involving police, fire, and other emergency services, Glendora firefighters will be able to supply a charging station for cell phones, tablets and laptops. For community events, firefighters can hook up a laptop to stream movies and messaging, in addition to charging electronics.
“If we need to do socially-distanced training outside, we can hook a laptop and stream through the 55-inch monitor while maintaining a six-foot distance,” the fire chief added.
