HFD Holiday Open House Draws Large Crowd

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HFD Holiday Open House Draws Large Crowd

Written by Owen Magee, hicksville@antonnews.com Friday, 28 December 2012 00:00

Fire safety, rides with Santa highlight

annual family friendly event

The Hicksville Fire Department’s 2nd Annual Holiday Fire Safety Open House on Dec. 2 called attention to the many fire and emergency issues that our community faces every year.

Malfunctioning smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, food on the stove fires and overloaded electrical circuits are only some of the dangers posed in local Hicksville homes.

Children enjoyed testing out their skills with the hose. Photo by Kevin Imm During the event, information was available to residents on how avoid mishaps that would cause the fire department to respond to your house. The fire department responds to 800-900 fire calls every year. Most of these alarms are preventable. Some of these mishaps have resulted in serious fires.

A recent bedroom fire damaged the second floor of a home on Underhill Avenue in Hicksville and multiple units responded and brought the fire under control quickly. The fire was traced to an overloaded outlet strip in the bedroom. Improperly used outlet strips have been responsible for at least three fatal fires in Hicksville alone during the last few years, according to the fire department.

The aftermath of what was once a fully decorated Christmas tree is on display. As noted at its open house demonstration fire, outlet strips are not made to supply electricity to appliances such as irons and vacuum cleaners. The strips are also not able to handle numerous transformer plugs; if you have a surge protector strip, it’s only protected if it’s plugged into a grounded outlet (many outlets in older homes are not grounded). To see if you have a grounded outlet, a simple, cheap detector type plug can be purchased at a local hardware or home improvement store to test your outlets.

“Yes, we bribed you into attending with Santa and fire engine rides, which we know all the children enjoyed, but we hope you took home the safety information we provided to help make your home safer,” said one Hicksville firefighter.

If you have any questions, please contact the Hicksville Fire Department at (516) 933-6444. The HFD would also like to wish all local residents a very happy holiday season and a happy fire-safe New Year.

News

Hicksville Board Outlines District Profile

Thursday, 16 May 2013 00:00

Hicksville School District Superintendent Maureen Bright gave an overall picture of the district profile at the school board meeting last Wednesday night. The meeting was the final one before the upcoming budget vote, which will take place on Tuesday, May 21 at Hicksville High School from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The total number for the 2013-14 proposed budget is $124,595,008. This is a 3.29 percent increase or $3,963,375 from the 2012-13 school year. In 2012-13 the total budget was $120,631,633.

Sports

Hicksville Wrestlers Place In States

Thursday, 16 May 2013 00:00

James Russo, 11, of Hicksville, came in sixth place in the States Competition at 120lbs. Ryan Schecht, 11, of Hicksville, placed third in the States at 105lbs, and is on his way to the Nationals Championship.

Beach Stickers Sale

Thursday, 09 May 2013 00:00

Begins Saturday, May 11

Seasonal beach stickers may be purchased beginning on Saturday, May 11, so that residents may get their beach stickers ahead of time and avoid the rush during the Memorial Day weekend, when some town beaches will open for weekends.

“So many residents enjoy the beautiful beaches that we have here in the Town of Oyster Bay and eagerly look forward to the first opportunity to enjoy those beaches during the Memorial Day weekend,” Councilman Joseph Pinto said. “Town residents, who purchase a town beach sticker in advance of the beaches opening, will avoid the possibility of waiting in line during opening weekend.”