THE WESTWOOD FIRE DEPARTMENT ANSWERS TWENTY CALLS DURING MARCH 2025

Under the command of Fire Chief Brian Kronewitter, the Westwood Fire Department was called 20
times for emergency assistance during the month of March 2025. Chief Kronewitter reports that none of
the calls turned out to be a serious fire in Westwood.
The 20 emergency calls, three training drills and three work/maintenance sessions
required over 370 hours of volunteer time.
The Westwood Fire Department was called out of town for six incidents. To assist the Washington Twp.
Fire Department on two occasions, the Hillsdale Fire Department on two occasions and once each to
River Vale and Emerson.
Automatic fire alarms were received four times in March. Although no fires existed at any of these
incidents, a full fire department response is required. Firefighters check the entire building to determine
if an actual fire exists. Two times the alarms were set off by cooking. A citizen changing the batteries in
a smoke detector caused one response.
One call was for a smell of natural gas, the fire department responded and investigated, finding that a
control knob on a stove had been turned on accidentally without the burner igniting.
Three Carbon Monoxide (CO) calls were received. Readers are reminded that CO is an odorless and
colorless gas caused by malfunctioning heating or cooking equipment. It can be lethal at high levels.
Again, each of these calls require a full fire department response. Fire crews check the entire building
with meters. No CO readings were found at two of the incidents. The third was a basement water flood
alarm mistaken for a carbon monoxide alarm.
Three motor vehicle crashes occurred. At two of these calls fire crews contained fluid spills with
absorbent material. The other crash was a car hitting a borough home. Fire rescue crews inspected the
situation and determined the houses were not structurally compromised and shut the electric power to
the affected area of the house.
The Westwood Fire Department and Fire Prevention Bureau would like to point out that as we move
into spring, this is the time of year when you can “Spring Clean” certain fire hazards in your
home.
Very important on this list are working smoke detectors in your home, so if you forgot to
replace your smoke detector batteries last month when you changed the clocks ahead, please
take a few minutes to do so.
Take the time to go through the attic, basement, or cluttered closets and donate, recycle,
and/or throw away any unneeded, accumulated items such as newspapers, magazines,
packaging, boxes, and clothing, all of which become potential fire hazards when stored in large
quantities. Never store combustibles close to the water heater or furnace. Three feet away is a
good rule of thumb.

While often overlooked, not cleaning the clothes dryer vent can pose a significant fire hazard.
When the highly combustible lint accumulates, it reduces the airflow, which can increase the
temperature enough to ignite it!
Test all windows, not only to ensure that their locks are working properly, but that they can be
quickly and easily opened from the inside should you need to use one as an emergency exit. In
many situations the window is your second way out if the first way out (a door) is blocked by
fire or smoke.
This article was submitted by the Westwood Fire Department. Any Fire Department related questions
can be e-mailed to wwfdchief@westwoodnj.gov or by calling 201-664-0526. The fire prevention bureau
can be reached at dblankenbush@westwoodnj.gov or by calling 201-664-7100 ext 308. PLEASE NOTE;
THESE PHONE NUMBERS ARE BUSINESS/NON-EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS, FOR FIRES/EMERGENCIES
CALL 911.