01 Jul 10
Last April, on a warm spring morning, members of the Durham Fire Department responded to the town's largest market for a reported explosion. The Durham Marketplace, where firefighters shop for meals almost daily, was only open for a short time when the incident occured. After ordering evacuation of the store over the market's PA, Perry Shaw, the market's manager placed a 911 call bringing fire and police units to the store. The blast, scrambled employees who quickly determined the cause was from a rapid release of refrigerant stemming from a catastrophic equipment failure in one of the many pieces of cooling equipement. Leaving one employee unconscious, co-workers were able to rescue the man and bring hm to fresh air before responders arrived. The Markeplace was fortunate not to have encoutered serious damage from the failure and was able to re-open several hours later. Other businesses in the plaze were evacuated while the cause of the leak was investigated and the hazard was isolated.
A landmark to residents of Durham and those who live and work in the UNH community, the Marketplace is also known to firefighters as one of those "go to" friends of the department. Having assisted the DFD and the Durham Professional Fire Fighters with fundraisers in the past, fire fighters quickly learned who they could count on. Without their sizable donation some years ago, the department more than likely would have delayed purchasing its first thermal imaging camera which cost thousands of dollars. The camera, able to display changes in heat is an instrumental tool used frequently by the department.
Without being asked, the Market routinely steps up without hesitation. "Every day there's an oppurtunity for us to help someone" says Pam Shaw, one of the many smiling faces fire fighters encounter each visit. Last spring, several grocery orders were taken over the phone when some residents were hemmed in by flood waters for several days, unable to leave their neighborhoods even for the bare necessities. Aftrer collecting and bagging the orders, they had all the goods ready to go so the only thing fire fire fighters had to do was deliver them. A repeat good citizen, every winter the Marketplace serves as a collection point for the Seacoast Fire Fighters Toy Bank, and is the annual site locals can count on to find the perfect Christmas tree sold by the Scouts. Even in the wake of the refrigerant leak accident, the Marketplace recognized a need and decided to make lemonade out of lemons.
"We found out the department didn't have a meter to detect refrigerants, so we just decided to just go purchase one for you" said Chuck Cressy, owner of the Marketplace. With several of his employees joining him last Monday, the meter was presented to a couple of fire department members who were out shopping for lunch. Catching the fire fighters as they arrived, Perry arranged an impromptu meeting in front of the Kaleida-Scoop, the Marketplace's ice-cream shop. The meter, able to detect a large array of refrigerant gases, is currently having its capabilities evaluated and will be placed into service after members are trained in its use.
Reaching deep in its pockets in a challenging economy, the Marketplace comes through yet again. Donating the meter will help firefighters identify refrigeration leaks, especially important when there may not be anyone around to tell the fire department what is leaking when such an event occurs. A great big thank you from the Durham Professional Fire Fighters and ALL the members of DFD.
