Thirty-five members of the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department and their guests took part in a department social retreat to New York City on Monday, January 5th.

The bus trip was organized in late December after representatives from the Late Show with David Letterman contacted a member of the department inquiring about having members of the HVFD in the audience for the Monday show.

"It was an excellent opportunity to bring our members together in a setting outside the normal day-to-day activities of firehouse live," said HVFD Captain Herb Hasenpusch. "Everyone can spend some time together and not have to worry about responding to calls and concentrate on having a good time as a group."

A tourist bus picked up the membership at the firehouse at 7 a.m. and rolled into Manhattan just before Noon. Members then took the NBC Tour and spent some free time in downtown Manhattan before getting back on the bus just before 4 p.m. to head to the Ed Sullivan Theatre for the taping of the Late Show.

We had excellent seats and everyone had a great time watching the show, which included guests Samuel L. Jackson and Howie Long.

And to top it off, in Dave's opening monologue he singled out HVFD Fire Chief Donald "Doc" Moltrup. Doc's red jacket was in his lap and the camera turned on him and Dave looked at him, gave a funny grin. The camera then went back to the image of Doc and Dave said, "You know sir, you can use that as a flotation device in case of a water landing..."

Doc, also the Voluteer Deputy Chief of the Prince George's County Fire Department, spent the rest of the week hearing "floatation device" jokes from just about every firefighter he saw.

After the show, the membership gave Dave an official HVFD "job shirt".

Members returned to Hyattsville just in time to see the show at 11:30 p.m.

A portion of the trip was supported by the department's membership incentive fund while the members paid for the rest of their activities while in New York.

About a half-dozen HVFD members stood by at the station along with two career personnel and few members of the Berwyn Heights Volunteer Fire Department to ensure that our citizens continued to receive the highest quality of service.

In 1997, more than 75 volunteer fire and EMS personnel responded to nearly 4,000 calls for assistance in the community. These members are dedicated, well-trained men and women who give their all for the citizens they serve.

"Outings like this make us an even better team and improves the level of service we provide to the residents of Hyattsville and Prince George's County," said HVFD Sgt. Dave Iannone, the event's organizer.

Another member summed up the day's activities best.

"The trip to was an opportunity to spend time together in a completely new and exciting environment," said HVFD Volunteer Firefighter/EMS Jillyn Zentgraf, a graduate student at George Washington University. "We were able to laugh at someone else rather than at each other. It was also the perfect opportunity to advertise the type of membership that Hyattsville prides itself on."