Proudly serving New Hanover Township & surrounding communities since 1949.
|
Proudly serving New Hanover Township & surrounding communities since 1949. |
Hiram Springer III 44 years of service
1926-2010 |
The Sassamansville Fire Company originated on July 18, 1948, at a meeting held in county Hall near Warren Schoenly's. Stanley Bauman was elected chairman and the first chief of the company. The next meeting was called to order by the chairman, an election of officers was held. President Joseph Swann Vice President Early Kline Recording Secretary William Sands Financial Secretary Oscar Reinert
Treasurer Harold Fryer After December, 1948, until the completion of the firehouse, the meetings were held in the P.O.S of A. Hall. The company's first apparatus, a 1925 Hale Pumper was donated by the Gilbertsville Fire Company on September 7, 1948. It was housed at Harvey Standhardt's property until the firehouse was completed. This was the building across from the local post office in Sassamansville. It was torn down in 1984. Waldemar Standhardt donated a 60'x200' lot for a firehouse. Soon afterwards the fire company purchased the whole field containing about five acres. The company applied for a charter and it was granted in April, 1949. A building committee was formed and held various meetings. Finally on May 10, 1949, a plan was adopted and a motion made to submit the plans to an architect. The architect was Harry G. Mohn of Mohnton, Pennsylvania. On July 11, 1950, bids were given out to have a well drilled and the cellar dug out. This was the beginning of many active days to come. From this time on, voluntary labor was asked for. The volunteers worked Monday and Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons. Several brick layers in the community offered to assist in the laying of cement, blocks, and bricks. Several men donated trucks and time to haul the materials. Chester Gerhart donated the cornerstone for the building. A tree committee was appointed to see if any property owners would donate timber. The trees were felled and cut into boards, joists, and rafters. Stanley Bauman had a sawmill and this is where the trees were cut into lumber. Benjamin Kolb was one that donated trees for the lumber. This was all at no cost to the fire company. This project was headed by a building committee of Paul Jones, Benjamin Kolb, and Wayne Koch. The laying of the cornerstone took place on December 20, 1950. Many carpenters helped with the woodwork in finishing of the building. Many donations and man hours were given to this project. On February 25, 1953, the plastering and heating in the Engine Room was completed and the fire engine was housed in the new building. The house committee applied for a beer and liquor license and on August 11, 1953, the license was received from the state. On September 8, 1953, the social hall was opened for business. Since then, the social hall has been open to members of the company. A grand opening was held in October, 1954. The bartenders were on a volunteer basis without compensation. On August 28, 1952, a meeting was held by the women of the community in conjunction with the Ladies Auxiliary of Gilbertsville Fire Company to organize their own Ladies Auxiliary for Sassamansville Fire Co. Their charter was approved February 13, 1953. Ester Renninger was the auxiliary's first president. The Ladies Auxiliary has been very active with many functions. They have contributed to many projects the fire company has undertaken. November 1956 a tank truck and portable lighting system was purchased. Then in April of 1957, a contract was awarded to W. R. Crosedale to macadam the driveway and parking lot. In March of 1964 a contract was awarded to Quigley Motors to furnish a Dodge chassis according to specifications. In May 1964 a contract was awarded to John Beam Co. to furnish a body and high-pressure system for the chassis. This truck was housed June 12, 1965, with a parade and housing ceremonies. An auction of the 1925 Hale Pumper was held at 4:00 pm. William Gerhart was the highest bidder. This truck is still in running condition at the Gerhart residence. A new four bay apparatus section and the renovated dining room were dedicated on October 11, 1975. A parade preceded this dedication. An emergency van and a second Tank truck was purchased to replace the old Tanker which was given to Fairmount Fire Company in Luzerne County. The firemen and junior firemen went to many fire schools to help improve their firefighting tactics which they still do to this day. The social hall was extended in 1984. A new 1000 GPM FMC Pumper was received in 1984. The Fire Police purchased and renovated a small bus for their activities at fire and disaster areas. A housing and parade ceremony was held September 15, 1984, to dedicate the above additions to the company. In 1996, a Pierce Enforcer Pumper with a 6-Man Saber cab was ordered to update our company's capabilities within the community. The 1984 FMC Pumper remained in service as our Second Due Engine. 1994 Pierce Rescue-style 5-Man Special Service truck was purchased Yardley-Makefield, Bucks County, to replace our old cascade truck. The cascade from the old truck was installed on our Special Service. Since adding this truck to our fleet, it has won several Best in Show awards. In 2002 the Apparatus Bay was extended by 1 bay to a total of 5 bays, a Lounge, Office, Restrooms, and a large Meeting & Training room were added. A second floor porch was enclosed to create a gear storage room. An A-frame roof was built over the entire facility during this expansion. In 2008 we ventured into the the virtual
world with our first attempt at a website. There was a lot to learn about
running a website. In January 2009 with the help of several highly
motivated volunteers we completely overhauled our website design, and created a
more user friendly variant with much more information, and frequent updates to
call statistics and community events. We found a new Web Hosting Company 2009 marked a banner year here at Sassamansville Fire Company starting with the launch of www.sfc68.org in late January. The entire fire service was restructured this year with the intention of sharing resources. One such evolution has to do with how grants are awarded. Specifically specialty trucks such as but not limited to Field/Brush trucks, Aerial trucks, and Tanker trucks are extremely expensive. For years fire companies have relied on state and federal grant monies to absorb the bulk of the purchasing price for these types of trucks. The new statues set forth in grant applications now requires each company to identify what apparatus is available for use with mutual aid response in adjacent companies. For example the government isn't going to approve multiple large grants by multiple companies in one area to put an aerial truck in every Fire Station. The funding just isn't out there anymore. We purchased a new Field truck, built on a 2008 Ford F-550 crew cab chassis. The need for this upgrade was in part due to a neighboring station abandoning Field/Brush service and embracing the sharing of resources concept with the new statues, simply because they had two neighboring stations that provided ample coverage for Field/Brush fires. Our chief Ray Strickland, wrote and submitted an exceptional grant application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA approved the grant request and awarded Sassamansvile Fire Company with $200,000.00 towards the purchase of a new safer 2009 Tanker truck. This addition to our fleet will better serve the community, while increasing the safety of the general public, and our members. In May 2009, our chief, Ray Strickland was named the 2008 Boyertown Area Firefighter/Emergency Medical Services Person of the Year by the Boyertown Jaycees. This was both a great honor, and a personal accomplishment for our chief, as well as our entire company considering everything that had come to fruition this year. In June 2009, we started a new scholarship program at the Boyertown Area Senior High School. In order to qualify for the Sassamansville Fire Company Engine Room scholarship the candidate must be a current active member of a Volunteer Fire Company, or Emergency Medical Services Provider. He/She must plan to continue education for a career within the field of Emergency Services, be it paid or volunteer. Ironically our first year we had only two applicants. Identical twins, both volunteers at the same fire station, both planning to go to the same college, both planning to major in the same subject. Needles to say we had to split the scholarship in half and award each half. There was no way to fairly choose one or the other. In October 2009, we had our 1st Fire Prevention Awareness Open House on Tuesday October 6th. We had plenty of free handouts of informational and activity based materials available for the general public. Kistler O'Brien Fire Protection was on-hand demonstrating the proper use of home fire extinguishers. Engine 68 was giving fire truck rides to the kids. The NEW Field 68 was on display inside the Apparatus Bays. Free refreshments were available at the pavilion. We also conducted a raffle with the Grand Prize of an all-inclusive 3-day, 2-night stay at a Garden of Eden Apple suite at the winner's choice of resorts: Cove Haven, Paradise Stream, or Pocono Palace generously donated by Caesar's Pocono Resorts. In November 2009, our NEW Tanker 68 arrived in station on Friday November 6th. This truck looked absolutely amazing, 4Guys did a fantastic job. On Saturday, May 8th, 2010 the Sassamansville Fire Company hosted a traditional Apparatus Housing Ceremony here at our station in which we officially housed the following units: Special Service 68, Field 68 and Tanker 68. Larry Roeder editor of the Town & Country and life member of Pennsburg Fire Company (as well as others) kicked off our event with the pledge of allegiance, and an introduction of what the Apparatus Housing Ceremony symbolizes. Chaplain Jay Miles of Pennsburg Fire Company performed an enlightening invocation and blessing on the members and apparatus that respond when called to duty. Chief Ray Strickland welcomed everyone out to our event and briefly described the apparatus being housed, and the grueling process in which they were called for, designed, contracted, and brought here to us. Our next guest speaker, Wes Fritz owner of General Insurance Agency told us how the fire service has changed since when he first became a volunteer. He went on to explain that the requirements and regulations of today, while are needed, are a huge burden on those who make a commitment and choose to volunteer. In Pennsylvania, today you are required to have Firefighter I which comprises of nearly 200 hours of certified training in classroom, and practical exams. Wes asked a question to all of the attendees, "Who has time for that in addition to home family lives, both parents working, just to survive in this economy to make such a commitment?" Wes then stated "Look around you at every single person in service, be it here in formal uniform, or their company's T-Shirt, they have made the time. It is important to them." Our Closing speaker 24th District Pennsylvania State Senator Bob Mensch addressed the crowd and spoke about the volunteers here in Pennsylvania. Several engine room members were honored for their exceptional service to our company by the senator. The trucks were housed one by one. Then a sort of Open House atmosphere took over and everyone was enjoying the refreshments, swapping stories, and looking at the apparatus. Full Details and Photos are on the Apparatus Housing Page, and the Photo Gallery.
|
|
Attention Drivers: When you see a vehicle approaching you with blue lights flashing, please yield the right of way to them. That car or truck contains a volunteer Firefighter, Fire Police Officer, or Emergency Medical Services Provider, en-route to a job that pays nothing except the satisfaction of serving our communities by helping to preserve life and limit the loss of property.
Copyright © 2009-2010 Sassamansville Fire Company. All
Rights Reserved. |
Our History 
