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The event that prompted the organization of the
Fire Company was the fire that destroyed the K.G.E. Hall on Main Street
on a night early in February of 1912.
The borough of Mt. Wolf was incorporated August 23,
1910 and was without fire protection until the year 1913. The citizens
didn’t realize this until the K.G.E. Hall burnt.
On April 21, 1913, the present Fire Company was
charted under the name of Eagle Fire Co. No. 1 of Mt. Wolf Borough.
The first officers of the company consisted of the
following:
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President |
C. J. Eisenhower |
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Vice President |
J. P. Wogan |
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Financial Secratary |
Chas. E. Kohr |
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Recording Secratary |
Earle L. Wolf |
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Treasurer |
A. H. Ness |
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Trustees |
E. F. Rhodes |
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C. F. Sipe |
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J. F. Buser |
On May 2, 1913, the Fire Company purchased its
first hand drawn fire engine plus 1200 feet of 2 ½ inch hose.
We moved into the present building in 1916, which
was an old school house.
Since 1913 there was a lot of equipment purchased.
In 1921 we became motorized when we purchased a triple combination fire
engine from The Waterous Engine Co., mounted on a Ford Truck. This
truck was in service for the company until 1938 when a triple
combination was mounted on a Reo Fire Truck and Buffalo equipment were
purchased.
In 1930 a 5 H.P. fire siren was bought and mounted
on top of the fire engine house.
1932 it was decided to start and organize a ladies
auxiliary to the Eagle Fire Company, which has given valuable assistance
in the advancement of the Company. A new kitchen was sponsored and
built by the ladies and they also had a part in purchasing the fire
engine.
The fire company has done quite a bit of remodeling
since 1938. There was a social hall in the basement, which was open to
the firemen and their friends.
Around May 1950 the company decided to purchase a
new apparatus and make the necessary repairs and additions to the engine
house. President W. Z. Eisenhower appointed a committee of 5 men to
finance the engine and building and make suggestions as to what type of
truck to purchase. In 1951 an F.W.D. Fire Truck was purchased for
$12,808. It was a 600 gal. truck with a 300 gal booster tank. The
additions and repairs to the building cost approximately $7,000. The
new truck arrived in early September 1951.
Our first tank truck was constructed on a 1948 Ford
chassis, which served the fire company until 1962. We then purchased a
1962 Ford chassis and transferred our old tank truck equipment to the
new chassis.
In 1956 we purchased the adjoining Rhodes property
for use of the land. By spring of 1963, it was decided to remove the
house and put the land to use as the Fire Company sees fit. In 1957 we
replaced our house siren from a five horsepower to a ten horsepower
siren mounted on a 45-foot pole.
In 1963 we had our 50th anniversary
banquet. A lot of the older members attended.
In 1971 we decided to purchase a new fire engine,
which was another F.W.D. for $37,053. We also purchased a new radio for
the chief’s truck and three new monitors.
In 1973 the present engine room was built with four
bays and the old engine room was remodeled including the office which is
still currently used. Also in this year there was a motion made that
women between the ages of 16 and 65 will be eligible for membership.
Between 1973 and 1976 all additions and remodeling were completed.
In 1994 we purchased our new engine. It was bought
from Darley at a cost of $220,000. Over the years, we did a lot of our
own designing and reworking our trucks to save money. In 1981 we
decided our 1962 tanker had to be replaced. After a committee was
formed they decided to go with a tractor and 3000 gallon trailer. This
lasted to the year 2000 when we decided to refurbish our trailer at
Snyder’s Truck Center and replace the tractor with a 1995 Tractor.
Through the efforts of vice president, Scott Elfner, this project was
completed in February 2000.
We decided that our 1971 Engine needed replaced.
After many meetings and long discussions a decision was made to replace
the engine with something similar to what we had. As a result we
ordered our newest truck from Central States Fire Apparatus. As every
firemen wishes to receive a fire truck for Christmas, our new Engine was
delivered to us a week before Christmas of 2001. During the winter of
2002-2003 and the big snow storm on President’s Day Weekend, we got much
use out of this new addition to our family. Our 4x4 and Class A Foam
capabilities came in very handy trying to get to and battling a
structure fire on Riverview Drive in East Manchester Township.
We are always looking for better ways to improve
our service to our community. Therefore, our company has seen many
changes and upgrades to the equipment and tools carried on our
apparatus. We are looking forward many more years of community service.
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