Like many communities of the early 1900s, fire protection in the Township of Pine consisted of caring neighbors that came running with buckets of water when someone’s house caught on fire. After handling a fire with a bucket brigade in 1921, a small group of men gathered and organized. They established the Wexford Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 of the Township of Pine.
In 1922, the first members of the Wexford Volunteer Fire Company purchased the company’s fire truck. They accomplished this not through taxes or other government resources, but through their own donations and contributions. The truck, a 1922 Model T Ford, consisted of an open cab style, with the latest firefighting technology of the time, including three tanks with a total capacity of 110 gallons. The tanks contained water and soda acid. The mixture of water and soda acid created a chemical reaction that generated enough pressure to fight the fire. Since there were no fire hydrants at the time, the firefighters used ponds or creeks to replenish water supplies.
The first Fire Chief, Joseph F. Brooker, recorded one of the first fires that the official Wexford Volunteer Fire Company attended, which was on Perry Highway in Wexford at a house owned by A.F. Einhouse. The Chief reported that due to the quick response of the firefighters and the efficiency of the new Model T fire engine, the damage was contained to about $100 in damages.
The first station was a wood garage behind member Herman Cole’s home on Church Road. Shortly after, the fire company leased property from the Brooker family to build a one-bay garage. The building was constructed out of concrete blocks and had double-swinging doors.
By 1951, the fire company owned a fleet of three vehicles and needed to expand the building. A two-bay concrete garage complete with a kitchen and restrooms was constructed. Public water was not common to the area so the firefighters installed a cistern. This part of the facility became the rental hall. Many natives to the North Hills may remember attending a wedding or perhaps having their own wedding in the old fire hall.
In 1958, the fire company purchased a new Mack pumper, which created a need for additional space. The land beside the existing building was purchased and a concrete block drive-though garage was built and the existing garage converted into the rental hall.
On October 22, 1970, the WVFC suffered a terrible loss when Chief Clarence Hartman experienced a heart attack while working a structure fire in Bradford Woods. He was inside directing crews in overhaul operations when the heart attack struck. Attempts to revive Chief Hartman on that way to the hospital were unsuccessful. By all accounts of members that knew Chief Hartman, he was truly a beloved and dedicated leader of the WVFC.
In the 1990s, rapid growth hit the Township of Pine. Much of the rural farming character of the community took on more of a suburban character. To keep up with the growth, the fire company in cooperation with the Township of Pine made a few key moves. First, the tanker was moved to the Township building in 1992 for closer coverage to areas of the Township without hydrants. Next, a substation was constructed on Babcock Boulevard beside the Pennsylvania Turnpike in 1996. The brush truck was initially housed at the substation as a primary response vehicle until a second engine was purchased. Various trucks have been rotated through this station, but it has maintained an engine, squad, and traffic control trailer since 2009. This station was eventually outfitted for our first live-in program in 2003.
Despite a sluggish economy, WVFC continued to grow at a steady pace through the early 2000s. The demands of the community’s growth started to outpace the ability to provide fire protection from the original main station, and WVFC initiated planning for a new main station in 2005. After years of property searching, and building planning, a new main station was constructed on North Chapel Drive in 2011. This station provided much-needed space to improve our capabilities through better training facilities, ample garage space and expanded live-in facilities.
While not a line of duty death, the WVFD experienced the tragic loss of another active-duty fire chief in 2012. Chief Emeritus Kenneth M. Young lost a battle with cancer on November 6, 2011. Chief Emeritus Young was a long-serving and dedicated chief and had also served the public as a police officer for the Northern Regional Police Department. The new main station was in large part of his vision and was named in his honor as a part of a memorial to his life. Please visit our memorial page to learn more about Chief Emeritus Young.
Today, we have grown from that single Model T Ford pumper in a one-bay garage, to a fleet of ten vehicles in three stations.
The Wexford area was originally settled by German and Irish immigrants.
In the early 1800s, Ambrose Schaeffer from Baden-Baden Germany and Martin Byrne from Wexford, Ireland were key settlers in the area, and worked to draw missionaries to the area. The first Catholic Mass was held at the log cabin of Martin Byrne, and Mr. Byrne became the first postmaster in the area. The local postal region was named Wexford, after Mr. Byrne’s place of birth.
In the early 2000s, local historians and representatives from St. Alphonsus Church established a connection with County Wexford, Ireland. The late Marty McKinney, Sr., a retired life member of the fire company at the time, brought the idea of establishing a link between the fire services to member Tim Flaherty. Through the Internet, Tim was able to make contact with Assistant Fire Officer Simon Geraghty who was interested in keeping touch wth their counterparts across the pond.
According to Mr. Geraghty, County Wexford has 116,000 residents. Due to premier beaches and hotels, the population exploded to over 180,000 in the summer months. Fire protection is provided through the five stations: Wexford (Headquarters), Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross, and Bunclody. The service consists of 65 paid part-time firefighters, a Chief, two Senior Assistant Chiefs, and two Assistant Chiefs and an Assistant Fire Chief.
