Schuylkill County Firefighting

By Michael R. Glore and Michael J. Kitsock

From the inception of the Friendship Hose Company No. 1 of Orwigsburg in 1820 to the organization of the West Penn Fire Company No. 1 in 1999, more than 130 volunteer fire companies have served Schuylkill County. This proud tradition of volunteer service for the protection of fellow man continues strong to this day as scores of volunteer firefighters continue to serve their communities. Using the archives of the Schuylkill County Historical Society, Schuylkill Historical Fire Society, and many fire companies and individuals, Schuylkill County Firefighting captures in its images the daunting challenges faced by generations of Schuylkill firefighters. Block-burning conflagrations, deadly explosions, and traumatic rescues reveal the heroic battles faced over the years by these dedicated public servants.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439638699

Michael R. Glore

Michael R. Glore and Michael J. Kitsock are veteran Schuylkill County firefighters and authors of Pottsville Firefighting and Reading Firefighting. Glore is a career firefighter with the Reading Fire Department and a member of the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society, Pennsylvania National Fire Museum, and Phoenix Fire Company No. 2 of Pottsville. Kitsock is a fire instructor and serves as president of the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society and is a member of the Seltzer Hose Company and Pennsylvania National Fire Museum.

Book preview

The Strand Theater was located in the four-story Oppenheimer Building at the corner of South Main and East Oak Streets in Shenandoah. On December 27, 1965, at approximately 1:32 p.m., Box 23 was transmitted for a fire that resulted from an overheated flue in a bucket-a-day coal stove in the basement of the building. In the early stages of the fire, firefighters advance hose lines over the aerial ladder on Rescue Hook and Ladder of Shenandoah’s 1947 Seagrave tractor-drawn 75-foot aerial ladder truck. (Historical Society of Schuylkill County.)

ON THE COVER: Good Intent of Pottsville has its 1958 Oren pumper in service as West End of Pottsville operates the ladder pipe on its 1960 Seagrave 65-foot quint (quintuple combination pumper/ ladder) at the fire that destroyed the Strand Theater on South Main Street in Shenandoah. The fire occurred December 27, 1965. Three separate fires—in 1965, 1980, and 1995—would eventually claim all the buildings in this photograph. (Historical Society of Schuylkill County.)

Schuylkill County Firefighting

Michael R. Glore

Michael J. Kitsock

Copyright © 2010 by Michael R. Glore and Michael J. Kitsock

9781439638699

Published by Arcadia Publishing

Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009941630

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Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

One - NORTH

Two - SOUTH

Three - EAST

Four - WEST

Five - CENTRAL

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY FIRE COMPANIES BY MUNICIPALITY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Volunteer firefighting commenced in Schuylkill County over 200 years ago, and the noble tradition of protecting our fellow citizens continues strongly to this day. Over 130 volunteer firefighting organizations in Schuylkill County have served their communities, and thousands of volunteers have answered the call to duty. Nowhere in the United States has the role of the volunteer firefighter been filled more proudly. This book is dedicated to generations of volunteer firefighters who faced the fiery foe and to the 35 Schuylkill County firefighters who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Photograph collections from the Historical Society of Schuylkill County (HSSC) and the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society (SHFS) provided most of the materials for Schuylkill County Firefighting. Several Schuylkill County fire companies have also responded to a call for information. These include the Good Intent Fire Company of Llewellyn; American Fire Company, Fountain Springs; Good Will Fire Company No. 4, Pottsville; and the Phoenix Fire Company No. 2, Shenandoah.

Many brother and sister firefighters provided encouragement, support, and materials. We would be remiss not to mention some of our greatest contributors. Fire chiefs include Frank Zangari, Joseph Kufrovich, David Hardinger, Jason Kane, Eric Eichenburg, James Reed, and Michael Pothering. Firefighters and friends are Francis Senglar, Jon Morgalis, David Pothering, Thomas Nork, Thomas Dempsey, Herbert Spangler, John Yaag, James McGlaughlin, William Reigle, Raymond Jones, Adam Bernodin, and Robert Dusel. Special thanks go to Dean Meyers for the information on the June 2, 1959, Red Church disaster in Orwigsburg and also to Richard Nagle of the Historical Society of Schuylkill Haven. Schuylkill County Fire photographer Daniel Markiewicz added several fire photographs from his archives, which greatly augmented our efforts.

Enjoy your reading as we commemorate our proud heritage.

—Michael R. Glore and Michael J. Kitsock

INTRODUCTION

No area the size of Schuylkill County in the United States can boast of more volunteer firefighters serving its communities. Following the discovery of anthracite coal in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in 1790, wave after wave of European immigrants flocked to the coalfields in pursuit of jobs and dreams. To protect developing neighborhoods and communities, volunteer fire companies soon emerged, each proclaiming lofty ideals through a proud name—Liberty, Friendship, Good Intent, Humane, Alert, Defenders, Independence, German-American, and Polish-American to name a few. By the mid-20th century, over 130 volunteer fire companies had been organized in Schuylkill County, serving as focal points for safety and socialization of the citizens.

Schuylkill County Firefighting presents the proud story of volunteer firefighting in this unique region of Pennsylvania. From the inception of volunteer firefighting in Schuylkill County in 1820 through the technological advancements of today, a story steeped in dedication, tradition, loyalty, bravery, and unflinching service to fellow man emerges. Firefighting is inherently dangerous, and 35 Schuylkill County volunteer firefighters have made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. Several of these dramatic stories become apparent through the images in this book.

With over 10,000 volunteer firefighters in the county membership ranks today, Schuylkill County Firefighting will have magnetic appeal throughout this region. Generations of family members have dutifully served respective community volunteer fire companies. Veteran firefighting coauthors Michael Glore and Michael J. Kitsock have carefully incorporated images from every region in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania—from the sleepy farming community of Orwin to the industrial city of Pottsville, from the mining community of Shenandoah to the old canal towns of Port Clinton and Port Carbon. As firefighters themselves, Glore and Kitsock provide firsthand accounts of many of the incidents included in this book.

Several major disasters have occurred in Schuylkill County and still hold immense local interest. These catastrophes include the 1959 Red Church propane truck explosion in West Brunswick Township, one of the nation’s deadliest hazardous-material incidents, and the Memorial Day fire of 1945 in Mahanoy City, one of Pennsylvania’s largest conflagrations. The Red Church propane truck explosion killed 11 people, including two firefighters, and injured many more. This past year marked the 50th anniversary of that disaster, and media interest has been extensive. The Memorial Day inferno of 1945 in Mahanoy City, caused by an arsonist, destroyed 66 buildings in the