Bucks Blue Light Blog - What were those guys doing the other night and other area news

Doylestown Fire Co. Takes Walking Tour

On Wednesday night, July 13,  the Doylestown Fire Company took to the streets of the Borough and did a walking tour.

Since it was a beautiful July night, many diners were enjoying the outside tables and saw the navy blue uniformed group and wondered what they were doing.

It was another night training to keep the residents of Doylestown safe.

The annual training event is a guided tour of the "nooks and crannies" of the buildings in Doylestown Borough, as familiarity of them is critical to both firefighters and the residents of Doylestown.

Firefighting is a dangerous profession, but continued training and a knowledge of your surroundings can go a long way in a dark and smoky basement. It also makes for a great night with friends and learning more about the history of the Borough. 

Buckingham Day in the Park

On Wednesday, June 29, 2011, Lingohocken personnel took Field 95 to the annual Buckingham Day in the Park at George M Bush Park on Burnt House Hill Road.  Also participating was Midway Fire Co. Ladder 5, and Doylestown Fire Co. Ladder 79 - representing the 3 fire companies that service Buckingham Township.  

The day was gorgeous, and the event well attended.  Lingohocken took fire prevention literature and our "fire house" along and set the "house" up with the booster line from the field truck to allow kids to use the hose to "extinguish" the fires in each window.  

Well over 300 children visited with us and had a chance to play "firefighter." A fun time had by all.

Lingohocken Fire Co. Honors George Rowe for 50 Years of Active Service

Submitted by Greg Jakubowski, Chief, Lingohocken Fire Co., and Bill Rowe, past Asst. Chief of Lingohocken Fire Co. (and George’s son)

George Rowe was honored for 50 years of active service to the Lingohocken Fire Company at their 2011 awards banquet on Saturday, March 26, 2011 held at the New Hope – Lambertville Rescue Squad.

George is the Secretary and Safety Officer for the Company, and although he no longer directly fights fires, he regularly responds in a support role to about 80% of Lingohocken’s calls. 

George Rowe started teaching elementary school in 1950, a field which at the time was largely dominated by women. He has always told his family that he joined the fire company for male companionship but maybe it was guilt? Sometime around 1960 when he was caretaker at Wrightstown Friends Meeting, he set the field on fire.  

Although he says that was the moment when he realized the fire company could be the outlet for male companionship he was looking for, it could be that he was really just feeling terribly guilty and felt he had to repay the debt!  

That is just the kind of guy George is, and if we could get others who accidentally cause fires to donate 50 years to their local fire companies, our manpower issues would be solved!

When George was accepted into membership with the Fire Company on December 4, 1960, the fire service was not the organized, sophisticated machine that it is today. Training consisted of a weekend at fire school, which at that time was just a wooden tower in Edison and a brief orientation on how to ride the tailboard. “Hold on here and keep your knees bent” was essentially the extent of the instruction on riding the apparatus.

So with only some basic in-house orientation under his belt and no other training George went to his first fire call. He held on and didn’t fall off which with some of the drivers in those days was sometimes a challenge in itself. He does admit that when he got to that first fire he realized that he had put his helmet on backwards.

Current Midway Fire Chief Hugh Hager enjoys telling the story of responding to a smoke investigation call somewhere on Route 413 many years ago.

Hugh and George were riding the backstep of Lingohocken’s pumper. The location was unclear, and the pumper stopped in the intersection of 413 and 232 so the driver and officer-in-charge could get a look to see if they could determine which direction the smoke was coming from.  George thought when they stopped it meant it was time to get off the truck to fight the fire - and just as he stepped off the tailboard, the officer received a better location and the pumper took off with him chasing the truck on foot.

During his career at Lingohocken, George has held positions as Secretary, President and Assistant Chief, but we think one of his most fulfilling roles has been related to his career as a teacher. His continuing commitment to the Company’s Fire Prevention program and his leadership of training for the Company’s Junior Firefighters in the 60’s and 70’s are both extensions of his love for teaching. He has influenced so many of us through what he taught and how he has fulfilled his commitment. 

As the Company’s Fire Prevention Officer, has developed and led our Fire Prevention Program since 1990.  George has developed fire prevention training outlines specific to each separate age group that we work with. These outlines are written, ensuring consistency and continuity and designed to build upon programs the children have received in previous years.  

For years, George coordinated dozens of Fire Prevention events annually. Each event involves two to four firefighters, and George develops the schedule, interfaces with each facility that the Company visits, obtains all of the handout and resource materials needed for each visit, and schedules fire company members to participate in each event. George has coordinated handouts/giveaways that are specifically geared to the age groups the company addresses, and many are lettered with information specific to our Company.

Some of these events have included:

Visit to Wrightstown Elementary School: Firefighters spend an entire day visiting this school, giving presentations to each grade from kindergarten through 6th. A customized program is presented to each grade, an outline of which is included in our packet. About 375 students are trained here each year, which paid off a number of years ago when a student who attended our program (led and coordinated by George) pestered his parents to purchase a smoke detector. Two weeks later, a fire occurred in their home and the smoke detector saved their family’s lives.

Fire Company Open House: The Fire Company hosts its annual open house at the Wycombe station. Tours of apparatus are provided, as well as a static demonstrations of a car accident with all of the tools we utilize to extricate victims, demonstration of turnout gear, and a smoke room maze set up where children could learn to crawl low under smoke. Refreshments are provided, and annual attendance is estimated at 300 people. George coordinated this entire event for many years, obtaining the materials necessary to put it on and ensuring each station/exhibit was properly set up and staffed.  

For all of his work in fire prevention, George was a co-recipient of the 2005 Fireman’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania William Phillips Memorial Fire Safety Educator Award.

Each year, George coordinates and edits “The Spanner,” a newsletter mailed to every resident in our coverage area. The newsletter covers current topics related to the Fire Company that would be of interest to the community and is written by firefighters as well as Company associate members. George gathers the contributions and writes some of them himself.

In addition to all of his work in fire prevention, George for years has coordinated the Company’s annual Pancake Breakfast, which brings about 700 community members to our firehouse to enjoy a nice breakfast and get a chance to meet and mingle with our firefighters.

George is also the Company Secretary, dutifully taking notes at all Company, Executive Board, and Line Officer meetings and handling all Company correspondence. He files training records and typically spends 15-20 hours every week at the station handling administrative duties.

Through George’s leadership, our department helped provide direct fire safety education to more than 900 children and adults annually, and his fire safety education efforts have directly touched an estimated 7500 people in the past 15 years. George’s lesson plans ensure consistency in our message and clear life-saving tips that children can, and have, implemented immediately to protect their homes and families.

His son, Bill, indicates that “I know how much pride Dad took in having me follow his lead and even more so when his grandsons each took a turn in the fire service. But I think that he views an even larger group of all of the members with that same paternal pride.”  We know how proud George is of the accomplishments that he and the members have made together to make Lingohocken Fire Company what it is today.  “And Dad, I just want to say how proud our whole family is of you. Thank you for being you.” 

If you think you'd like to spend some of your time being a volunteer firefighter, check the website of your local fire company for membership information or call 1-800-FIRE-LINE and they'll get you in touch with the right people.

The name of this blog is an homage to the blue courtesy lights volunteer firefighters have used for decades in their vehicles to inform other drivers that they are en route to an emergency call.

If you are a responder, send me your news and events to bucks.bluelightblog@gmail.com and I'll post them here. Photos are welcome too.

Interested in volunteering? Call 1-800-FIRELINE or visit the website of your local volunteer fire company. In Doylestown, www.doylestownfireco.org, in Buckingham Township, doylestownfireco.org, midwayvfc.com and lfco.org.