Doylestown Fire Company honors members and friends at annual banquet

Doylestown Fire Co. #1 held their annual banquet for members and Auxiliary at the Doylestown Country Club on April 6.  The annual event honors the membership of the organizations and gives the company the opportunity to recognize members for their service to the community and fire company for the previous year.

The firefighter of the year for 2013, as voted for by the membership of the fire company, is Dan Kline. Dan has served with the fire company for 16 years and has held many positions, including chief trustee and engineer.

In a special presentation, a plaque was awarded to recently retired Chief Phil Meyers of the Dublin Fire Company in recognition of his 29 years as Chief of Dublin, and all of the cooperation between Phil and Doylestown Fire Company. Chief Meyers was given a standing ovation by the gathering, in appreciation for his tireless dedication and service.

Mike Wood was presented with the Chief’s Award for his work as deputy chief. Mark Hamilton was awarded the Presidents Award for his work as historian and liason with the Doylestown Historical Society.

In a three way tie, Tony Montemurro, Don Talenti and Cory Gray were named Rookie of the Year

Members who served in elected or appointed positions who stepped down at the end of 2012 were recognized. Peter Mills for Recording Secretary from 2011- 2012, Annie Vancosky as Assistant Recording Secretary from 2011-2012, James F. Shepard as Lieutenant from 2011-2012, and George Erb as Assistant Communications Officer from 2010-2012. Will Fluck was recognized as engineer of Rescue 19 from 2010-2012 and Pete Mills of Engine 79 for 2012.

Service pins were handed out, representing the time dedicated to the fire company. Dave Phy, Sr. was honored for 50 years of service. John Cope was honored for 45 years, Sam Cramer, Jr. and Jim Dengler for 35 years, Ed Loux for 25 years, Jeff Kennedy, Pete Mills and Aaron Soldavin for 15 years, Grant Castor and BJ Loughnane for 10 years, and Nate Coia, Kyle Downs, Bob McCrillis and Tom Smith for 5 years.

Life membership was bestowed upon Dennis Michener for 20 years of service.

Attendance awards are given to firefighters each year who have the top 7 percentages of responding to calls. The fire company responded to 673 calls, held 48 training sessions and 18 non-incident activities and details for a total of 802 events. Among firefighters, Tony Montemurro, Will Fluck and Dan Kline were 8th with 32%, Steve Downs 7th with 34%, Nick Popchuk 6th with 35%, Don Talenti 5th with 40%, George Erb 4th with 41%, Lori Westover 3rd with 46%, Cory Gray 2nd with 47% and Nate Coia 1st with 68%.  Each of the honorees were given a plaque and a $50.00 gift card for their service to the community. These numbers represent a huge amount of time given in service to the community and are only a small representation of the over 15,000 hours of service recorded by members.  Training awards were presented for the top attendance percentage of trainings. There were 48 training opportunities, and Matt Grogan at 58%, Jeff Anlauf, at 60%, Lori Westover at 63% were honored.

Longevity awards were presented to members who have served for exceptional periods of time in the same position. Jack Connard was honored for serving as Financial Secretary for 22 years, Dennis Loux, Sr. as Fire Police Captain for 23 years, and George Erb as Fire Police Lieutenant for 23 years. Also, Ollie Groman, Sr. was honored for his 22 years of service as a Relief Association Director and Bill Cope for 19 years as Relief Association Secretary.

The Doylestown Fire Company is an all-volunteer organization serving the Borough and Township of Doylestown, Pa., as well as parts of Buckingham Township, and New Britain Township and Borough in Bucks County since 1895. Members have responded to emergencies 125 times in 2013.