On Saturday, more than 125 members, friends, and guests gathered to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Pennsburg Fire Company.

Among the Pennsburg volunteers receiving awards on Saturday night were, left to right, Andy Kirka, Trevor Prunty, Ron Diehl, Crystal Belmont, Cody Belmont, Phil Zirkelbach, and Austin Belmont.

            Former Fire Chief Phil Zirkelbach and incoming Chief Cody Belmont, along with Fire Police Captain Andy Kirka, presented the annual fire company awards to outstanding volunteers during the quasquicentennial event.

            Chief Belmont also presented a well-done video sharing past and current images for the attendees to enjoy.

      The history of the volunteer fire service in our four-county corner of the Commonwealth needs to be preserved and shared.  Our communities are changing.  Folks are moving into our towns and townships who never heard the wail of a fire siren from a rooftop bugle.  Some never saw the need to drop a dollar at the fund drive because fire protection was always fully funded by their taxes.  Many folks new to the area feel that they're being pummeled with pleas for money and volunteers.  Some grow weary of hearing volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel lament about how hard and dangerous their choice of community service is.

      This writer will be the first one to stand up and admit that, yes, it is the community service they chose.  There is a certain peril that goes with it, and everybody goes in with both eyes open – no argument.  The volunteers are at high risk for everything from personal lawsuits to their own injury or death.

            The history of the Pennsburg Fire Company is not unlike many of the other local fire companies.

            The Pennsburg Volunteer Fire Company was organized on Oct.25, 1897, by a committee appointed by the Town Council of Pennsburg. The first two pieces of firefighting apparatus were actually purchased in June 1896 by the borough council.  They were a horse-drawn ladder truck and a horse-drawn hose carriage.

Pennsylvania Representative Milou Makenzie (131) presents a resolution to Chief Cody Belmont (left) and former Chief Phil Zirkelbach from the Pennsylvania General Assembly, honoring the 125th anniversary of the Pennsburg Fire Company.	Upper Hanover Township Manager Anne Klepfer, center, presents congratulations and a resolution from the Upper Hanover Board of Supervisors to Chief Cody Belmont (left) and former Chief Phil Zirkelbach.

            A brief look at the three years leading from the organization of the volunteers into the incorporation of the fire company shows an interesting and not-so-complex beginning.  Bringing the government, business, and residents together on an issue was much simpler because, in most cases, they were the same people. 

            Fighting fires was not the only thing the group had to do during their first three years of existence.  They had plenty of work in recruiting volunteers to become members and establishing a plan for the fire protection of the community.

            The first order of business was to establish the organization and set up rules to govern it.  The first motion moved and approved was establishing "Pennsburg Fire Company No. 1" as the name of the group.  After a series of parliamentary procedures, the Pa. State Fireman's Constitution was formally adopted for use.

            Membership dues were set at 50 cents per year.  On Oct. 28, 1897, the by-laws were read and passed on to the Pennsburg Borough Council, where they would eventually be approved.

            The company sponsored their first fundraising event on Nov. 25, 1897.  It was a turkey supper, held on Thanksgiving Day.  The price of a meal was 25 cents per person.  The total gross income from the event was $130.00.  Expenses totaled $39.65, leaving a profit of $90.35. 

            Formal fire-fighting training began in February 1898.  Personnel from the Boyertown Hook and Ladder Company were invited to visit and conduct a training session that involved the proper use of apparatus and equipment.  It was decided that the Pennsburg and Boyertown firemen would make a street parade, complete with music, to honor the occasion that day.           

            At the regular meeting of the group on March 28, 1899, a notice was posted in the firehouse requesting full attendance of all members at the next regular meeting.  At that meeting the membership would decide whether application for a charter should be made.  On Oct. 29, the group filed an application for incorporation of the Pennsburg Volunteer Fire Company.  On Nov. 11, 1899, the Court of Common Pleas for Montgomery County granted the request.  The Pennsburg Volunteer Fire Company was now an incorporated, public arm of municipal services for the community.

            And, 125 years later, the volunteers of the Pennsburg Fire Company still serve.