HOUSING CEREMONY
North Penn Fire Company prepping for Saturday’s ceremony following parade
Firefighters in the North Penn Volunteer Fire Company have been preparing for months to put on a show this Saturday.
The company is putting the finishing touches this week on their newly renovated station and brand-new Ladder 62 ahead of a formal engine housing and re-dedication ceremony.
“We’re doing a parade through town, starting at noon, and there’s 25 companies invited, and we’re going to have a traditional housing, backing the truck in, with all of the chiefs and officers and neighboring companies,” said Fire Chief Don Holt Jr.
“Then we’re having a party, catered by mission BBQ and the Green Turtle and Tex Mex (Connection) — we’re excited, I know I am,” he said.
Back in May the fire company took delivery of its new Ladder 62, a 2018 model KME Predator Tractor Drawn Aerial featuring a 101-foot-tall main ladder, 17 ground ladders that total 358 feet of height, and a 1,500 gallon per minute pump.
Since then, according to Holt and fire company President Dave Quinn, the company, which serves North Wales and Lower Gwynedd, has been training drivers on how to operate the new engine. The new model has a hinged midsection allowing for more maneuver-
ability on narrow streets, and needs a second driver with special training at the rear. About 30 drivers and rear tiller operators have already been trained, with about ten more currently in training, Holt and Quinn said.
“I’m very excited about how this new truck turned out, and how we’re moving forward with it. The members are on board 100 percent, and we’re out two or three nights a week training the new folks,” he said.
“A lot of folks who are qualified, whether as operator or tiller-man, are willing to go out with the new folks who are in training, to make us better,” Holt said.
On Nov. 3, the new truck will lead a parade of dozens of current and antique firetrucks down Main Street, where the engine will be ceremonially backed into a station bay that was specially refurbished and enlarged to fit it. Local dignitaries will speak, and the company’s firehouse will then be open for the public to visit, with live music, catered food, and commemorative items up for sale with proceeds to benefit the fire company — and info on how volunteers can do their part.
“Every little bit is very helpful. We’re very grateful to the community, and the two local governments we serve, and the community members,” Holt said.
“It’s not just firefighting, its administrative, fundraising — if you don’t want to run into burning buildings, you don’t have to. We have other things for you to do,” he said.
Quinn said the company is still working to raise the estimated $1.3 million needed for the purchase of the new truck, and the additional $1.5 million for the station renovations. The first two phases of the renovation project, expanding a truck bay for the new engine and refurbishing parts of the firehouse, while adding an elevator shaft with a new clock tower, are now complete, and the third phase will complete the interior refurbishments.
“All of this area that we did the renovations in, we did the piping for the sprinkler system, so it’s just a matter of connecting that in,” Quinn said.
Fire engine housing events date back to the days when wagons carrying water were drawn by horses, and had to be disconnected and pushed back into the firehouse, according to Holt and Quinn. The new engine has already been out on numerous calls over the past six months, and was on display during the borough’s Community Day events in late September.
“People loved it. We had all of our trucks out on Montgomery (Avenue), we had the ladder out, and we had a small firefighter obstacle course for the kids. People were excited about it, and hopefully we’ll have the same thing this Saturday,” Holt said.
Those interested in attending the engine housing can park at the borough’s train station or in any legal spots on borough streets. Holt and Quinn said the engine housing is the company’s first in four years, and once it’s complete, their next appearances will include carrying Santa in Lansdale’s Mardi Gras parade on Nov. 17, a Black Friday fundraiser on Nov. 23, then trips taking Santa to borough neighborhoods for the following month.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, but it’s amazing to me to see people dedicate so much time to this place. It’s incredible. It’s a strong bond, and a brotherhood, here, and everyone treats everyone like family,” Holt said.