Punxsy Fire Dept. holding boot drive, open house

PUNXSUTAWNEY — The Punxsutawney Fire Department will be holding a boot drive today at all three fire companies. Simultaneously, it will be hosting an open house to recruit much-needed new members.

Tami McFarland, Punxsutawney Fire Department president, said the boot drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to benefit the fire department and will be adjacent to all three fire companies, Lindsey, Central and Elk Run.

“In conjunction with that, we are holding an open house,” McFarland said.

“We invite our community to stop in to see our fire halls so they can see what it’s like on the inside of firefighting.”

She said you can ask questions of any firefighters.

“We are in a recruiting drive right now. We are at a critical low for firefighters in this community,” she said. “Men, women, it doesn’t matter, and you don’t necessarily need to take all the training that is required to be an interior firefighter.”

McFarland said there’s always work to do in the fire hall and even on the scene.

“There’s help needed

on fire, accident scenes, rescues and dives as well,” she said. “If you don’t like blood, there’s cleanup that needs to be done.”

McFarland said that you can assist with rolling hoses and cleaning equipment, among other jobs.

“The training to become a firefighter is 160 hours,” McFarland said. “That’s the basics, ‘The Essentials of Firefighting,’ which is broken into four modules, and once you’ve completed your four modules, there are hundreds of additional courses you can take, like becoming a scuba diver.”

She said if you think firefighting sounds like something you might be interested in, stop in today between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Elk Run, Lindsey or Central fire companies.

Central Fire Department is located at 301 E. Mahoning St.; Lindsey Fire Company is located at 1010 W. Mahoning St.; and Elk Run Volunteer Fire Company is at 219 Elk Run Avenue.