Union Fire Company No. 1

A History of the Union Fire Company No. 1 Part 2: The more recent years

Submitted by Gail Roberts Oxford Area Historical Association

The Union Fire Company No.1 is the fourth oldest fire company in Chester County and covers approximately 92 square miles. This makes up the largest district for any one company in Chester County. The district is comprised of the Oxford Borough, East Nottingham Township, West Nottingham Township, Elk Township, Lower Oxford Township and portions of Upper Oxford Township. The fire company serves from two locations, the “midtown station” on Market Street and the Nottingham station. A combined total of nine pieces of apparatus and three EMS units are housed at these locations and used to provide services. Part One of this article appeared in the last issue of the Oxfordian and ended with the success of the 1946 carnival. After World War II, young members of the fire company returned from military service and were anxious to take control. Clement Rogers, who had been chief for 18 years, was defeated in an election by Horace Reynolds, who became Chief on Jan. 1, 1947. The new chief was tested when on January 2nd, the biggest fire in the company’s history broke out at the Oxford Cabinet Company plant at South and Franklin streets. This building had originally housed the Oxford Caramel Factory. It was reported that the fire started from defective wiring and was fed by flammable materials such as paint and oil. The entire main building and a storage building valued at $250,000 were destroyed. There had been a snowstorm before the fire. It spread to other nearby buildings. This experience led the company to discuss the purchase of new equipment. In 1948 they agreed to purchase a Type 505 Mack Triple Combination 500 gpm pumper with a seven-man cab at a cost of $13,874. The Fire Company’s Blue Haze Marching Club was formed in 1949. This unit went on to win money and prizes in numerous parades in the region. The Club was led by Captain Everett Twyford and Lieutenants Willard Ayers and H. Leroy Johnson. In years past, the fire company had incurred expenses to hire marching bands for their parades, so it made sense to have their own marching unit. In 1950 the Blue Haze Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps was added. Also in 1950, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed. The fire company gave $50 to this organization to help them get started. The Ladies Auxiliary raised money through bake sales, dances and card parties. In 1951 they created a Disaster Committee to provide hot meals for firemen who were working past normal duty hours to fight large fires. Over the years, the ladies group has helped families who were victims of fires, and the group has also donated to community projects. In 1954 they made a large donation to the fire company for the purchase of radio equipment on the fire trucks. Originally the Auxiliary prepared meals in the small room used for storage space for the ambulance equipment. During the early 1950s, the fire company added to their equipment. A tank truck, which could hold 1000 gallons was purchased in 1952. In 1953, an open cab 85 Mack 750 gallon pumper with a 45-foot aluminum ladder was added. In 1954 two way radio communication was installed. A rescue squad was organized in 1955. One of their early responses was to help rescue a drowning victim in Dilworthtown. This incident helped convince the West Chester Fire Company that they needed their own rescue squad. At one point, the Oxford Community Ambulance Association was a separate entity, but in 1958, this organization disbanded and the ambulance operation was officially turned over to the fire company. The Ambulance Association had purchased a 1957 Oldsmobile ambulance which became fire company property. Later, in 1964, an ambulance club was formed to help raise funds for the ambulance division and a new ambulance was purchased in 1965. March 22, 1959 was a significant day in the fire company’s history. They responded to 13 fires in one day. The Hale pumper that had been purchased in 1935 broke down. This pumper had served the company well. In 1953, 27 men rode on the pumper on the way to a fire on Third Street. Apparently, only the front bumper and hood could be seen. Additional equipment was purchased in November of 1959. In 1961 it was recognized that the communications control center needed to be remodeled. A new radio control room was constructed by Robert Brown and Frank Peters. The company paid for materials but the men donated their time. In 1965 the building committee hired Paul Risk to develop plans for dismantling the bowling alleys and adding a kitchen, meeting room and space for two ambulances. The addition of the kitchen was helpful to the Ladies Auxiliary. They were able to start serving banquets, wedding receptions, firemen at fire school and ambulance classes. Thankfully, the carnivals continued to be successful fund raisers. The 1966 Carnival brought in a record breaking amount; gross receipts were estimated at $70,000. While on the way to assist the West Grove Fire Company in fighting a field and woods fire in February of 1968, the company’s Dodge field truck was involved in an accident and eight firemen were injured. Ronald Simpson was the most seriously injured. Because of this accident, the Chester County Fire Marshall imposed an open burning ban in southern Chester County. In 1970 the company purchased a new pumper at a cost of $25,000. It was manufactured by the Hahn Fire Equipment Company with a Hale pump mounted on a Dodge chassis. The tank could hold 750 gallons and had a pumping capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute. In 1971 the fire company celebrated its 100th anniversary with a week of activities which culminated with a large parade on

September 18, and 130 fire companies and bands from four states participated. The size of the crowd was estimated to be between 8,000 to 10,000 people who watched the two-mile long parade. Prizes were awarded for categories such as best appearing company, most uniformed men in line with music, best appearing senior band, best appearing high school band, best appearing fire apparatus, and uniformed company traveling the longest distance. A significant fire occurred on March 15, 1972. The fire broke out at the Oxford Hotel in the early hours of the morning. Apparently the fire began in the coffee shop in the ground floor of the building and spread into the second and third floors. A resident with a room above the coffee shop detected the fire and Continued on Page 64

ran across the street to alert the fire company. Fire companies from West Grove, Cochranville, Elkton and Rising Sun helped the Oxford Fire Company to battle the blaze. Approximately, 25 people were in the hotel at the time of the fire and all were evacuated safely. Most of the damage was in the coffee shop, the old bar and an upstairs kitchen belonging to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Vergos. The upper floors had mostly smoke and water damage and residents were able to return to their rooms later in the morning. In March of 1977, Union Fire Company No. 1 admitted their first women members. The first six women to serve were V. Jane Brown, Sharon Goldie, Sandra Holbrook, Esther Prettyman, Betty Slauch and Mary Lee Hastings. Betty Slauch was president of the Ladies Auxiliary and had already completed an ambulance attendant’s course. Other women were enrolled in the course at the time. Since the early 1970s, the fire company was dealing with an inadequate amount of space. It affected the efficiency of the company and was also a safety issue. The doors of the fire stations were narrow and made it difficult for the ladder truck to turn onto Lincoln Street. There was no space indoors for the tanker, which meant it had to be stored empty in the winter. When the tanker needed to be filled for response to a fire, it caused a 20-minute delay. The mansion section of the fire station was also deteriorating and the heating system was outdated. The fire company considered several options. They could build a new fire station at a different location, but that would have been expensive. They also liked the central location of the existing station. Another possibility was to build a new station on the existing site. The third choice was to renovate the station and try to preserve the architectural style of the Dickey mansion by retaining the porch and pillars on the Market Street side. (Part One of this article reviewed the purchase of the Dickey mansion in the early 1920s for the third location of the fire station.) Discussions took place with architect Gregory Scott Hyatt and contractor Paul Risk. In 1977 the mansion portion of the fire station was burned and knocked down to allow the construction of additional equipment bays. Oxford citizens were used to hearing the blowing of the fire siren at noon each day. In 1980 that tradition ended because of changes made in the radio system. If the siren went off, monitors which alerted the firefighters automatically went off as well. The company didn’t want the firefighters to be called unnecessarily. In 1985 there was a parade and housing ceremony to celebrate the addition of a new pumper as well as other equipment. The cost of the new pumper was $150,000. The parade drew lots of spectators and lasted over an hour. A new $328,000 ladder truck was added in 1989. There were a number of serious fires in the 1980s. The Burger King burned in June of 1987. Robert Reisler’s chicken house caught on fire and caused $675,000 in damage, including the loss of 50,000 chickens. The Glen Hope Bridge also

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burned in 1987 and sustained damage to its roof and sides. Another fire in 1987 was at the Oxford Lipkins store which caused $300,000 in damages and 10 people living in the building to be evacuated. A heartbreaking fire for many community members occurred in 1989 when the Oxford Presbyterian Church burned. After the six alarm fire was answered by fire companies from three counties and two states, only the brick walls and part of the steeple remained. Damage was estimated at $4 million. The early 1990s saw more successful carnivals and the growth of the company’s resources. One fire call in January of 1994 was to the Eldreth Pottery business. The fire started in the main building, and the firefighters were able to prevent the spread to other buildings on the property as well as to salvage books and records from the office. In 1995 a 6,000-gallon Walker/New Lexington stainless steel tanker truck was purchased. The company had 350 members, 75 of whom were active, and responded to 338 fire calls, 174 rescue calls and 1,200 ambulance calls. Late in 1995 there was a serious fire at the historic Masonic Building on Third Street. This building had been occupied by the Masonic Lodge, the Oxford Library, the Post Office and a Bell Telephone switchboard in the past. In 1995 it was occupied by a variety of businesses and a couple of apartments. Sixty Union Fire Company volunteers and units from Maryland and Lancaster fought the blaze for two hours. The loss was estimated at $250,000. In 1995, the company also purchased the old library building next to their parking lot from the People’s Bank. This purchase meant that the company owned the whole area from Fourth Street to Lincoln Avenue north of Market. 1996 was an important year because it marked the 125th anniversary of the company. Again, there was a week-long celebration including a parade on September 21 in which over 280 pieces of apparatus participated. Oxford’s first fire truck was brought out for display. Items from the 125th anniversary were placed in a time capsule to be opened during the 150th anniversary. The

125th Anniversary, 1996

Continued on Page 66

Oxford Chamber of Commerce named the company Organization of the Year. Senator Bob Thompson presented the company with a proclamation. In 1996 the company owned 3 pumpers, 1 rescue pumper, a 105-foot aerial ladder, 1 6,000 gallon tank truck, 1 field truck, I multi-purpose squad vehicle and 2 ambulances. Fund raising activities included Tuesday bingo games, Sunday breakfast one day each month, and of course, the carnival. Also in 1996 the company switched to paid Emergency Medical Technicians to staff the ambulances during the weekdays. This was necessitated by the number of calls to which they needed to respond. The amount of mandatory training hours for ambulance volunteers was also increased. The EMTs were contracted through the Southern Chester County Medical Center. In 1998 plans were developed for extensive renovations to the station. The plans included an addition to the rear of the firehouse, a sprinkler system for the whole building and an emergency generator. The cost was $432,000. The project was completed in May of 1999 and also allowed space for a third ambulance. The company was also discussing the idea of construction of a substation in Nottingham. The Octoraro Hotel, another historic landmark, caught on fire in 1998. It took almost three hours for the firefighters to get it under control. A Juniors program for ages 16 and older was first considered in 1998. Guidelines for the program were approved in December of 1999 and the first junior member was sworn in in 2000. The 77th annual and last carnival was held in 2000. The fire company had to make the difficult decision to discontinue the tradition because of the number of hours needed to plan and operate the carnival. Demand for the company’s services, regulations for mandatory additional training, and a difficulty in finding more volunteers led to the conclusion that this was necessary. The profits from the carnival had also declined in comparison to the expenses born by the company. At the time, Fire Chief Percy Reynolds explained that it took 2,600 to 2,800 hours to organize the carnival each year. The fire company received a number of federal grants in the early 2,000s: $100,868 for turnout gear in 2003, $179,541 for breathing apparatus equipment in 2005, and $90,000 for vehicle exhaust removal systems for fire and EMS bays in 2006. A website for the Union Fire Company was established in 2004. 2005 was an important year for the company. They purchased a brand new Pierce engine. Land was leased from Jim Mark near the intersection of routes 1 and 272 for a temporary substation. This was originally supposed to be a six-month lease, but it lasted about 5 years while land was found, a station designed, plans for a building were developed and the building was constructed. The land for the new station on Christine Road was donated by Herr Foods Inc. The new substation was built and equipment was moved in during 2008, and the new Nottingham substation

was dedicated in September of 2009. Instead of a ribbon cutting, a fire hose was unrolled across the doorway. The cost of the new substation was over $500,000 and could house two engines and a squad utility vehicle. The company also planned for additional expansion by purchasing property on Route 472 in East Nottingham Township. The Octoraro Hotel suffered another fire in November of 2014. The hotel had been undergoing renovations and brand new windows had to be broken to fight the fire. Owner John McGlothlin was extremely grateful for the bravery of the firefighters and their caring efforts after the fire. The first female president, Debbie Terry was elected in November of 2017 and began her service in 2018. She had joined the auxiliary in 1984 when she was 16. Members of her family, including her father, mother and husband have served the company in various capacities and her children are active as well. Before being elected president, Debbie had served as secretary, treasurer and vice president. When she became president, there were over 200 active and social members. Debbie is currently still president. As mentioned in part 1 of this article, there are a number of families who have a tradition of serving the company, including 5 generations of the Brown family. In 2018 Lupita Nava became a volunteer. In addition to being a firefighter, she provides another important service. She speaks Spanish and can communicate with Hispanic members of the community. Her daughter Carolena joined in 2019 as a junior firefighter. The Union Fire Company has produced a 150th anniversary booklet. It contains many details about the history of the company, numerous photographs, lists of past chiefs and officers, copies of newspaper articles, memories of firefighters, an article on the Brown family, recognition of emeritus members, Willard Ayers and Richard Terry, tributes from community members and a discussion of how COVID-19 affected the company. This impressive booklet is available on their web site www. oxfordfire.com or by calling the station at 610-932-2411.

Market Street Station with the Dickey Mansion still intact, 1962

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JDog: Junk, Vets and a new TV show

JDog: Junk, Vets and

By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer

Who would think removing unwanted junk could be such a noble mission? We all have junk in our garage, basement, attic and, speaking from experience, some people have entire rooms devoted to junk. We all dream of having someone swoop in and whisk it away. Well, that is possible. JDog Junk Removal & Hauling empowers veterans by offering an eco-friendly residential and commercial junk removal business opportunity. They provide dependable, sustainable, full-service junk removal and hauling services as well as peace of mind to their customers. The peace of mind aspect is not just an after-thought, it is the foundation of the business in franchise owner Joe Yurick’s mind. Never has someone spoken so eloquently, or emotionally, about the removal of junk. Yurick is an active duty U.S. Army veteran serving in the Air Defense Artillery Division. He worked with the patriot missile system, and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. He was deployed in Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq, and his job and his life have taken him to some very tense situations, but his sense of humor is never far away. He told the story of how he got into the Army, laughing as he spoke. “My buddy and I really didn’t know what we would do after graduation,” he explained “Honestly, I was the class clown in school and really didn’t take anything seriously. In my senior year, we decided we would go into the Army. We planned to go in together, (the buddy system) on the delayed entry program after graduation. Then my buddy changed his mind.” Yurick finished his boot camp, without his buddy, and wound up at Fort Bliss in Texas. “I remember it clearly,” he said. “We had just finished a 5K run and were in the chow hall having breakfast when the second tower was hit on 9/11. A few months later, we deployed to Qatar. I was there for just under a year and I was very fortunate. During that time, I did get a stop loss allowing the Army to keep me beyond my three-year commitment. They kept me in just under a year longer because I was fighting overseas. I went back to Fort Bliss Continued on Page 70

Photos by Jim Coarse, Moonloop Photography

Continued from Page 69

for debriefing, and then I was honorably discharged.” Yurick stated, “The Army turned my life around.” He recalled his high school days, commenting on how much his life has changed. “I was the class clown,” he said. “I was also getting reprimanded for my pranks. I wasn’t even sure I would be allowed to walk across the stage at graduation. The principal was afraid I’d do something to interrupt graduation. My goal was to make people laugh. My photo wasn’t even in the yearbook my senior year.” Then he added, “Working with JDog has given me and opportunity to turn things around. I have my mission in life.” JDog, a national franchise, is veteran owned and operated. It provides a vital service to clients, while providing employment to veterans—and so much more. Yurick serves on the board of both the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce as well. He explained, “When I introduce myself in a chamber meeting I say, I’m Joe with JDog. We put local vets to work, we help combat PTSD, and we donate to local veterans. We just happen to do junk removal.” JDog has a relationship with the Coatesville VA. Any items that can be repurposed are taken there and repurposed as part of their Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) program. The CWT is a Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

Joe Yurick, Mark Lukanski and Giovanni Rivera

clinical vocational rehabilitation program offered at every VA medical center. Their mission is to provide support to veterans living with mental illness or physical impairment with barriers to employment to secure and maintain community based competitive employment. Veterans are not required to be service connected to be eligible for CWT services. To be considered for participation in the CWT program, a Veteran must be eligible to receive VA health care services, have a goal of a return to competitive employment and have barriers to obtaining and/or retaining employment which requires the intensive supports provided by one of the CWT service components. The program also hooks them up with housing and JDog will deliver the items they have in storage, free to them if they need them. Yurick and Marine veteran Jeff Sanders Continued on Page 72

Continued from Page 71

also co-founded a group called Golf Yankee 6 which, when translated, means ‘I’ve got your six.’ “We were sitting at the Sawmill Grill one day and decided to start up a group of veteran business owners, and we did,” he said. Yurick actually calls himself a veteranpreneur, not entrepreneur. JDog is also one of the sponsors of a golf tournament in support of the Oxford Area Educational Foundation at Tanglewood Golf Course. Specifically, JDog is sponsoring a million dollar hole in one. And now to the junk removal aspect of JDog. Yurick is the owner of the Southern Lancaster County franchise of JDog. “When we get rid of junk for our clients you can see that it is actually a therapeutic release for them,” he said. “I watch their shoulders drop as they reclaim a space. I’ve never been in an industry where customers actually love you. We sweep up when we are done. We put local vets to work and we never have an unhappy customer.” Recently they helped a client who had not parked in her garage for over 30 years. That changed when JDog showed up. When the job was finished, they all watched as she pulled her car into the garage for the first time in many years. When JDog does show up to remove junk you might think the Army had arrived. They come in a camouflage truck and the

employees wear camouflage uniforms, which at times were a little intimidating. “Some of us are pretty big guys, and I guess we were a little intimidating to some of our clients, but we quickly got a handle on that with our humor and our professionalism,” he said. “We shine our shoes, we dress alike, and we arrive with a clean truck, ready to tackle the job of the day.” It does sound like a military group as Yurick introduces his co-workers saying, “My truck commander is Mark Lukanski, an Army veteran who was an infantry man during the Gulf War. My junk removal specialist is Giovanni Rivera, who currently serves as a mortarman in the Army National Guard.” When you call on JDog to come haul away your junk, you get a uniformed team of dedicated workers to provide transparent pricing, remove your junk, dispose of it responsibly, and tidy up afterward. You can follow Joe Yurick and his local franchise when Operation Hidden Treasures, on the Discovery Channel, premiers on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 8 a.m.. If you miss that, you can watch an encore showing on Thursday, Oct. 14 on the American Heroes Channel at 8:30 p.m. Three years ago they filmed a segment and shopped it around to major networks and Discovery and American Hero Channel picked it up. Yurick explained, “There are a total of 10 episodes and my crew is in 9 episodes. There is a premier party scheduled for the Octoraro Hotel on Oct. 10 at 4 p.m..” Continued on Page 74

Yurick is no stranger to filming. That is another one of his passions. And you can view some of those humorous films on their social media page. He makes fun videos on random jobs and also has a series called: Got It on The Job. It is on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram. Yurick takes no credit for the success of his franchise saying, “It’s much bigger than me. JDog is a national franchise, and there are some 250 or more in this country.” “It was an absolute honor to be picked out of 250 franchises to be filmed,” he said “Who would have thought? We pick things up and put them down. We have made such an impact in our community. We celebrated our fourth anniversary on August 17.” If you need junk removal, they can do it. They donate or recycle 60 to 80 percent of what they haul, so you know your items are being handled responsibly and can often be used by a family in need. Here’s a short list of the items they haul: appliances, carpet, clothing, computers, construction debris, estate contents, furniture, lawnmowers, mattresses, office furniture, recreational items, scrap metal, televisions, tires, tools, warehouse contents, yard waste, and more! The only thing they don’t haul away is hazardous waste. For more information or to enlist their services call 1-484-467-1424. Or visit them at www.jdogjunkremoval.com. You can also email them at jyurick@jdog.com.

Check them out this fall on the Discovery Channel and American Hero Channel to view Operation Hidden Treasures.