The History of Glade Volunteer Fire Department:

1952

Feb, 7 1952: The first meeting was held at the Cornplanter Gun Club on Cobham
Park Road to determine if there was a desire and need in Glade Township to form a
fire department. Warren Boro Fire Department provided fire services to the
residence of Glade Township but was charging a fee. The 60 men that attended the
meeting felt there was a desire and need so they scheduled another meeting.

Mar. 18, 1952: A second meeting was held at the Irvinedale Elementary School This
meeting was to find out how to form a volunteer fire department. Attendees
decided to visit other fire departments in the area and see how they formed their
departments and get examples of by-laws, articles of incorporation, training and
equipment.

June 10, 1952: The Glade Volunteer Fire Department was incorporated and the
members were going to use an engine that was supplied by Davies and Son’s.
Glade Volunteer Fire Department officers for 1952:

Chief: Charles Knapp
lst. Assistant Chief: Wilbur Knapp
2nd Assistant chief: William Fox
President: Don Curtis
Vice President: Ben Mathis
Secretary: H. Landers
Treasurer: R. Mahaffey

1953

Jan, 23, 1953: Glade volunteer Fire Department purchased it’s first engine.
Engine #1 was an American LaFrance that carried 700 gallons of water. It was
housed at the Warren Boro Garage on Madison Ave near Buchanan St. The Engine was
purchased for $11,045.20.

June 1953: A work bee was held at 14 Hohman Road. The purpose of the work bee was
to pour the footers for the new fire station. William Fuelhart was instrumental
in securing the funds to build the new station.

1954

Jan. 23, 1954: Engine #1 was moved from the Warren Boro Garage to the new
station.

May 6, 1954: An open house was held to display the new station and Engine #1.

Aug. 30, 1954: The “Tower” was dedicated. The tower was not only used to hang
hose to dry but it was used as a lookout point for enemy airplanes.

1957

May 8, 1957: A siren was placed in service at the station to alert members of
incidents. This same siren is still in use today but has been relocated to the
end of the building. The siren has been converted into a weather warning siren.

1958

Jan. 1958: The Glade volunteer Fire Department Relief Association was formed. The
association is to provide equipment and training to the fire department. The
relief associations in Pennsylvania were established in 1895 with the passage of
a law that levied a two percent tax on foreign fire insurance premiums. The
legislation was enacted in order to encourage individuals to participate in the
fire service by making funds available which could be used to provide benefits to
protect volunteer firefighters and their families.

Jul. 25, 1958: The members of the fire department held a mortgage burning ceremony
for the mortgage on the station.

1959

May 1959: Members of the fire department purchased dress uniforms from JC Penny.

1963

1963: Glade VFD purchased it’s second engine. Engine #2 was purchased from
Celeron, NY Volunteer Fire Department for $3,500.00, It had a 500 gallon per
minute front mount pump and a 500 gallon water tank.

1976

Oct. 1976: The department purchased Engine #3. It was purchased from Salisbury
Inc. in Tully, Ny. This was the first engine of it’s kind made in the United
States. It was an International Chassis with a 1000 GPM pump, 1000 gallon water
tank and had air operated valves. Glade VFD paid $52,000.00 for the Engine. The
Engine was retired from service in 2001 after serving the department well for all
those years and replaced with Tanker 576.

1979

Jan. 23, 1979: Engine #4 was placed in service, The mini-pumper was made from a
1964 Jeep Kaiser 5/4 ton. The vehicle was received through the Pa Department of
Forestry and was used for forestry fire fighting and as a supply engine. It had a
500 GPM front mounted pump, 265 gallon water tank and a small pressure portable
pump. Engine #2 was sold and the pump was placed on Engine #4 This vehicle was
retired and sold to Union City, Pa Volunteer Fire Department. It was replaced by
utility 578.

1981

Nov, 1981: Glade VFD purchased Engine #5. It was a 1981 GMC chassis built by
Salisbury. It had a 500 GPM front mount pump and 500 gallon water tank. This
engine was moved to reserve status in 2006 when we purchased another engine.

1987

1987: In an effort to increase the water capabilities for firefighting on upper
Cobham Park Road, members began installation of a 1000 GPM pump near the township
building. The pump is connected to the municipal hydrant system when additional
water supply is needed beyond the township building.

1987: A committee was formed within the fire department to begin a fund raiser
for a water rescue boat and water rescue equipment.

1989

Jun, 1989: Glade VFD purchased its first water rescue boat. The craft is a 1989
Avon SS460 16 foot inflatable boat with a Yamaha 40Hp jet drive motor.

Sept. 1989: Members of Glade VFD began construction on an additional bay at the
station to house the boat and future rescue vehicles.

1990

Aug. 1990: Rescue 571 was placed in service. The vehicle was a 1986 Dodge 4wd 1/2
ton pickup truck. Members took the bed off the chassis and replaced it with an
aluminum utility bed. The vehicle was used to haul the boat and equipment and ran
first out for QRS calls in the township.

1991

Jun. 1991: Glade VFD entered the digital world with the purchase of it first
computer. The computer was used for fire reports using a software package called
Prober Chief. Prober Chief has since been bought out by Firehouse software.

1992

May 1992: A committee was formed to begin looking at a larger rescue vehicle, The
department has out-grown Rescue 571 and needed to upgrade to a larger, heavier
vehicle.

1994

1994: Rich Ristau, Kevin Jarvie and Red Phelps developed and submitted a plan to
the Commonwealth to purchase 30 acres of property on Hatch Run Road near the
intersection of Hatch Drive for use as a Sub station and training grounds.

1995

May 1995: Members of Glade VFD attended the Fire Expo in Harrisburg and found a
1995 Ford Rescue vehicle. The members attending felt this vehicle was a perfect
fit for the department’s rescue needs. It was decided to purchase the vehicle after
some modifications were made by the manufacturer. The vehicle was sent back to
North Carolina where the compartments were modified, such as a 9000lbs winch and other
various modifications.

1996

Jan 1996: Rescue 572 was placed in service. The vehicle was used as the first out
QRS vehicle and carries the Amkus Rescue tool and other rescue equipment. It also
carried 2 SCBA’S, a portable generator and a multi-gas detector.

2000

Jan 23, 2000: Glade VFD obtained and placed its new tanker in service. Tanker 576
was a 4 man 1500 gallon tanker with a 1250 GPM midship pump. It has an 8″ round
quick dump on the rear and carries 1000 feet of 5″ LDH. This tanker replaced Engine 573.

2001

Sept 2001: Utility 578 was obtained and placed in service. This vehicle replaced
Engine 574 as a forestry firefighting vehicle. It was a 1986 Chevy 3500 series
truck that was military surplus. The bed was removed from the vehicle and replaced
with a utility bed. It carried water rescue equipment, forest fire fighting
equipment and has a 250 gallon water tank with a high pressure water pump with
class A foam capabilities. This vehicle, like the one it replaced, was designed
and build by the members of the Glade VFD.

2004

2004: Glade VFD received a donation of a 16′ Silinger inflatable boat. The boat
was located in Virginia and was donated to the department for water rescue
purposes. The boat was to be used as a front line boat.

2005

Jun 28, 2005: Glade VFD obtained a $71,000.00 25′ Proline boat to be
used for Water rescue on the Allegheny Reservoir. The boat was initially
purchased by the Region II Emergency Response Group for the Warren County
Sheriff’s Office. The boat was equipped with Radar, GPS, Depth finder,
emergency lights, siren and work lights.

2006

Feb 28, 2006: Glade VFD approved the purchase of a 2001 HME custom chassis built
by Rosenbauer. The Engine came from Gulf Shores FD in Alabama. Glade VFD purchased
the engine for $105,000.00 with some modifications of equipment.

April 15, 2006: Engine 575 was moved to reserve status when Engine 571 was placed
in service. 571 is a 2001 HME custom chassis build by Rosenbauer, it has a 5
person cab, 500 gallons of water and 2 1250 GPM pump. It carries 1100 feet of 5″
LDH, vehicle extrication equipment and several SCBA’S.

Apr 25, 2006: Glade VFD Finally started construction on Station #2. The
building was a 30’x64″ pole building. The building was to be used initially
as a cold storage building with plans of it being used as a sub-station and
training facility. Earl Woodburn was the construction foreman.

Sept, 2006: Glade VFD was awarded a $49,318.00 grant through the Department of
Homeland Security. The grant was be used to purchase 7 new air packs and 13 sets
of turn out gear. This was a competitive grant that was very difficult to obtain.

Dec 2006: The exterior of Station #2 was completed and the electrical services
were installed. The interior of the structure was not finished at this time.
Engine 575 and the Proline boat were moved to the station for storage.

July 2006: Glade VFD obtained a new unit called Side Scan Sonar. The
sonar unit allowed us to see things under water by displaying images on a
computer screen.

October 2006: The concrete floor at station #4 was installed, the drains for all of
the plumbing and the heat tubes were installed.

2007

October 23, 2007: Firefighter Robert Knapp was recognized for his 50 years of
service to the Glade VFD.

November 2007: Glade VFD was awarded a $24,000.00 grant through the Department of
Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters program to purchase dry suits for
the water rescue team. Also purchased was ropes, PFD’s, helmets, boots, gloves
and various other equipment to protect the personnel.

2008

July 4, 2008: Glade VFD was awarded $42,471.00 grant through the Department of
Homeland security Assistance to Firefighters program to purchase rapid
intervention team equipment.

September 2008: Glade VFD obtained a new underwater robot with an
installed camera. The robot could dive 250 feet and the operator is able to sit on
the surface and view what is in front of the robot.

October 2008: Glade VFD was the first department in Warren County to receive
recognition from the Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioners office as a
participating department in the Commonwealth’s Certification Program. Several
members of the department worked on getting certified as Firefighter
1’s. Firefighter I is a nationally sanctioned professional qualification
standard.

November 2008: Glade VFD signed an agreement with PA Fire Recovery service to
manage billing services for the fire department. Beginning Jan 1, 2008 Glade will
start billing insurance companies for services rend@gladefiredepartment.

2010

April 2, 2010: Glade VFD was awarded $11,475.29 from the Pennsylvania office of
e State Fire Commissioner for a construction project at Station #1. The
ceilings and lights in the apparatus bay were placed.

April 16, 2010: Glade VFD was awarded a $115,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant
for the replacement of the brush unit.

May 2010: Glade VFD was awarded $15,658 from the Department of the Interior for
the purchase of wildland firefighting equipment.

Aug 27, 2010: Glade VFD obtained an 18′ enclosed technical rescue
trailer from the Region II Emergency Response Group to carry technical rescue
equipment.

2011

January 8, 2011: Glade VFD obtained Utility 578. It was a 2011 Ford
F550 with a chassis built by Firefly Fire Equipment carries 230 gal of water with a 10
gal foam cell, a compressed air foam system and compartments built on an aluminum
flatbed.