The Grapeville Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest fire station in Hempfield, active since 1918. The tradition of volunteer firefighting remains the same although the surrounding culture has changed.
Want to crank up the radio in a purple fire truck? It's not easy. A fire truck of this nature can be obtained in one of two ways: spend 166 hours training and get certified at Grapeville Volunteer Fire Department or cure your spending problem with a deluxe rescue truck with 1,000 gallons of water and three Jaws of Life for only $450,000. Park it right in the driveway.
The 7,000-square-foot fire hall on Fourth and Painter streets is home to three hibernating fire engines. Volunteer organizations such as this one have been in place for as many as 3,000 years. Firefighting technology continues to change, but the custom is intentionally maintained.
Some say the history of organized firefighting can be traced back to Ancient Egypt, where hand-run pumps may have been used to extinguish fires. In 6 A.D., Emperor Augustus employed police who were also firefighters in the streets of Rome. The Roman Police or "vigiles" are the basis for the English word "vigil." Under the emperor Nero in 64 A.D., Ancient Rome suffered a great fire that destroyed two-thirds of the city.
Organized firefighting originated much later in Europe. In Paris, night watches with fire provisions were legalized in 1254 by the royal decree of King Saint Louis. London suffered catastrophic fires in 798, 982 and 989. The so-called Great Fire of London burned in 1666, beginning in a baker's shop and eventually destroying two square miles of the city.
London's Richard Newsham improved engine technology in 1725. These hand-drawn carts could deliver up to 160 gallons per minute (GPM). Grapeville Volunteer Fire Department celebrated its 90th year in 2008. The organization was chartered in 1925 under the first fire chief, Charles Hall Sr. Today, the VFD contains a post office and owns a 17-acre community park.
"From the year they started in 1918," said Fire Chief Dan Nescot, "they had horses and carts." Nescot talked extensively about the company's history and its purple fire trucks. Nescot drives a white truck with a siren which, he specified, is not a car.
"Pennsylvania has a very strong history of volunteer firefighting," said Dan Stevens, deputy emergency management coordinator at Westmoreland County Public Safety. "We have over 2,400 fire stations or departments." He said 95 percent of the firefighters are volunteers. He said the cities of Jeannette and Latrobe have a few paid firefighters, often deputy drivers staffed to get the truck out of the station as quickly as possible.
Stevens said Grapeville residents would rely on the VFD for their safety because the town doesn't have its own police force. He said the firefighters are in the community on a daily basis, looking out for each other. Stevens said this station in particular is concerned with the health and safety of its community because they could be protecting their own families, friends or sisters.
Grapeville VFD participates in an online social networking site. The VFD's MySpace page reports the organization as "Male" and "90 years old." The town of Grapeville had 676 residents, according to the 2000 census. It is largely unrepresented on the Internet; numerous sources were unable to say where it gets its name.
Finally Lisa Hays, executive director of Westmoreland County Historical Society, was able to find the origin of the town's name. She referred to an article in the Society's archives from the Daily Tribune on Sept. 14, 1908. The article stated, "the hamlet of Grapeville now looms up before us, called Grapeville from the many wild grapes which were to be found along every fence row and in every thicket on this ridge."
Grapeville was once home to Westmoreland Glass Factory, established in 1889. The Jeannette area fostered a number of glass factories and earned the name "The Glass City." Collectors still search for the area's historic glass art. Grapeville is also home to a large and productive natural gas well drilled in 1895.
The custom of firefighting is slow to change, but its practice has been perfected to a science. The first fire engines were invented in the 17th century. Their hardware was primitive until German inventor Hans Hautch created the first suction and force pump and improved conceptual engine design. Jan Vand der Heyden invented the first fire hose in 1672. The Dutch inventor constructed the hoses from leather and brass fittings; these lengths and connections are still today's working standards.
Historically comfortable with its masculinity, Grapeville VFD has been a color-coded operation since it was founded. The trucks have always been purple. In 1939 the VFD purchased purple and grey Drum and Bugle Corps uniforms. In 1941 they were state champions, winning awards for Best Uniforms and Best Appearing Fire Company. Why the VFD chose this color is still an unsolved mystery. Nescot said in 1946 the company bought an American LaFrance with a 750 GPM pump for $2,600. Rates drastically increased and in 1971, Grapeville bought a 1,000-GPM pump Ford Hawke for $42,000.
In 2008, a purple fire truck will cost as much as $450,000. And worth every penny, according to the firefighters at Station 21. Junior Firefighter of the Year Amber Werner prefers the large, comfortable interior of the Chevy. She said the radio is the best in that one.
"As years have gone by," said Nescot, "we have expanded to newer and more modern equipment." The department's current training includes working with Compressed Air Foam or CAF.
Nescot said CAF is the safest way to extinguish a fire. He said the technique cools a fire faster than water; it keeps firefighters safer for this reason. It causes a chemical reaction that penetrates structure material, no matter the medium. He said water hits a building and runs off, but CAF will absorb into most construction materials because of its chemical properties. Firefighting technology has come a long way since the reign of Nero.
"Using CAF will knock down fire, reduce heat, and make for a safer operation for firefighters," said Nescot.
The Grapeville Volunteer Fire Department consists of 25 active firefighters, 16 rescue trucks, 1 paramedic and 10 emergency medical technicians. The company is focused on the idea of keeping the VFD intact and working, as it did for their forefathers. Nescot has been fighting fires for 33 years and has been fire chief for 19. Imagine it: He's been paid $0 for his services.
"You gotta have heart to do this job," said Nescot.
Stevens said volunteer firefighters make a tremendous contribution of their time and do so without the need for reward. They do not make money, Stevens said, but they never want recognition and would never view themselves as heroes.
"They don't consider themselves heroes because they feel that they need to do it," said Stevens. "Those that do don't ask for the credit. They do it because it makes them feel like they're making a commitment to their community."
Firefighting in America has been organized since 1648, when the New Amsterdam governor Peter Stuyvesant appointed a panel of fire wardens to police what is now New York. Later, eight prominent citizens were appointed to the "Rattle Watch." Officers used loud wooden rattles to alert the community in case of fire. Able citizens would respond and extinguish the fire with a system of buckets.
In 1736 Benjamin Franklin founded Union Fire Company in Philadelphia, the first volunteer fire company. At that time the famous Pennsylvania Gazette was printing many articles about public safety, and even about the volunteer fire movement. Franklin himself was a volunteer firefighter; on Feb. 4, 1735, he wrote an anonymous letter to the Gazette titled "Protection of Towns from Fire." Today's volunteers carry on this tradition, for their fathers and their forefathers. Nescot showed the company's archives, neatly attached to large poster boards.
The cold fall air fills the garage as the firefighters open the epic door. The brigade begins the slow trek down the hill from Grapeville to Jeanette. Red lights flashing in the cabin of his Emergency Vehicle, Fire Chief Dan Nescot stops.
"I couldn't be prouder of them," he said. "The group I have, the advancements in training, the level of cooperation. We go out, we do the job."
All is dark but for the red lights, all is silent but for the screaming sirens. The three Grapeville trucks edge down Clay Street, overwhelming children with their loud whistles and asserting their purple presence on this smoldering world.
"As a culture here in Pennsylvania, we kind of forget what we have and what we're getting for free," said Stevens. In his other life, Nescot is a truck part salesman for Point Spring and Drive Shaft in Greensburg. He said he likes his job at the VFC better.
"The volunteer firefighter runs into a burning building as fast as we're getting out," said Stevens.
"I don't miss too many," said Doug Mohar, one of the station's most active firefighters. He's been involved with the organization for two years. Nescot said he is among Grapeville's top firefighters and that he's responded to more than 100 calls this year. He won an award for "Most Improved Fire Fighter" at the 2008 banquet. When Mohar was asked why he volunteered, he said it was to make an impact and a difference. The company has not seen a fatal fire since 1985.
"I wanted to be a firefighter ever since I was a kid," Mohar said.
Grapeville Volunteer Fire Department responds to calls in Jeannette, Hempfield, Greensburg, Penn Borough and Irwin.
"Wherever we're called, we'll assist," said Nescot.
Stevens estimated that 70 percent to 80 percent of a department's money comes from fundraising. The remaining percent is won or provided from grants, the state or Foreign Fire Insurance. Nescot said the department is in the process of getting nonprofit federal status.
"These guys work hard," said Stevens. "Every fundraiser is a risk. They take chances, not only by fighting fires but by raising funds."
The organization is funded by donations and drives organized within the community. After a 21-year absence, the Ladies Auxiliary is again a presence at the VFD. The ladies group was re-established in 2007 and has 13 members. Donna Werner is president of the Auxiliary.
"The purpose of the Auxiliary is to stand beside the fire department and work with them," said Werner. "To keep the fire department going." She said the Ladies Auxiliary members contribute generous amounts of time and effort to the VFD. She said they see it as service and volunteering.
She remembered the Super Bingo sponsored recently by the VFD, and said she had only four hours sleep but she somehow "managed and had a good time." She said the auxiliary helps with fundraising and event organization. The company holds two "Gun Bashes" a year when they raffle off an actual gun, and also sells a "Big 50 Ticket," which provides patrons with a sit-down dinner in exchange for their support.
Stevens said in 2003 a water main break and gas leak took place in Grapeville. Despite the fact that a fundraiser was scheduled, the Ladies Auxiliary "canceled the fundraiser so people would have a place to stay," and opened the VFD as a shelter.
Line dancing takes place in the social room every Tuesday night. Karen Zima, dance instructor, said it's a consistent group of about 80 people that come from West Newton, Latrobe and Murrysville as well as Jeanette and Grapeville. She said admission is $5 and is another way the department raises funds. Zima said they were proud to assist the VFC by buying new tables.
The company puts on a recognition banquet every 10 years. Each decade, a pamphlet is made that updates firefighters on technology, membership and attendance. A comprehensive list of deceased firefighters and members of the Ladies Auxiliary grows with each decade. In VFD proceedings, a moment of silence is always observed for the deceased members of the corps: their fathers and forefathers.
Nescot said the last six months have been great for the Grapeville VFD. He said attendance and recruitment have increased, and they have three female firefighters in the corps.
Nescot said the department is accepting applications for both active firefighters and Auxiliary members within a three-mile radius of the station. He said firefighting builds camaraderie and community. As the red lights blaze overhead to hundreds of onlookers, the community can't miss them.
For a mere $3,000 a firefighter is outfitted with boots, pants, a coat, gloves, a helmet, suspenders and goggles. He said the rescue truck cost $450,000, the engine $425,000 and the foam truck $250,000. Nescot said the cost of trucks keeps going up.
"Without community support, we couldn't buy that kind of equipment," he said.
"Volunteers all across the state rely on fundraising," said Stevens. "In Pennsylvania, volunteer firefighting is the way we do business." Stevens mentioned heightened fuel costs and said it's "harder and harder for these volunteers to raise money and keep their doors open."
"All fire companies are the same," Nescot said, "and they have to have community and support." He said there are 10 lifetime members of Grapeville VFD including himself, and every one is involved with the company in "one way or another."
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