About

On July 7th, 1927, 8 men met at the Jennerstown Borough School House for a very special meeting to discuss the establishment of a fire company that would assist in the protection and preservation of the property and life from fire and emergency situations that might arise in and surrounding the Jennerstown area. 

This meeting and its subsequent, moved motion marked the founding of the Jennerstown Volunteer Fire Department.

Some Unit History

The first unit of the department was a #10 Fight Equipment from American LaFrance paid for by the Jennerstown Borough followed by a Model T Ford, then a Studebaker, and in 1929, a rotary gear pump.

In 1953, the Jennerstown Volunteer Fire Department became and Emergency Service and purchased a 1939 Packered Ambulance, and in 1960 the department’s first tanker truck was purchased on a Chevrolet truck chassis.

By 1971, the service area had expanded for the Department; so, a 1971 IHC pumper with a 1000 gallon-per-minute capacity was purchased followed by a four-wheel drive mini pumper and an IHC van serving as a squad ambulance in 1975.  In 1979 a Ford tanker was built with a 2,200 gallon capacity and a front-mount pump.

As the years rolled by more vehicles were upgraded and replaced such as the 1979 tanker being replaced by a new International 2,100 gallon tanker, and the 1975 ambulance was replaced by a 1994 Wheeled Coach on a Ford van chassis which itself was subsequently replaced by a 2007 Citimedic Ambulance on a Chevrolet chassis all to complete the mission to protect and preserve the lives and property of Jennerstown and the surrounding areas from fire and emergency situations.

Building and Infrastructure History

The Jennerstown Volunteer Fire Department originally had no permanent location for storing equipment and holding meetings; so both were accomplished in locations all over town including a basement of a bank which served as an old pool hall and the basement of an old Pontiac dealership. Meetings were often held in Bill Brown’s Diner or at the old school house. In 1946 the Department chose to build a firehouse, which still stands today with its social hall and kitchen being constructed in 1965.

In 1901 fire alarms were installed by the borough by the phone company free of charge. The were originally triggered by businesses in town such as the Drug Store, Turillo’s Steak House, the White Star, and at Syverd’s Garage. In the 1970’s when the 911 system was created, the seven-digit, non-emergency number still in use today was used for reporting emergencies, and in the late 1980’s, 911 was designated as the official emergency number used to dispatch the Department.