Towamensing Township Volunteer Fire Company exists to provide fire suppression and rescue services to the citizens of Towamensing Township and surrounding communities in Carbon and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania. Located in the Village of Trachsville, Towamensing Township, Carbon County, we provide primary 911 coverage for all 28.9 square miles of Towamensing Township, including over half of Beltzville Lake State Park.
Why the number 9?
The coverage area of Towamensing Township Volunteer Fire Company is designated “fire district 9” and our company is paged out as such by Carbon County 911. Every unit in the company (personal radio ID numbers as well) begins with the number 9 and follows the three digit format “9**”. Specific radio ID numbers can be found on the roster and apparatus pages.
Beginning and Early growth
On April 11th, 1946 the first meeting of the Towamensing Volunteer Fire Company was held at Friendly Inn, Trachsville, Pa. with 25 soon to be members present. The following officers were elected: Elwood Beers, President; Kenneth Smith, Vice President; Alton Smith, Recording Secretary; Ralph Strohl, Financial Secretary; and Norman Beers as Treasurer. A Board of 6 Directors was also formed by the election of Harry Longacre, Norman Strohl, Oscar Stout, Fred Eckhart, Allen Christman and William Keller. A collection of $16.40 was donated and opened the Treasury.
On October 25th, 1946 a meeting was held at the Friendly Inn Hotel and at this meeting a motion was made by Harry Longacre and seconded by Norman Strohl to buy fire equipment. A new truck was ordered from the Howe Fire Apparatus Company from Anderson Indiana at a cost of $7,650, and was delivered the following July, 1947.
In October, 1947 a small blacksmith shop was purchased from Robert Beers and the tract of land on which it was located was donated to the fire company by Mr. Beers. This is the current location of the fire company today. Expansion continued with the purchase of the first fire siren on May 4th, 1948.
On March 21st, 1949 a second piece of fire apparatus was purchased for the sum of $500.00 It was a four wheel drive truck built for the purpose of fighting brush and field fires, our first “Brush Truck.”
Triumph and Tragedy
On March 23rd, 1950 the members of the fire company held a celebration in the form of a “Mortgage Burning” and Second Annual Banquet at the Palmerton American Legion to celebrate the fire company no longer owing any money on our property. However, this celebration didn’t last very long as disaster struck the fire company. Around 5:00 PM on December 11th, 1950 a fire raged throughout the fire station, destroying the building, both fire trucks, equipment and all other contents of the building. This sadness and loss was not to be felt for long. On January 2nd, 1951 a motion was made to build a new firehouse, and it is still in use to this day! At the same meeting a motion was made to buy a new 1951 Chevrolet truck with a 500 gallon per minute Howe pump at the price of $8,260. On September 19th, 1954 a second truck was bought, a Ford 1600 gallon tanker, and on October 16th, 1957 a second “Mortgage Burning” was held for the new building having been paid off.
Expansion into the future
On May 29th, 1962 a special meeting was called and plans were made for the building to be expanded. The expansion gave the company a new event hall and a much needed new kitchen. This project cost was a sum of $15,647.92. On August 7th of the same year, a used rescue truck was purchased from Hauser Chevrolet for $325. On June 4th, 1963 the Fire Company purchased another tanker for $2,500. This tanker started the Jonas Fire Company which was a branch of Towamensing, at the time. On July 17th, 1967 a new tanker was ordered from Saulsbury Fire Equipment Company in Tully, NY at a cost of $17,730.80 and arrived on March 23rd, 1968. On January 20th, 1969 a four wheel drive 1963 Jeep was purchased at the cost of $3,075 and came fully equipped to fight field and brush fires. Expansions and renovations continued in many different ways and forms over the years and included such things as an emergency power generator and additional land purchased for $20,000.
A 1974 American LaFrance Engine was purchased for $60,000 and came equipped with a 1,000 gallon per minute pump. In 1976 renovations were started on the event hall and kitchen, and were completed in 1977 at the cost of $117,840. The new hall is able to hold over 400 people and the kitchen equipment was upgraded to be able to feed them, this is the current size of our hall today. Engine bay facilities were also renovated and expanded in 1980 at a cost of $54,000, and in 1981 a brand new Chevy “mini pumper” was purchased at the cost of $46,249. This truck is still in service today, numbered as “942” and is used as one of our brush trucks. In 1984 the event hall had air conditioning installed to provide comfort for the fundraising and community activities during the summer. Today we are moving forward to bring back some of the grander community events we’ve had in the past, but we can’t do it alone. Currently we are holding monthly Sunday breakfasts and working on more community events.
From the fire company’s birth in April 1946 to February of 1971 the fire company responded to 327 calls, today we are dispatched to an average of 100 calls per year.
We need your help!
We are always accepting new membership applications and are in need of volunteers for firefighting, fire police, emergency medical services, and fund raising volunteers as well. Emergencies happen 24/7/365!! Contact us via phone or Facebook
(610) 681-4000