Freeburg Volunteer Fire Company
Over 70 years of service to the Freeburg community in Snyder County
The History of our Fire Company
We started our fire company in 1948 to deliver EMS, Fire, and other emergency services to the Freeburg community.
Our station is comprised of dedicated volunteers driven to help provide these services to their neighbors.
In the early years in Freeburg, it was buckets and brawn for the Bucket Brigade to fight fires with the water coming from the town hand pumps.
On March 17, 1927, the No. 1 Fire Co. of Sunbury, PA demonstrated a Ford Model-T Chemical Fire Truck on the town square at the Empire House. The truck was the property of the East End Fire Co. of Altoona, PA. It was used very little, only driven about 700 miles and could be and was purchased for $750. After showing the fire truck at the Empire House, it was driven on South Street to Cherry Alley at the red barn still standing below the hotel where they demonstrated that the chemical truck had enough pressure build up to propel the water across the roof. This was done by mixing sixteen pounds of bicarbonate of soda to eight quarts of sulfuric acid. When the acid was put in the tank it caused immediate pressure build up. When one charged tank was being used on the fire, the other tank was filled with water by the bucket brigade and ready to be charged with chemicals.
On April 5, 1927, the Freeburg citizens organized a fire company in the Odd Fellows Hall. President – W. Harry Harman, Vice President – Raymond O. Gilbert, Secretary – C.S. Hedrick, Treasurer – Allen Fisher, Fire Chief – J. Nevin Moyer, Assistant Chief – Edwin Gheer. The truck was kept at Gheer’s garage which was built in 1924. The Boro Council paid the gas, repairs and storage for the first mechanical fire truck. The first people to work on the truck and drive it to fires and fight the fires were Edwin Gheer, Nevin Moyer, Charles Roush and Lon Aucker.
The Freeburg Boro Council built two fire ponds. One at the corner of New and Williow Streets, and the other was at the corner of Front and Water Streets along Fountain Run. These ponds were used if it was necessary to call Selinsgrove or Sunbury Fire Companies who had pumpers. The ponds were also used for skating in the winter. Freeburg Boro still owns the land at New and Willow Streets. The other land was returned to the original owner.
During and after World War II the Ford Model-T fire truck was used to celebrate the victory. It broke down coming from Middleburg over the Shade Mountain. Rather than pay storage and repairs, the Boro sold the Model-T Ford truck for junk. It was bought by Lester Benner from Selinsgrove Ford Motors for $60. The fire truck was moved to Selinsgrove at Benner’s garage in the Bonawitz building.
Jim Aucker, Glenn Meiser, Ken Sheaffer and Red Fisher worked on the truck and restored it. The truck became quite an attraction for people to look at. After the war, business was very good. Everyone was working and cars were selling at a fast rate. Mr. Benner and his family went to Florida on a vacation. After he had gone, someone complained that the Ford Model-T fire truck was in the way of business. So, Jim, Ken, Glenn and Red brought the fire truck back to Freeburg and stored it in Jim’s shed. When Mr. Benner returned from Florida, he said “Where is my fire truck”? The response he received from Jim, Ken, Glenn and Red was “It’s Freeburg’s fire truck and we took it to Freeburg”. Lester Benner, being the nice man that he was, gave it some thought and replied “You’re right, it is Freeburg’s fire truck”. Later, William Ulrich who worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation took a picture of the truck and other required information and got a title in the name of the Freeburg Vol. Fire Co.
Freeburg Fire Company 