Tight-knit volunteer fire department turns 75
Trending
POTTERY ADDITION -- A staple of its small, Ohio River-adjacent community, the Pottery Addition Volunteer Fire Department celebrated 75 years of fighting fires and keeping others safe on Saturday.
The department's Station 55, which sits along Ohio's old state Route 7, saw friends and family unite for a relaxing day of food, fun and remembrance of the department's legacy.
Mary Bender, lieutenant for the department, was part of the six-person committee that planned the celebration, which she said was made possible through many people's donations.
"We just wanted it to be a fun celebration and make it free for the community so they can just come and have fun with us," said Bender, who is also an advanced EMT with TEMS Joint Ambulance District.
Kids could paint rocks provided by Rawson Mulch and More or jump on a bouncy house provided by Tyler Clancey. While tunes from DJ Scorpion echoed outside, guests could snack on ice cream provided by Deersville General Store, cupcakes from Kathie Marshall or hot barbecue dishes from Double D's BBQ.
Local vendors set up outside, offering pottery or homemade sauces. Nearby, FedEx driver Dave Schroeder of America's Road Team let visitors explore a FedEx delivery truck while he gave lessons on truck-related road safety.
The department itself had its three engines on display: 5511, a six-person engine that carries 1,000 gallons of water; 5521, another six-person engine with a 75-foot ladder; and an all-wheel-drive engine.
In addition to Pottery Addition's three engines, other emergency response vehicles on display came from TEMS, Irondale Fire and Rescue Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, which had an officer do a K-9 demonstration for visitors. Additionally, one of STAT MedEvac's air ambulance helicopters performed a flyover and landed next to the station.
Chief Clark Crago, director of operations at TEMS, said he wanted to attend the celebration to show "camaraderie with citizens from our district," since TEMS's district added part of Island Creek Township -- which contains the town of Pottery Addition -- in July of this year. Also, Crago complimented Pottery Addition on its engine's colors -- "Chicago-style" black over red.
There to support the Pottery Addition department was Jake Jackson, a retired firefighter from the Mingo Junction Fire Department. Jackson reflected on the nature of volunteer departments, saying, "I always had respect for (the fact that) it's an unpaid career. These people come out all hours of the day and night ... and do it basically for the community."
"This is dedication to the community," said Jackson.
Jim Wood, assistant chief at the department, said 75 years at the department calls to mind "brotherhood."
"The commitment to service to our community is amazing," said Wood, who has been in fire and EMS since 1995 and with the Pottery Addition department since 2012. "A lot of our guys here have over 25 years of service with this department. ... That's a lot of experience."
Almost every other person walking around the celebration wearing a Station 55 T-shirt. Those individuals and many more were connected with the department in some way, either being a volunteer, auxiliary member or family member of someone in the department, demonstrating its multi-generational nature.
Matt Marshall, the great-grandson of a department founding member, said, "In some way, shape or form, we're all related down here." Marshall himself used to be a volunteer, his family was very involved in the auxiliary group and many involved in the department have known him since he was a kid and watched him grow up.
Volunteer Sean Smith said his father, Jack Smith, was one of the department's founding members, as well as the namesake of the station's social hall, constructed in 1979. Sean Smith, a current volunteer, displayed the department's original charter, with the date of incorporation set as March 6, 1948. Also, Smith exhibited a fiberglass helmet from the department's early days, still marked with its owner's name inside.
Smith explained that the department, which moved to its current location from a property up the street in the '70s, currently uses an app to notify its volunteers when there is a fire. However, the department used to use a siren that could be heard throughout the town, and people would rush to the station "in your car, on your bicycle, however you could get here."
Donna Hayes admitted she's biased -- she's the mother of the current chief -- but she thinks the department is great. An on-and-off member of the department's women's auxiliary group for 35 years, Hayes said she appreciates what the department does for the community, including various holiday events and patrolling the town during Halloween to make sure kids are safe.
That auxiliary group, Wood said, helps with the department's fundraising and prepares meals for the firefighters when they return.
Joe Hayes, former volunteer and the chief's father, said he is glad the department is still around but disappointed that people in general are less willing to volunteer nowadays. Hayes, who started volunteering at 13, listed reasons to volunteer: "You're going to learn something, better the township community, meet new people and get some training," adding "it's a no-brainer."
To find volunteers is difficult, Wood said, and the department having younger volunteers in addition to a core group of longtime members is "very fortunate nowadays."
Donna Hayes said they've seen younger generations stepping up after a bit of slowing in the department, which Wood said has about 20 members and covers just Island Creek Township, with mutual aid agreements for with surrounding areas.
Asked what the best part about the department is, Wood said, "Community service -- being able to help the community, provide that service to people and help them when they're in need."
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Pottery Addition Volunteer Fire Department should contact Chief Andy Hayes through the department's Facebook page, Wood said.