History of Station 12 Continued -
1972 - 1982
In January 1972, a truck committee was formed to draw up specs for a tanker. This tanker will prove to be an invaluable asset to our Fire Company and community.
In March 1972, the company voted to purchase the land behind the fire hall measuring 150 x 300 from Fred Tebbs for $750.
In May 1972, the company voted to purchase a 1500 gallon tanker from Howe on a Chevrolet chassis for delivery in June 1973 for a purchase price of $22,500.
Our community was devastated during June 1972 by the Agnes flood. Our fire department worked hand-in-hand with neighboring fire companies and our fellow citizens of our community. This will be a memory none of us will forget.
During the Agnes flood, we lost our fire dispatcher Charles M. Collin who passed away. Charlie served our fire company for 6 years. We were fortunate to find a replacement so soon. Within a few days we contacted Charles Winder to handle these duties.
1973 was a year filled with various types of fund raising projects as is every year to help with the cost of the new tanker that we put into service in July.
The Ladies Auxiliary donated $1000 toward the price of our tanker which put us over the top of the amount of money needed to once again let us pay cash for our tanker. A special thanks was given to our ladies auxiliary.
1974 saw a lot of changes in our fire company lot. We received fill dirt and debris from the demolition of properties in Montgomery. 1974 saw the hope of the County starting a county communications center which had been talked about for several years. It appears the communications center is in the foreseeable future. We are especially eager to have a county communications center because we have had to replace our fire dispatcher once again. Charles Winder had asked to be relieved of this job and once again we had to look for a replacement. Elizabeth Decker accepted this responsibility in September 1974. Thank you Elizabeth.
In 1975 we were continuing to get fill dirt from the borough demolition projects which had helped us tremendously.
The County communications center has not been implemented yet but it appears it will be in operation within the next few months.
The company is discussing the purchase of a new engine to replace our 1959, possibly in 1979 or 1980 at a cost of approximately $30,000.
This was a prosperous year for our company. We conducted many different types of fund raising projects again as usual.
We, along with all the fire departments in the county, received the “Grit Award” for outstanding community service.
1976 found a truck committee appointed to look into specs and the cost of purchasing a new engine. We were also involved in many various bicentennial functions throughout the year.
At our banquet in 1976, we dedicated our social building in memory of C.L. Hulsizer who was instrumental in the formation of our fire department. A plaque was placed on the social building which read “In memory of C.L. Hulsizer for his guidance and many contributions which made the Clinton Township Fire Company possible - 1946.”
The county communications system was finally initiated and we now enjoy the satisfaction of not being plagued with replacing our dispatcher. The county system seems to be working well.
A plaque was presented to Elizabeth Decker for her service to our department and community service, September 1976. Thanks again Elizabeth.
1977 found the membership busy getting remodeling supplies added to our building. We insulated ceilings, walls, etc.
We made many purchases of equipment this year, nozzles, still ventilation saw, 6 new SCBA masks, radios, just to mention a few.
The company approved the purchase of a new engine at an approximate cost of $56,000.
This was the first year for the new county communications system and everything has been working rather well.
1978 found us very busy again with fund raising projects and fund drives to help purchase our new engine, expected delivery in the Spring of 1979.
We amended our by-laws and one major change was to give any active member with 25 years continuous service a paid up life membership.
We purchased the remainder of the ground behind the fire hall from the Fred Tebbs estate for $1000.
We also acquired a four wheel drive surplus vehicle through Civil Defense. It is to be used upon completion as a brush truck.
In 1979, we received our new engine for a total price of $60,260.00 which was officially placed in service on September 17. The new engine was a Chevy Chassis with a fire engine conversion performed by Grumman. It had a 1000 gallon per minute pump with 500 gallons of water. This was the first fire engine ever owned by CTVFC that had a top mounted pump panel, “jump” seating behind the cab, and an o- board generator with two large flood lights mounted to the truck.
We were busy again raising money to pay for this new engine and once again we met our financial obligations without having to borrow any money.
We were busy renovating and remodeling our building to make room to house our equipment.
Our four wheel drive brush truck is being worked on and progress is being made, but it is slow – “someday”!
In 1980, we broke ground once again for an addition to our building which measured 48 x 24, two story. The building did not get completed in 1980, but it was finished in the Spring of 1981. It had apparatus bays on the ground floor, and the upstairs portion contained a meeting room, bathroom, and a recreational area for the members.
We found ourselves updating all of our radio equipment to multi-channel along with purchasing 4 new radios. We purchased a quick responder kit to help our EMTs to better serve our department and community with medical emergencies.
We formed a junior fireman program this year for the youth in our community.
In 1980, the State passed legislation that pays death benefits to the families of volunteer firemen in the amount of $25,000 that are the result of fire company emergencies.
As we looked ahead into the 1980’s, we saw nothing but good for the future of our progressive fire department and community.
In 1982, the Company purchased a Mako Breathing air compressor to enable us to refill our SCBA cylinders at the station after their use. This greatly enhanced our training with air packs since it suddenly became much more convenient to have them refilled.
