Today Marks the 118th Birthday of the Glenside Fire Company

Today we wish all those that have volunteered their services for the Glenside Fire Company, a very happy 118th birthday. Their devotion to the Glenside community will never be forgotten.

In January, Glenside Local covered the story behind GFC and how it became what it is today.

The colossal amount of history that hides behind the doors of the Glenside Fire Company is fascinating. The fire company itself, dates all the way back to May 17th, 1900. It was on this date, that they were first granted a charter. A request was then sent out to residents, asking the owners to attend a local conference. This was basically done as an attempt to recruit volunteers, which later became the foundation of the fire company. With no particular building to use, they often stored their equipment in multiple garages. A few years went by and in 1907,  the first station of the Glenside Fire Company was constructed at the location of Glenside and Lismore Avenues.

You could only imagine how challenging the logistics were, not having any of their own motorized fire vehicles. How quickly could they get to a fire? It wasn’t until 1914, that they were able to purchase a 1908 Loco-mobile, which they then converted into their first ever, Glenside Fire Company vehicle. As time went on, in 1923 the Glenside Fire Company was then able to purchase a Seagrave fire truck. Apparently this new Seagrave fire truck could pump up to 750 gallons of water per minute, which seems pretty advanced for 1923.

Four years later, the Glenside fire Company purchased land across the street from the station, in need of a larger building . The GFC still sits at the same address today.  The fire company felt it was necessary to develop a training program in order to prepare their men to fight fire. They were later acknowledged in 1938, by the The Fire Engineer Journal, for initiating this educational training program. These training programs were then utilized all across the country, and this is all to Glenside’s credit.

In the 1940’s, as members were sent off to serve in the U.S. Armed Services, the fire company began publishing a newsletter called “The Siren” to keep their members informed . “The Siren” is still being printed today and is mailed out annually as part of their fundraising campaign. It is important to know that the Glenside Fire Company is still 100 percent volunteers and depends upon donations in order to maintain their facilities, as well as keep up to date on their gear and equipment.

There is much more intriguing information that can be found by clicking here for the Glenside Fire Company Website.