Copyright 2006 Lebanon Daily News
By KAREN SHUEY
The Lebanon Daily News (Pennsylvania)
JONESTOWN, Pa. — Bradley Ebling thinks firefighters are awesome.
“Because they drive fire engines and they save people — and they let me come down to the station whenever I want,” the Jonestown fourth-grader said as he listed the reasons why he admires the firefighters of Jonestown’s Perseverance Fire Co.
The 10-year-old knows practically everything there is to know about the fire department and isn’t afraid to ask the questions that he doesn’t know the answers to, Perseverance Chief Carl Bachman said.
Every Thursday night, and most other nights, for that matter, Ebling can be found at the Perseverance station. He quietly walks around and observes the firefighters as they go through their weekly training session.
He isn’t allowed to participate because the state requires children to be at least 14 before they begin training. However, Bachman said the crew allows him to help with small tasks like wrapping up hoses and putting the equipment away.
“I think Brad knew some stuff about the history of the fire department I didn’t even know,” Bachman laughed. “He must have found the information on our Web site. There have been other kids that have been interested in knowing how the fire department works, but Brad knows where all the apparatus goes and what equipment is used in different situations.”
Ebling is so committed to the fire department that when he hears the siren go off, he grabs his bike and heads to the station to see what’s going on. If a fire call is close to the station, Ebling will ride his bike to the scene and watch as the firefighters perform their duties. If a fire call is far from the station, he will wait for the volunteers to come back and fill him in on the details.
Since Ebling lives close to the station, at Walnut Manor in Jonestown, he’s “on call” all the time — except when it’s raining or after his bedtime.
Ebling’s mother, Jennifer Gill, said she thinks his passion to be a firefighter started as young as age 3.
“My father, Donald Ebling, belonged to the Womelsdorf fire company, and I remember Brad taking an immediate liking to the trucks and sirens,” she said. “At first I wasn’t that excited about him wanting to do something so dangerous, but I know it makes him happy.”
Although Gill is thankful for the way the Jonestown firefighters have taken her son under their wings, the single mother of three has recently been preoccupied with some financial difficulties.
“I’ve been a single mother for two years now, and the money has been a little tight at times,” Gill said. “I try my best to get my kids what I can, but this year Brad tried to convince me to take his presents back and use the money for something else.”
Because of their special bond with Brad and considering his family’s financial hardship, the fire company supplied the family with food and gifts for Christmas. The firefighters showed up at the family’s apartment on Christmas night in a fire engine to deliver the goodies.
“The company thought it would be a good idea to help out Brad’s family since he has become a part of ours,” Bachman said. “We’re going to make this an annual community effort event.”