CALIFORNIA, Pa. — Firefighter Jon Bittner suspected something was up when a “community chicken dinner” coincided with his 50-year anniversary on the fire department.
He was right; the department threw a surprise party for him Sunday. Bittner joined the California Volunteer Fire Department when he was 20, reported the Herald Standard.
“It gives you a good feeling to know you’re doing something that’s needed and appreciated,” Bittner said.
The surprise party was advertised as a community chicken dinner, although Bittner said he suspected something when he noticed there was almost no parking left near the fire hall.
“I saw all the cars and thought there were a lot of people here for how early it was,” Bittner said.
Over the last 50 years, Bittner’s life has been shaped and intertwined with his job as a volunteer firefighter.
“This place has been part of my life for 50 years, longer than I’ve been with my wife,” Bittner said. “We are a fraternity of brothers; we stick together.”
That brotherhood, Bittner’s wife said, came through for him even on their wedding day.
“The day we got married … the church was full of firemen and the whistle blew. Not one person moved,” Kathy Bittner said. It turned out that his colleagues asked firefighters from other departments to remain on standby so they could attend the wedding.
Bittner is the only volunteer firefighter in the state to reach the 50-year mark, California Fire Chief Tom Hartley said. “I thought we had at least three others who made 50 years, but I was wrong. Jon is the first one.”
Among Bittner’s many positions and involvement over the years, his most notable role may be helping form the junior firefighter program; a program that his son, Brian, enrolled in to become a firefighter.
“The fire service gets in your blood. My dad belonged, and I followed in his footsteps and brought my son in,” Brian Bittner said.
Bittner remains an active member of the fire department and currently serves on the truck committee.