By Carole Gilbert Brown
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HEIDELBERG, Pa. — The Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department is observing its 100th anniversary this week, and about 1,000 fellow firefighters are expected to join a celebration that has been nearly two years in the making.
The volunteers are hosting the 95th annual Allegheny County Firefighters Association convention through Saturday.
Events kicked off Sunday with a memorial service at the Chartiers Valley United Presbyterian Church, followed by an Old Timers’ dinner and then training and water battles Monday, Tuesday and yesterday.
A Super Bingo is set for 7 p.m. today at the Heidelberg Volunteer Fire Department on First Street, and an association meeting and dinner will be held tomorrow.
On Saturday, the celebration culminates with a Firemen’s Parade and street fair in front of the department. The lineup of fire trucks and auxiliary vehicles will begin at 3 p.m., followed by the parade start at 4:30.
More than 1,000 firefighters from 200-plus departments in the county as well as others from Butler, Beaver and Washington counties and some from West Virginia are expected to take part in the parade.
The band Two Lane Highway, will perform country and Southern rock music at 6:30 p.m. The street fair will include food vendors and carnival games. The department’s 100th anniversary will be commemorated at 7.
All activities will move indoors at 10 p.m. when a disc jockey will provide music and karaoke will be held in the fire department building.
To describe this week’s activities as a big deal to the borough would be an understatement.
“We sometimes joke that there are two things in Heidelberg -- the volunteer fire department and Thomas Towing [a local business],” Joe Wissel Jr., the 27-year-old assistant fire chief, said with a laugh.
Since the fire department was established in 1909 -- six years after the borough was incorporated -- its members have had a strong influence in the social and political fabric of the community. The resilience of the volunteers, which was tested when Hurricane Ivan damaged their building in September 2004, also can be seen in the continuing presence of a ladies’ auxiliary.
“We’re one of the last [fire departments] left with a pretty active ladies’ auxiliary,” Mr. Wissel, a fourth-generation firefighter, said.
The firefighting organization has 49 volunteers, 19 with 25 years of service.
Route 50 will not be closed for the parade, but Collier Avenue from Garfield Street to Washington Pike and Ellsworth Avenue will be closed from 3 to 6:30 p.m. First Street from Ellsworth to Walnut Street will be closed from 3 to 11 p.m.
Firefighting vehicles will be side by side on Collier and move along Ellsworth to First Street, where the judging stand will be in front of the fire department. Vehicles will exit via West Railroad Street.
Judging is done on factors such as appearance, apparatus, specialty features and cleanliness. Judges will be Chief Mark Lewis of Kirwan Heights in Collier, Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief Nick Sohyda, Scott Chief Tom Salerno of Glendale, Jim Mykita of East Carnegie and John Levi of Bower Hill.
This is the fourth time Heidelberg has hosted the firefighters’ convention. The last time was in 1991.
“Everybody’s excited that it’s back in Heidelberg again,” Mr. Wissel said.
Copyright 2009 P.G. Publishing Co.