Serving You For More Than A Century
Prior to 1923 fire protection within the town of Mocanaqua was provided by neighboring fire departments.
In 1923 a group of concerned members of the community realized the need to provide fire protection to their neighbors.
The First Mocanaqua Fire Company was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in June 1924 for the purpose of organizing and maintaining a hose company and equipping the same with a hose wagon, hose, and other necessary firefighting devices.
The year 1943 the fire company purchased a second-hand 1924 American LaFrance pumper from M.E Clark in Williamsport, PA for $1,200 with the financial backing of former company treasurer Philip Ciampi. This would become the town's prime attack piece for the next 13 years. The “LaFrance” as it was known, was a one-ton fire truck equipped with a direct drive, chain-driven pump, and ladders, between 200 and 500 feet of hose and capable of carrying several men.
In January 1956 members of the Fire Company decided that the 1924 LaFrance pumper was in need of repairs and obsolete and that a replacement was needed. In February a drive was started for a new truck a contribution of $10.00 was asked of each property owner and a $5.00 contribution was asked from each tenant. In a two-day drive of the community, a total of $6,000 was raised from property owners and business people.
April 30th, 1956 a new 1956 International-Howe 750 GPM class A pumper with high-pressure fog equipment and a 500-gallon booster tank was purchased from the Howe Fire Apparatus Company in Indiana for the cost of $12,000. The remaining $6,000 was raised by having a fireman’s picnic and other fundraisers.
1960 brought plans to erect a new fire hall at the old Citizens Band Hall were started. Prior to this fire hall apparatus was stationed at various locations within the town.
1962 It was petitioned to change the name from the First Mocanaqua Fire Company to the Mocanaqua Volunteer Fire Company and construction of the fire hall was completed at a total cost of $9,400 with a dedication ceremony held in June 1962.
1979 The first women were allowed to join the ranks outside of the ladies auxiliary. These six initiated were Hazel Slominski, Mary Lee Shaffer, Marlene Beleski, Bonnie Hartzel, Carol Slominski, and Bernice “Bernie” Smith. It has been told that the ladies got a workout soon after joining the company with a recent rash of grass and brush fires.
In 1982 discussion was held by members of the company purchasing a tanker truck due to the 12 hydrants in town having poor pressure and could only be used to fill the trucks instead of being pumped by apparatus. It was decided by the membership not to purchase a tanker and purchase a new fire truck with a bigger tank size. In May of 1984, a motion was carried out to purchase a pumper truck with a 1000-gallon tank from Mowery Fire Apparatus in Sybertsville, PA for the cost of $58,806. This pumper officially went into service on January 20th, 1985.
1998 also was a milestone for which the organization celebrated its 75 Year Anniversary with a one-day picnic and parade celebration at St. Mary’s Park.
In 2009 plans on building a new fire station in town began with the organization obtaining grants and loans from the federal government. The construction 33x88 firehouse took place in 2011 and was finished in 2012.
Today, The Fire Company consists of 20 volunteer members responding to over 200 calls for service a year covering a primary response area of 32 square miles and over 2600 residents providing fire and rescue services to the Townships of Conyngham, Union, and The Borough of Shickshinny as the primary response agency, several automatic and mutual aid agreements are also in place with nearby communities to respond to and assist when needed.
We have grown from that single American Lafrance pumper in a one-bay garage, to responding with two engines, a brush truck, and one special operations trailer.
As the MVFC celebrates our anniversary, it’s time for reflection – remembering firefighters and other volunteers who have come and gone, the times we’ve shared, the many actions we’ve taken to serve the community – and for feeling satisfied and proud of a job well done, if only if it was for a few moments. It’s also time to think about the future. Our commitment to community safety remains strong, and we regularly assess our capabilities and the demand for our services.
Our key objectives are to continue to recruit a diverse set of residents to serve as firefighters and in other volunteer functions, manage our finances and assets in a fiscally responsible manner, achieve operational excellence through regular trainings and planning and leverage technology through all aspects of our company – from apparatus, other equipment, communications tools, financial accounting and planning systems.
The Mocanaqua Fire Company’s methods have been constantly upgraded over the past one hundred years but the goal of service to the community has remained the same. We look forward to serving the community for another 100 years and beyond.
In 1923 a group of concerned members of the community realized the need to provide fire protection to their neighbors.
The First Mocanaqua Fire Company was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in June 1924 for the purpose of organizing and maintaining a hose company and equipping the same with a hose wagon, hose, and other necessary firefighting devices.
The year 1943 the fire company purchased a second-hand 1924 American LaFrance pumper from M.E Clark in Williamsport, PA for $1,200 with the financial backing of former company treasurer Philip Ciampi. This would become the town's prime attack piece for the next 13 years. The “LaFrance” as it was known, was a one-ton fire truck equipped with a direct drive, chain-driven pump, and ladders, between 200 and 500 feet of hose and capable of carrying several men.
In January 1956 members of the Fire Company decided that the 1924 LaFrance pumper was in need of repairs and obsolete and that a replacement was needed. In February a drive was started for a new truck a contribution of $10.00 was asked of each property owner and a $5.00 contribution was asked from each tenant. In a two-day drive of the community, a total of $6,000 was raised from property owners and business people.
April 30th, 1956 a new 1956 International-Howe 750 GPM class A pumper with high-pressure fog equipment and a 500-gallon booster tank was purchased from the Howe Fire Apparatus Company in Indiana for the cost of $12,000. The remaining $6,000 was raised by having a fireman’s picnic and other fundraisers.
1960 brought plans to erect a new fire hall at the old Citizens Band Hall were started. Prior to this fire hall apparatus was stationed at various locations within the town.
1962 It was petitioned to change the name from the First Mocanaqua Fire Company to the Mocanaqua Volunteer Fire Company and construction of the fire hall was completed at a total cost of $9,400 with a dedication ceremony held in June 1962.
1979 The first women were allowed to join the ranks outside of the ladies auxiliary. These six initiated were Hazel Slominski, Mary Lee Shaffer, Marlene Beleski, Bonnie Hartzel, Carol Slominski, and Bernice “Bernie” Smith. It has been told that the ladies got a workout soon after joining the company with a recent rash of grass and brush fires.
In 1982 discussion was held by members of the company purchasing a tanker truck due to the 12 hydrants in town having poor pressure and could only be used to fill the trucks instead of being pumped by apparatus. It was decided by the membership not to purchase a tanker and purchase a new fire truck with a bigger tank size. In May of 1984, a motion was carried out to purchase a pumper truck with a 1000-gallon tank from Mowery Fire Apparatus in Sybertsville, PA for the cost of $58,806. This pumper officially went into service on January 20th, 1985.
1998 also was a milestone for which the organization celebrated its 75 Year Anniversary with a one-day picnic and parade celebration at St. Mary’s Park.
In 2009 plans on building a new fire station in town began with the organization obtaining grants and loans from the federal government. The construction 33x88 firehouse took place in 2011 and was finished in 2012.
Today, The Fire Company consists of 20 volunteer members responding to over 200 calls for service a year covering a primary response area of 32 square miles and over 2600 residents providing fire and rescue services to the Townships of Conyngham, Union, and The Borough of Shickshinny as the primary response agency, several automatic and mutual aid agreements are also in place with nearby communities to respond to and assist when needed.
We have grown from that single American Lafrance pumper in a one-bay garage, to responding with two engines, a brush truck, and one special operations trailer.
As the MVFC celebrates our anniversary, it’s time for reflection – remembering firefighters and other volunteers who have come and gone, the times we’ve shared, the many actions we’ve taken to serve the community – and for feeling satisfied and proud of a job well done, if only if it was for a few moments. It’s also time to think about the future. Our commitment to community safety remains strong, and we regularly assess our capabilities and the demand for our services.
Our key objectives are to continue to recruit a diverse set of residents to serve as firefighters and in other volunteer functions, manage our finances and assets in a fiscally responsible manner, achieve operational excellence through regular trainings and planning and leverage technology through all aspects of our company – from apparatus, other equipment, communications tools, financial accounting and planning systems.
The Mocanaqua Fire Company’s methods have been constantly upgraded over the past one hundred years but the goal of service to the community has remained the same. We look forward to serving the community for another 100 years and beyond.
