Gordon fire co. welcomes new engine via housing ceremony
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SENTINEL PHOTO - Citizens Fire Co. president Louis Kaufman christens the 1990 KME engine Gordon's lone fire company housed on June 29, 2019.
By Kaylee Lindenmuth | [email protected]
GORDON – Gordon’s lone fire company, the Citizens Fire Company, housed their new-to-them 1990 KME engine Saturday with a parade and ceremony, joined by seven other area fire companies.
Gordon’s new Engine 46-10 led the parade of 13 fire trucks through the borough.
The ceremony following was attended by about two and a half dozen community members and fellow firefighters outside the firehouse on Otto Street.
“Due to the generosity of a company member, and the very generous decision by our borough council to help the fire company pay for this engine, we can house this 1990 KME today, and we hope and pray it will serve us for years to come,” said George Brocious, company assistant chief and borough mayor.
The engine formerly found service in rural Clarion County on the western side of our state, in Saint Petersburg. Brocious thanked Gordon Fire Chief George Dornsife, Assistant Chief Jason Quick, and Firefighter Edward Helwig for their efforts in bringing the truck to the borough.
“These three men traveled to Saint Petersburg two days in a row, a more than three hour drive each way, to inspect this engine and then to bring it home to Gordon,” said Brocious.
Brocious added that the truck acquisition is a “much needed improvement to our firefighting capabilities for the citizens of Gordon and our surrounding communities we provide mutual aid to.”
After Brocious and Ashland Fire Chief Phil Groody spoke, Citizens Fire Co. President Louis Kaufman christened the truck, and members ceremoniously pushed the truck into its garage bay. Following the ceremony was a community reception.
At the reception, attending fire companies received awards for five different categories. The categories and award winners are as follows:
- Best KME: Coaldale
- Best Tanker: Fountain Springs
- Judges Award: Locust Gap
- Best Engine: Cressona
- Overall: Shenandoah Columbia
The engine has been in the borough for a few months now. The truck responded to the multi-alarm fire in Ashland in March, and appeared in the Columbia Fire Company block party parade earlier this month. According to Brocious, the engine replaces a 1980s Hahn which suffered a mechanical failure.
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