90 Volunteers Protect 60,000 in State College, Pa.
BY CAPT. JOSEPH A. CESSNA, III
Alpha Fire Company, State College, Pa.
“How do they do it?” That’s a question many fire companies, both paid and volunteer, ask about the Alpha Fire Company of State College, Pa.
Usually when you are speaking in terms of providing fire protection for an area covering 147 square miles and a population approaching 60,000, you’re talking about six or seven fire companies manned by a staff of as many as 125 paid fire fighters, but that’s not the case in State College. The Alpha Fire Company provides fire protection out of one station with a staff of 90 fire fighters, all volunteer, from the chief to the newest rookie.
State College is at the geographic center of Pennsylvania, among the hills, farmland and mountains typical of the state. You can drive from the center of the business district and in 15 minutes, less than eight miles from town, be in remote brush and woodland that even the veteran hunter would just as soon ignore. The Alphas provide fire protection for three townships and part of a fourth, the borough of State College and the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The permanent residents of the area and the students total about 60,000 persons.
Free of fund drive
Each district contributes, through tax dollars, a set amount of money to the Regional Council of Governments. This money is then dispensed to the Alpha Fire Company. This enables the company to concentrate on fire fighting, training and other essentials since the members are not forced to solicit donations and institute other fund-raising operations.
Increased fire activity and other requirements forced the Alphas to abandon their annual carnival and parade in 1978. For the year 1978, the fire damage figure rose to almost $1.3 million. Although more alarms were answered in 1979, fire damage was held to about $866,000. This year promises to be even busier with a record number of alarms in the first two months.
The Alphas are divided into a number of groups:(l) the Alpha Rescue Squad, a group of highly trained fire fighters specializing in vehicle extrication, (2) the Scuba Squad, comprised of a half-dozen certified divers, and (3) the Alpha Fire Police, who maintain order and traffic flow at emergencies. To promote fire prevention the Alphas fire prevention and public relations committees, along with State College Boro code enforcement, stress the importance of fire safety through open houses, the news media and other available resources.
Variety of operations
Because of the nature of the surroundings, the Alphas must be diversified in their training and tactics. They must be able to handle a wide variety of fire-related emergencies, such as the forest, grass and barn fires in the rural areas, and fires in assorted industries, bulk oil storage plants, shopping malls and high-rise buildings.
There are a multitude of hazardous areas on the Pennsylvania State University Campus. There are laboratories with poisonous and combustible gases and chemicals, labs with experimental animals (some poisonous), a nuclear reactor, an airport, and the biggest problem of all—the concentrated number of PSU students in dormitories, high-rise apartments and large, older houses in State College that have been converted to apartments.
The Alpha Company is fortunate in being one of the few volunteer fire companies to have its own training site. It consists of a two-story classroom building, a two-story smokehouse, paved roadways to simulate city streets for hose-lay evolutions, a splashback with an underground water tank for drafting, and small and large oil pits for flammable liquid fires. It is located on a 2.3-acre plot donated by the university.
Recruit training changed
This year’s rookie class of firement were guinea pigs. A new training program was adopted only last fall. In the past, all recruits were required to take a state-certified basic fire fighting course along with the American Red Cross basic first aid course.
However, at the end of last summer, training officers tried an experimental program. All probies were required to take the IFSTA 200 course for fire fighter I and to pass the written and practical tests required by NFPA Standard 1001. Alpha is the only fire company in the region that has personnel qualified at the fire fighter I level. Plans are under way to start a fire fighter II course this spring.
First aid requirements for new members has increased to include the American Red Cross advanced first aidcourse. All new members also must take a stress test. The stress test is an endurance exercise used to check cardiovascular fitness from a resting mode to complete exhaustion.
All members who wish to maintain their membership each year are required to attend 25 percent of the fire calls, a third of the 24 general meetings, at least 20 hours of training and pass a physical examination.
Company apparatus
The Alphas’ apparatus consists of a 1949 750-gpm pumper, a 1954 85-foot ladder truck, a 1966 1000-gpm pumper, a 1967 1000-gpm pumper, a 1971 1250-gpm pumper with a water boom, a 1967 emergency truck with a Hurst Tool and an air cascade system, a 1975 75-foot elevating platform and a 1978 1700-gallon tanker. A truck committee is now drawing up specifications for a pumper to replace the 1949 pumper. Members hope eventually to add a combination mini-pumper and brush truck.
Our present fire station was built in 1974 at a cost of almost $1 million. It has a truck floor that houses eight pieces of apparatus, a communications room, a lounge, private offices for chiefs and administrative officers, a conference room, a large, plush meeting room, a recreation room, and air room with a fully equipped cascade system, a vehicle maintenance and repair shop, a hosedrying room, kitchen facilities and a medical supply room.
Separate ambulance group
The Alpha Community Ambulance Club, a separate organization from the fire company, is housed in a two-bay garage attached to the fire station.
The Alphas carry pagers that are activated by Centre Emergency Dispatch, the fire and medical emergency dispatch center for the county. After the initial page, certain fire company members trained in dispatch and communication procedures take over communications in the dispatch room at Central Fire Station (the fire hall). The company puts a great deal of emphasis on its dispatchers, recognizing that they are a vital link in foreground operations. The dispatch room has detailed maps showing hydrant locations hazardous areas and other vital information, a microfiche system of most of the buildings on the Penn State campus and paging capability for multiple alarms and mutual aid.
Occasionally a rumor will circulate that the Alphas will eventually be replaced by a paid fire department. This is not likely. So long as the company maintains the high level of performance and dedication to the citizens of the Centre Region as it has in the past, it will remain volunteer as long as there are property and lives to protect.
