| The Members of the 21 House came together on Saturday and showed the world what "Southside Pride" is all about. The Union Fire Company No. 1 hosted a Parade and Housing Ceremony to celebrate the purchase of four new pieces of apparatus over the past few years. The Company Housed Engine 21-1, 2005 Pierce Dash Pumper, Tanker 21, a 1999 Mack Tractor pulling a 1996 Walker/New Lexington Trailer, Ambulance 21-1, a 2004 Chevy 4500 Lifeline BLS Ambulance, and Squad 21, a 2003 Ford F350 Utility Vehicle.
The day began at 0630 hours, as the Ladies Auxilary welcomed all of the members with a buffet breakfast in the banquet hall. Once everyone was finished eating, they were briefed on the details of the event and were then deployed to their respective locations.
The Parade Registration was held at Bradley Truck Parts on Old Baltimore Pike in Nottingham. The registration process was handled by wives and fiancees of company members. Apparatus taking part in the parade reported to these fine ladies and filled out their paperwork and were instructed where to go next.
The Pre-Judging Area was located throughout the Herr's Food, Inc. Complex in Nottingham. Each parking lot was used to judge the different types and categories of the apparatus. The Delaware Valley Judges were used as the judges for the event.
Once judged, the companies made their way to the Oxford Area School Complex on Garfield Street in Oxford to be lined up. The West Grove Fire Company, the Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, the Cochranville Fire Company, the Avondale Fire Company, the Bart Township Fire Company, the Robert Fulton Fire Company, the Quarryville Fire Company, the Wakefield EMS Company, and the SCCEMS were the Housing Companies and were lined up just behind the Oxford units.
The disappointing news of the day was most definitely the weather. Monsoon style rains poured non-stop throughout the Tri-State Area. Everyone was soaked completely through by the end of the day. However, despite the rains, the turnout was unbelievable. Over 80 fire, rescue, and EMS apparatus showed up and participated in the Parade. A truly remarkable occurance in the eyes of the members of the Union Fire Company No. 1.
The Parade began at 2pm and worked it's way through the street of Oxford Borough. The members would like to Thank the citizens of the Oxford Area that braved the weather and came out to support us and all of the participating companies during the parade.
Afterwards, crews were dropped off at the firehouse and the drivers were shuttled back by donated school buses. Everyone was invited to enjoy the FREE food. The Ladies Auxilary cooked Hot Dogs and served Pork Sandwiches from the Pig that was cooked for over 12 hours by Deputy Chief Rich Terry. Herr's Foods also passed out Kettle Chips to everyone. There were shirts, hats, mugs, glasses, and much more to by to commerate the big event.
The Oxford Borough Police Department, the Chester County 911 Center and the Union Fire Company No. 1 Fire Prevention Committee all had booths inside the Firehouse to pass out information to the children and the public. The Police Department even raffled off two bicycles to children that visited their booth.
The Ceremony began with President Allen Fowler welcoming everyone to the Union Fire Company No. 1 and thanked them for their participation. Pastor Greg Bruce, from the First Baptist Church of Oxford, gave the invocation. Ambulance Division President Donnie Kieth took the mic and gave an overview of the new Ambulance. He introduced Paul Monarski of Diamond State Ambulance and thanked him for all of the work that he done to get the Ambulance into service. Mr. Monarski then presented the keys to the new Ambulance to EMS Captain Ron "Pops" Griffin. President Kieth then announced the EMS Housing Companies as Captain Griffin presented each company with a Housing Plaque.
Fire Chief Chris Obenchain was then introduced. Chief Obenchain thanked everyone, including the membership of the 21 House for making the day a success. He gave overviews of all three of the new rigs and introduced the Housing Companies as Assistant Chief Sam Terry presented them with thier Plaque. Chief Obenchain then introduced Curt "Hen" Woerth from Glick Fire Equipment who presented the Union Fire Company No. 1 a Plaque commorating the new Engine. Assistant Chief then stepped to the mic and read through the list of organizations that helped make the day possible with their assistance and donations. He thanked the Housing Committee and the Membership for all of their hard work. He then presented a Plaque to Past Chief John "T-Bone" Raley of the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department in St. Mary's County, Maryland for their support and guidance in the planning and construction of the new Engine. Engine 21-1 is VERY similar to that of Mechanicsville's Engine 23.
President Fowler then led everyone to the actual ceremonial "Housing" of the apparatus. All four pieces were on the front ramp of the firehouse as the crowd surrounded them. The first Housing was done by the representatives of the surrounding Municipalities. The second Housing was done by the Housing Companies. And the Third was done by the Membership of the Union Fire Company No. 1. After the ceremony, the crowd again enjoyed the food and beverages around the firehouse and the different companies had plenty of time to "network" with the other companies.
A short time later, the Awards Ceremony began. The Police Department gave away their 2 bikes, the Fire Company raffled off both a 50/50 price worth around $130 and a Leather Helmet. Once the final tallies were reviewed, the trophies were handed out to the Parade Participants in numerous Categories. The Final Results Are:
Best Appearing & Equipped ALS Unit
1st - Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, MD
2nd - SCCEMS (Medic 94)
Best Appearing & Equipped QRS Unit
1st - Cochranville Fire Company
2nd - Westwood Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped BLS Unit
1st - West Grove Fire Company
2nd - Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, MD
Best Appearing & Equipped Brush Unit
1st - Quarryville Fire Company
2nd - Robert Fulton Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Special Service Unit
1st - Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company
2nd - East Whiteland Fire Company
Best Appearing Dalmation
1st - DOMINO - Honey Brook Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Light Rescue
1st - Kennett Fire Company
2nd - Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, MD
Best Appearing & Equipped Heavy Rescue
1st - Longwood Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Tanker (1500-3000 gallons)
1st - Bart Township Fire Company
2nd - North East Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Tanker (3001 gallons & over)
1st - Cochranville Fire Company
2nd - West Grove Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Straight Ladder
1st - East Brandywine Fire Company
2nd - Longwood Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Aerial Platform
1st - Quarryville Fire Company
2nd - Singerly Fire Company of Elkton, MD
Best Appearing & Equipped Engine (1984 & older)
1st - Bethel Fire Company
2nd - Hartly Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Engine (1985-1994)
1st - Martins Corner Fire Company
2nd - Mill Creek Fire Company
Best Appearing & Equipped Engine (1995 & newer)
1st - Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company
2nd - Cochranville Fire Company
Judges Award
East Brandywine Fire Company
Company Traveling the Longest Distance - Pennsylvania
Hecktown Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 - Bethlehem
Company Traveling the Longest Distance - Out of State
Hartly Fire Company - Hartly, Delaware
Best Appearing Pierce Apparatus
Quarryville Fire Company
Best Appearing LifeLine Apparatus
West Grove Fire Company
Best Appearing Company - Out of County
Quarryville Fire Company
Best Appearing Company - Chester County
Cochranville Fire Company
Best Appearing Company - Overall
Quarryville Fire Company
Following the day's events, the "traditional" exiting of apparatus took place. Apparatus left the Schools and made many laps around the Firehouse with their sirens and horns as loud as they could get. Tankers dumped their water and flooded the streets. A special Thank You goes out to the East Brandywine Fire Company who amazed everyone by jacking the 49 Truck at the intersection of Market Street and Lincoln Street and threw their Ladder in the air and showered everyone with water. The Martins Corner Fire Company, with Engine 34-1, supplied the 49 Truck with additional water. Once the shower was over, it appeared to start snowing. The crowd, the trucks, and the firehouse was suddenly covered in white stuff. It wasn't snow at all. It was Engine 9 of the Friendship Fire Company of Morgantown, PA. They had set up in the parking lot and shot foam over the firehouse through their deck pipe. The site was truly amazing. It left many people speechless.
At 8pm that night, once everything was cleaned up and placed somewhat back to normal, the Membership and surrounding Companies were treated to an afterparty. Bread-n-Butter Catering put out a buffet spread that will be talked about for a long time and DJ Rockin' Roy supplied the tunes as everyone danced the night away.
The Officers and the Housing Committee wish to THANK everyone that took time out of their lives to help make the Parade and Housing a true success. Without your help, we could not have pulled this off.
A Special thanks goes out to our Cover Companies for the entire day and night: the Atglen Fire Company (Engine 26-1), the Christiana Fire Company (Tanker 5-2-2), the Chestertown, MD Fire Company (Tower 6), the Friendship Fire Company of Morgantown (Engine 9), and the Gordonville Fire Company (Tanker 4-3).
THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the Photodog for spending the entire day with us and supplying us with great pictures of the whole event.
THERE WILL BE AN SECTION BUILT FOR THE WEBSITE CONTAINING OVER 500 PICTURES FROM THE PARADE AND THE HOUSING. PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON! |
