Berwick Fire Department

Welcome to the Berwick Fire Department Website.  The Berwick Fire Department is a Volunteer Fire Department, consisting of five separate departments working together to form the Berwick Fire Department.  The Department is led by and elected Fire Chief, elected Assistant Chiefs from each station, Captains, and other volunteers that make up the department.  The Fire Chief appoints the Deputy Chief as 2nd in command. Although the Berwick Borough Council has the final authority over the fire department, the Berwick Fire Department is generally governed by a Fire Board, which consists of members from each of the five separate entities.  The Fire Board makes most of the decisions on behalf of the department as a whole.  The Board members vote according to their individual fire hall's membership needs and wants.  The Berwick Fire Chief oversees the Fire Board.  The five fire companies that make up the Berwick Fire Department include West Berwick, Defenders, Reliance, Rangers, and Eagles.  The companies are spread throughout the Borough of Berwick, with each having a different coverage area.  The Berwick Fire Department is a state of the art fire department, using modern practices, focusing a great deal on training and use of state of the art equipment.  As you will see in the photo pages, the department is loaded with some of the best equipment available to firefighters.  The department is one of the best volunteer fire departments in the region and fights each day to save the lives of people in need.

New Rescue Vehicle Housed at Reliance

Written By: Tyler Bailey, Borough Intern The local chapter of the Volunteer Fireman’s Relief Association recently bought a new rescue truck for the Berwick Fire Department. The new vehicle, housed at the Reliance Fire Hall, cost $581,000. The truck helps make dangerous situations safer for firefighters. It also has the ability to carry and store a great deal of equipment. Local fireman, Andrew Holter said the new truck was a good investment, and considers the technology and general capability of the vehicle to be outstanding. He believes it will benefit our community immensely. The Berwick Volunteer Fireman’s Relief Association is part of a statewide program that helps local fire companies buy safety equipment like the new truck, air packs, and other tools and gear that makes the job of firefighters just a bit less dangerous. This organization has been around since the 1970’s, and hopefully will continue to be around for generations to come!

Fire Department Thanks Russel Force III for his Bravery

Berwick Fire Chief Bill Coolbaugh and Deputy Fire Chief Harry Knorr presented an award to Russel Force III at the March 15, 2010 Council Meeting.  Recently, Russel heard his neighbor screaming that there was a fire in his home.  Russel, acting quickly and valiantly, called 911 and grabbed a fire extinguisher to try to put the fire out.  Upon realizing that the fire was more than he could handle, Russel intelligently went to safety with his neighbor.  Russel, a Borough youth, did everything we could possibly ask anyone to do in this case.  The citizens of the Borough of Berwick are truly appreciative of Russel's efforts.  Russel's quick actions prevented a minor fire from becoming a major tragedy.  The Council, Mayor, Fire Department, and citizens of the Borough of Berwick are truly proud of Russel's efforts.

Columbia County Fire Chiefs Receive $678,000 Grant

The Borough of Berwick would like to congratulate and thank the Columbia County Fire Chiefs for their efforts in obtaining a Federal Fire Grant in the amount of $678,000.  The Chiefs worked in cooperation with the Columbia County Commissioners (Chris Young, Bill Soberick, and Dave Kovach) as well as United States Senator Bob Casey to apply for and obtain this grant. The grant award will assist the county fire companies to upgrade radios, pagers, and other communications among each company.  The Borough of Berwick was awarded approximately $200,000 of the appropriated funds.  The grant will assist the Borough in upgrading radio equipment to high band frequencies to allow smoother communications while operating at an emergency scene. Many thanks go out to Fire Chief Bill Coolbaugh and each of the Columbia County Fire Chiefs that made this grant opportunity a reality.  Because of their efforts, local taxpayers in our county have been spared another $678,000.

Training on LaSalle

Written By: Tyler Bailey, Borough Intern The Fire Departments, before the destruction of the two LaSalle Street properties, got the chance to use the failing buildings as training grounds. This allowed for a great opportunity, which enabled some of the new firefighters to get some experience under their belt, and learn how to operate the equipment.  One specific piece was a circular saw, which firefighters use to cut vents in the roofs of burning buildings.  Such a hole would allow the hottest smoke to escape and helps to control a fire.  The companies reviewed how to cut an opening in the side of a building in case they ever needed to extract a person or group of persons from a burning structure.  The firefighters also reviewed drills, such as the Detroit drill, which is one of many drills set to allow firemen to be exposed to situations and teach them how to handle a specific endeavor.  In the Detroit drill, the departments learned the protocol for how to extract someone after a floor collapses and they land in the basement or another level that is unable to be accessed.

Bill Coolbaugh to Serve 6th Term as Fire Chief

Fire Chief Bill Coolbaugh recently accepted an appointment for his sixth year as Fire Chief for the Berwick Volunteer Fire Department.  Chief Coolbaugh accepted the position after newly elected Chief Greg Harkins resigned for personal reasons.  Chief Coolbaugh has been a volunteer fireman for twenty two years, as he joined Eagle Hose Company in 1988.  In 1990, Chief Coolbaugh expressed an interest in running a rescue unit, therefore transferring his membership to Reliance Fire Company.  Chief Coolbaugh has served as a 1st and 2nd lieutenant, a captain, rescue chief, an assistant chief, the acting fire chief, and the fire chief.  He has been an officer in some capacity in the Berwick Fire Department since 1996.  Chief Coolbaugh began the Fire Prevention Program at Orange Street Elementary School in 1989, which started out as a pilot program.  The program took off and has been successful for more than twenty years. Bill and other volunteers teach fire prevention in our schools, businesses, and in elderly housing units.  In partnership with Bill Dent, Chief Coolbaugh was a co-founder of the Berwick Water Rescue Team in 2001, which is now the premiere rescue team in our region.  The unit carries over $250,000 of rescue equipment, all awarded through donations and grants. The Berwick community is proud to have volunteers such as Chief Coolbaugh to protect our community in times of emergency.

1st Annual Fire Department Charity Football Game a Success

The Berwick Fire Department and Salem Township Fire Department went to battle for a good cause recently.  On Saturday, November 28, 2009, the two fire departments played in the first annual Fire Department Charity Football Game at Crispin Field.  Although the Berwick volunteers prevailed in victory in the flag football game, it was the Toys For Tots program that was truly victorious.  The fire departments were able to raise several thousand dollars to support the cause to help children be able to open gifts and have toys during the holiday season.  A representative from the United State Marine Corps was on hand for a small presentation ceremony as well.  Back to the game.  The Berwick Fire Department was led out by their "coach", Fire Chief Bill Coolbaugh, dressing the part with a cowboy hat and all.  At one point, he managed to throw a challenge flag during the game, protesting the call of referee and Borough Codes Officer Greg Harkins.  Councilman Jay Jarrett was on the sidelines holding the markers and Councilman Alvin Hill was playing for the Berwick team.  Although the game was meant for fun and a charity, the men and women on the field were all business trying to get the win for their team.  The loser had to give a $500 donation to Toys For Tots.  In the end, both companies donated.  This charitable cause was yet another way the volunteers of our community give back.  We are all proud to have people of our community willing to take up so many great causes.

2010 Assistant Chiefs Elected and Deputy Chief Appointed

The 2010 Assistant Fire Chiefs were elected on October 31, 2009 and confirmed by the Berwick Fire Board on November 19, 2009.  Congratulations to the following gentlemen. Rangers Assistant Chief:                Harry Knorr Defenders Assistant Chief:             Randy Remphrey Eagles Assistant Chief:                   Kevin Doran Reliance Assistant Chief:               Tim Deitrich West Berwick Assistant Chief:        Terry Weaver, Jr Rescue Chief:                                Dave Deitrich Congratulations to Harry Knorr on his appointment as Deputy Fire Chief of the Berwick Fire Department.

2009 Fire Stats Available

The 2009 Fire Department statistics have been finalized.  See the Incident Calls Stats page for a complete breakdown of 2009 statistics.  Although we have the monthly breakdown available, we entered all statistics into a single month for 2009.  Interesting 2009 Facts: Total Calls:  431 "Messages" include announcements such as "out of service", etc.  "Messages" consist of 85 of the 431 total calls, meaning there were 346 legitimate calls in 2009 that required some type of response. Of the 346 legitimate calls to the department, 102 of the calls were answered to communities outside the Borough of Berwick.  The total number of responses to other communities in 2009 is below: Bloomsburg                                                11 Briar Creek Borough                                  34 Briar Creek Township                               14 Conyngham                                                  1 Fairmont Township - Ricketts Glen                  5 Hollenbach Township                                     2 Mifflin Township                                             1 Mocanaqua                                                   1 Nescopeck Borough                                      4 Nescopeck Township                                     8 North Centre Township                                   3 Salem Township                                           14 South Centre Township                                   2 Sugarloaf Township                                        1 Union Township                                              1