Long before the housing developments, shopping centers and industrial parks, Northampton Township was a community of farmers with the village of Richboro at its hub. The potential for property loss or death from fire was extremely low.Even so, a group of concerned residents gathered in 1914 to charter a fire company to serve the township. They called this new company the "Richboro Fire Company No. 1".
Since its inception, the Company has grown into what is now the "Northampton Township Volunteer Fire Company" which serves a population approaching 50,000 residents. Today the Company responds to approximately 500 fire and rescue calls per year. Many of the early history records have been lost to time. However we do know that before 1914, the Southampton Fire Company, formed in 1909, provided the Richboro area with fire protection. When residents needed assistance, Walter Yerkes and Walter Finney of Southampton would hitch two horses to their Pumper and rush it to the township line at Bristol Road and Second Street Pike. There Stephen Gill or J. Milton Luff would meet then with a fresh team of horses, then drive the pump to the fire. There it would take several men to hand operate the pump.
By 1913, a series of bad fires made the Richboro residents realize that they needed a fire company of their own. Lloyd Wilson's farmhouse on Second Street Pike had burnt and so had John Gill's in the center of the village. The residents really became concerned when a fire broke out in the chimney of the McCool's White Bear Hotel, now the abandoned Spread Eagle Inn. Walter Yerkes rushed the pump to Bristol Road where Milton Luff met him. Miraculously, the hotel was saved. Soon after, a group of men met above the horse shed beside the Black Bear Hotel, which was located at the intersection of Second Street and Bustleton Pikes, the usual meeting place for village affairs. J. Milton Luff, Fred Turner, William Nolan, William and Joseph Cramer, Thomas BuBeck, George Cramer, Neal Knorr, Howard Hunter, John Bell and William Wendig Jr. were the first to organize a fire company for Northampton Township.
Late in 1913, the former Richboro School house on Second Street Pike went up for public auction. The Fire Company authorized Milton Luff to bid up to $500.00 for the property. Bids, however, soared high above that mark. Undaunted, Luff purchased the building for $750.00. The members remodeled the school to house their equipment, which consisted of a Howe hand pump mounted on a horse drawn chassis. The pump required six men on either side to operate it. A kerosene powered pump soon replaced it. Elementary classes continued upstairs until completion of the new school building in 1917.
May 5, 1914 is the charter date for the Richboro Fire Company. It contains the clause: "No intoxicating liquors shall be furnished to or used by its members, in any form, on the pretext of social, friendly intercourse or entertainment, or for any other reason by this corporation." This is still enforced today. The Bucks County Court of Common Pleas approved the certification of incorporation on June 13, 1914.
About 1915, Milton Luff purchased a Republic truck to pull the Fire Company Pump, dispensing with the horses. From 1915 to 1918, the members were very active introducing minstrel shows and suppers to t heir list of activities to help pay for equipment. In 1918 the Fire Company had its first motor driven apparatus with the purchase of a Ford chassis. Members mounted the kerosene pump on it. By the early twenties, a Hahn chassis with a motor driven Hale pump had replaced it. The first Fire Company carnival was organized in 1924; it was a huge success clearing $1,100.00. The carnival remained a fund-raising tradition for many years. Eventually it was decided not to hold the carnival in lieu of other fund-raising events.
In 1927 eleven women, mostly wives of firemen, formed the Ladies Auxiliary. Mrs. Harry Walker serving as President for the first two years. Earlier, the Fire Company had purchased the corner lot on Second Street Pike at Newtown-Richboro Road from Mrs. Ellen Cornell for $500.00. By June 6, 1927 bids were formally being taken for construction of the new firehouse. The contract was awarded to Robert LaRue of Wrightstown, and the completed building was turned over to the Fire Company on February 1, 1928 at a cost of $13,000.00. Later that same year an engine room was added for about $6,000.00.
In those days, because of the limited number of fire companies and the distances between them, the Richboro Fire Company traveled as far as Bethayres, Somerton, Hatboro and Pineville to give mutual aid. But in June 1933, after responding to a fire in Bethayres, the members decided to limit the Pumper to fires in Trevose, Southampton, Newtown, Lingohocken, Ivyland and Hatboro. The following year, the Fire Company responded to seven calls, with a fire loss of $3,000.00. By 1935, property loss was down to $2,500.00 with 10 calls for the year. During the war years, members rounded up 10 buckets and filled them with sand to protect the firehouse in the event of an air raid. Citizens also acquired funds to purchase a louder siren for the roof of the firehouse.
Fire Company ties to the Richboro School continued. On March 29, 1948, a fire broke out at the Richboro Elementary School. Eighteen fire companies fought the fire, some of which had to draft water out of the creek on Almshouse Road near Second Street Pike. Due to the damage to the school the fire hall was offered to the school for class space at a rent of $7.50 per week until repairs could be made.
During the 1950's weekly fire hall dances, bingo and the carnival helped to raise money. Members also purchased a portable pumping unit to pump out basements following heavy rains or flooding. The cost was $10.00 for the first three hours of use and $1.00 per hour thereafter. During the 1970's the tradition of pumping out basements was discontinued due to the sheer number of requests being made at times, and the demands on manpower needed to fulfill these requests. As the population began to rise in the 1950's, so did the number of fires. The Fire Company had 18 calls in 1958, the total jumped to 46 the following year. In 1959, William "Butch" Wendig III, the son of William Wendig Jr., who was one of the original group to meet above the Black Bear Hotel stables in 1913, was elected Chief. He was to serve an unprecedented fifteen years at that post until his retirement in 1975.
By 1960 it was becoming evident that a new firehouse was needed. The trustees however rejected the idea of selling the firehouse in 1961, but agreed to begin looking for a new site. They also recommended building a sub-station in Holland to keep up with the population growth. In 1963, George Noe's barn at 169 Rocksville Road became available and the Fire Company rented it for $1.00 per year as temporary housing for a field truck. A siren was installed and remains, (Confirm) although disconnected to this day.
At the May business meeting in the same year, forty-one members voted to change the name of the Fire Company to its present name, Northampton Township Volunteer Fire Company. By now the company was responding to over 100 calls per year.
The Atlantic Refining Company purchased the old firehouse in 1964 for $60,000.00. Settlement was made in April of the same year between the Township Board of Supervisors and Herbert Luff for 10 acres o f land, the site of the present firehouse and municipal complex. The Supervisors agreed to lease the land to the Fire Company for $1.00 per year for 99 years. Plans moved along in Holland and in September of 1966, the current Holland Station, at East Holland and Old Jordan Roads, was dedicated. An engine and Field Truck were housed there. In 1967, the war in Vietnam hit home with the news that Bob Scott, then an eighteen-year-old member of the Company, had been killed during those hostilities. Out of this tragedy, the Bob Scott Fund was established for the purchase of special communications equipment. The Bob Scott Fund still exists however the funds are now utilized to fund purchases for the Fire Company that tax dollars cannot. All donations made to the Company go towards this fund.
The Company progressed and purchased two new engines from the American LaFrance Company, one each in 1968 and 1970. These trucks remained the workhorses of the Company over the next ten years, despite the thousands of curses they evoked from the members due to their idiosyncrasies. In 1974 at the age of eighteen, Kathy Kay became Northampton's first female firefighter. Daughter of member Jack Kay, she had helped with fire communications since she was fourteen Later that same year, Muriel and Kathy Briggs were added to the membership lists. As of this writing the Fire Company has three female firefighters.
By 1975, door-to-door solicitations, shows and other fund raising activities were no longer effective in meeting the financial needs required to protect the growing population. In 1976 the Township passed a referendum to charge a fire tax on Northampton residents for fire protection. The State of Pennsylvania also stepped in by providing funds for the purchase of firefighter safety equipment.
In 1976 the Fire Company purchased its first Ladder and Rescue Trucks. Which at the time brought the fleet up to, four Engines, two Field Trucks and a Tanker, in addition to the Ladder and Rescue. The fourth Engine having been acquired that same year, used, from the Roslyn Fire Company in Montgomery County, to help protect the eastern end of the Township. The Ladder Truck is still in use as Ladder 3 and is housed in the Richboro Station. The 1976 Rescue Truck is however no longer in service as a Rescue but has a new found life as a Special Service Unit, which provides air, lights and manpower to fire scenes, and is now housed in the Holland Station.
As a side note the Rescue and Ladder Trucks purchased at this time were painted "Federal Safety Green" a color usually referred to as "Slime Lime". Motorists chose this color due to its reported better observation. The Fire Company has since opted to change the fleet back to red in light of studies which suggest that the warning lights actually play a more important role in how observable an emergency vehicle is. In 1978, as the population of the Holland area of the Township continued to grow, two additional full size bays were added to the Holland Station at a cost of $60,000.00. In 1981, a new Mack, CF600, 1250 gallon per minute Pumper was added to the fleet and quartered at the Richboro Station. It will be moved to the Holland Station upon the opening of the Churchville Station, estimated to be in July of 1998. Also in 1981 a cascade breathing air system and compressor were installed in the Holland Station, to supplement the air cascade system which was already in place on the 1976 Rescue Truck. The compressor system allows the Fire Company to refill empty air cylinders and the truck mounted cascade system. In 1987 an Emergency One 1500 gallon per minute Pumper was purchased and is currently serving as Engine 73-1 until the Churchville Station opens and plans call for it to be moved there and serve as Engine 83.
1989 became the biggest year for purchases of apparatus in the Fire Company's history as every effort was made to keep up with the fire suppression needs of the ever-increasing population. In that year the Company took delivery of two, twin, Emergency One 1500 gallon per minute Pumpers, one each for both the Richboro and Holland Stations. These two pieces are currently serving as Engine 3 and Engine 73. A Ford chassis Tanker with a 2000-gallon capacity tank was also received to replace the aging GMC unit; this Ford became the new Tanker 3. That same year, realizing the ever increasing number of auto extrication calls and the continual problems with traffic congestion throughout the Township, an Emergency One light duty Rescue, mounted on a Ford F350 chassis, was bought for the Holland Station. Additionally four GMC Suburbans were purchased to serve as command and control vehicles for use by the Company's Chief Officers.
The safety of the firefighters responding to calls and operating at scenes, such as on highways and amongst large crowds, dictated, that same year, that the aging vehicle being used by the Fire Police needed to be replaced also. This was accomplished by the acquisition of a new GMC utility body truck for use by the Fire Police.
In 1990 the Company purchased a Ford F350 pick-up truck and members outfitted it as a Field Truck. It remains one of the few field units left in the lower end of Bucks County. The Fire Company found that two of the 1989 GMC Suburban, command and control (C&C) vehicles, were ending their useful life and needed to be replaced. As a result two new 1993 Chevrolet Blazers were purchased to fill the need. They now serve as the Chief and Deputy Chief's C&C vehicles.
In 1994 a committee was formed to research and design a new rescue truck to replace the 1976 Ford which was nearing the end of its service life as a rescue. The committee, having met with several manufacturer s, visited numerous other fire departments to look at and evaluate their trucks, and countless meetings amongst themselves and the rest of the company, ultimately choose an Emergency One design.
The fruits of their efforts were finally realized in 1996 and the company took delivery of a new medium rescue truck (Rescue 3). This vehicle is state of the art in its design, carrying a crew of six; it is e quipped to handle almost any type of rescue that may be faced in the township. Its most notable feature is the eight (8) preconnected hydraulic tools, which allow for the rapid extrication of persons trapped following vehicle accidents.
The Township is bordered along its entire northern edge and a good portion of its eastern edge by the Neshaminy Creek. There are also three (3) reservoirs along with countless smaller ponds in the Township. These along with several incidents of severe flooding in various areas showed a need for some type of water emergency response capabilities are available to our citizens. As a result yet another committee was formed to research possible solution s.
The company, following the committee's recommendations, decided that it would be necessary to train volunteers in swift and high water rescue and to acquire some type of watercraft to aid in this endeavor.
In 1996 a Hovercraft was purchased and is housed at the Richboro Station. Residents may have scene this craft (Marine 3) on the large reservoir during its initial training during the winter of 1996. The early 90's showed the need for a station on the western (Churchville) side of the Township and research started into possible locations for it. As fate would have it and due to the downsizing of the U.S. military the Federal Government had decided to close the Naval Air Warfare Center. The base closing created an upheaval to the regional economy however it did present Northampton Township with a unique opportunity. A large portion of the base, mostly farmland, which was left undeveloped due to aircraft flight paths, became available to the Township. Following lengthy negotiations between numerous federal agencies, Northampton Township and the Fire Company a 2 acre portion of land, at the intersection of Hatboro and New Roads, was given over to the Township for the purpose of constructing a fire station and training center.
A building committee was formed and following hundreds of man-hours of research and work a design finally developed. Late in 1997 construction on the future Station 83 started with its opening scheduled for July of 1998.
While the rescue truck and new station were being designed and constructed the last two of the 1989 GMC Suburbans were being replaced; One with a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe the other with a 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe. These would serve as the C&C vehicles for the two Battalion Chiefs'. At the same time the chassis for the Fire Police wagon was replaced as it had reached the end of its service life.
The immediate future presents many challenges for the Fire Company, first and foremost is the recruiting and retention of its volunteer force. Secondly adapting to the ever-changing area we serve while dealing with the ever-increasing time demands required to meet the standards set by both federal and state regulations. A reevaluation of our goals and objectives is ongoing.
We have made progress in the almost eighty-five years of the Company's history due to the dedication of the citizens of Northampton Township past and present who have selflessly volunteered their time to protect others. Their dedication having never shown signs of wavering regardless of the hardships placed upon them due to long hours, bad weather and personal sacrifice.
To keep pace with technology, the accelerated growth Northampton Township, as well as Bucks County, have experienced, and most importantly, the need to protect the life and property of the residents and visitors to our community new volunteers must be sought at all times. We invite those who live and/or work within Northampton Township to become members.
Membership is not only open to those who wish to learn the fine profession of firefighting, but to anyone who would like to help. Positions as a Fire Police Officer, member of our Support Services, or Administrative e Staff or for younger, civic minded individuals, possibly our Junior Fire Fighting program, which is open to anyone between the ages of 16 and 18.
Firefighting is far from a reckless activity. It is a job requiring a vast amount of knowledge, skill and training. All of which the Fire Company provides to its members, starting with a department orientation upon joining and never ending through an individuals entire career.
The first formal course a Firefighter will take will be the Firefighter I, Recruit Training, taught by the outstanding staff at the Bucks County Emergency Services Training Center and, if the member so chooses, may continue up through college level classes at the National Fire Academy. Ranking members routinely attended professional seminars throughout the country to help expand their knowledge and capabilities.
Training is also conducted in station. Northampton Township Firefighters drill every Monday night, maintaining a level of proficiency, which ranks among the best in Bucks County.
An active member of the Company, be they a Firefighter, Fire Police Officer or holding some other position will usually give upwards of 50 hours of time per month. The only reward they receive is the satisfaction of a job well done and the challenge of helping others in their moment of need.
We are all volunteers, a commodity, which is in short supply. If you feel the challenge, come out and join us. You will meet some of the finest and most dedicated people in the world.