About Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company:

We are located in Berks County Pennsylvania and proudly protect over 4,000 residents in our primary area, and over 10,000 residents in our mutual aid response area. The company operates out of one station that primarily provides fire, rescue, and EMS services to over 1200 homes, three schools and seven churches. A commercial district with 12 large businesses and numerous smaller companies are also in our area.  The company is a public department whose members are mainly volunteer, but we employ 3 full time BLS personnel. See Below for a more detailed history of the FVFC.

The fire department also has in place a junior FF program which starts at the age of 16 and A Junior Explorer program that accepts members at the age of 14.

Scanner Frequency: 33.940 Mhz (see below for complete list of  Berks County scanner frequencies)

‘My Space’ page: http://www.myspace.com/fleetwood45

Applications for membership can be obtained any Tuesday night at our station.  We are always looking for volunteers who wish to make a difference in the community.

Station Phone: 610-944-7676

E-mail : STEVE BLEILER, Chief

E-Mail Web Administrator and designer: fleetwoodinternet@yahoo.com

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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FLEETWOOD VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY NO. 1

Firefighting in the early history of our borough was mainly without much organization and fires were usually fought by bucket brigades. For a number of years A.P. Merkel served as chief in the event that a fire broke out and they used a Neversink Hand Fire Engine purchased for $100 in 1878. This procedure was followed until the citizens had an organized volunteer fire-fighting group. At a meeting of the board of trade on July 31,1914, a committee of three was appointed to arrange for a meeting to organize a fire company. The committee was comprised of the following people: Calvin Miller, George A. Knoll and Samuel H. Rothermel.  This committee then held a public meeting on August 7, 1914, in the town hall where Calvin Miller was appointed temporary chairman, and Samuel H. Rothermel, temporary secretary. Charles Madeira, Oliver B. Wanner and Samuel H. Rothermel were appointed to solicit subscriptions. The membership fee was fixed at $1.00 a year.

Organization

Full organization of the Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 was affected August 12, 1914, as follows: President C. A. Miller ; Vice pres. Charles Madeira: Recording Sec, Samuel H. Rothermel; Financial Sec., Calvin H. Adam; Treasurer, Warren G. Hartman; Trustees, A.P. Merkel - one year, H.C. Ulrich - two years, N.J. kutz - Three years; chief  Charles I. Kieffer; foreman, Jonas Wahl; Assistant, H.J. Herbin; Hoseman, James W. Stump and Fred Stout; Engineers, Walter M. Bausher, Earl Moatz. Frank Slavin, Ruel Merkel, Robert Schlegel, Paul Stahler, Morris Folk, Oscar O. Dries, Elmer Schaffer,  John Herring, Leon Fegley and William Seaman.
 The president named the following committees: Membership, J.W. Stump, D.M. Herbein, Norman Ringler and Earl Moatz. Charter: N.J. Kutz, A.P. Merkel, H.C. Ulrich. Constitution and by - laws: Charles I. Kieffer, S.Y> Weidenhammer and Samuel H. Rothermel.

 Subscription toward new fire fighting equipment received at this meeting totaled $228.00. A fire company fair was held in the town hall
and approximately $1,000.00 was realized. The company became a   member of the State Firemen’s Association in November 1919. Warren G. Hartman, the company’s first treasurer, died while serving in office. The first representatives to the Berks County Fire Zone were Calvin H. Adam and Calvin A. Miller. A Jeffery’s Truck, which was the company’s first fire fighting apparatus, was ordered on February 20, 1917 at a cost of $1957.00. The electric fire alarm was purchased on February 21, 1918. This was placed on the roof of the Kutz Building, now First National Bank Building. The convention of Berks County Firemen’s Association was entertained in Fleetwood for the first time in May 1919. In 1923 the membership of the company was 673, and the officers were as following: Pres: Calvin A. Miller Vice Pres: Charles Angstadt: Recording Secretary, Lewis M. Schirey: Assistant, Ervin Kalbach; Financial Secretary, Andrew S. Stump; treasurer, Joel B. Schaeffer; Trustees, Thomas Boyer, H.C. Ulrich, Lewis Schoedler and Chief Oscar O. Dries.

Fire Company Building Erected

The company purchased a lot on the corner of Washington and Franklin Streets in the Borough of Fleetwood and plans were made to erect a firemen’s headquarters, which was to include a spacious lobby and auditorium, and meeting rooms for the Borough Council meetings. The plans were made reality in 1928, when a building was erected at a cost of $65,000. The auditorium and the lobby have been the meeting places for many civic groups since that time. In 1925, a Seagrave Truck was bought at a cost of $12,500.00 and housing ceremonies were held at that time. 

Due to the additional equipment the need for adequate housing of all the apparatus became necessary. Renovations to the original building were not feasible; as a result the Schlegel Building was purchased. The spaciousness of that building allowed for housing all the fire fighting equipment. The old engine room was used to house the ambulance and first aid section of the truck crew.

After outgrowing that building, a new building was needed and groundbreaking ceremonies for a new fire station were held on June 23, 1981 and actual construction began in August of that year. The cost of the new building was $226,000, which was offset greatly with the help from community volunteer trades people doing some of the work. The building consists of an apparatus bay, ambulance bay, meeting room, kitchen, dayroom, officers and men’s and ladies’ bunkrooms with separate bathrooms.

Truck Crew

 A truck crew was organized in 1937, which was known as the Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company Truck Crew. The President was LeRoy Oswald: Secretary, William Merkel. Other officers were elected at a later date. This crew was the firefighting force in Fleetwood.

In July 1974, twenty-five new home monitors were purchased at a cost of $3,947. Then in August of 1975, with the donation of $9,270, the first pagers for the company were purchased, the money being donated by the Fleetwood Council Community Organization (F.C.C.O). Currently, each fire and EMS person is issued a fire and/or EMS pager.

The Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company Truck Crew is a group of men and women formed to do the firefighting, rescue and EMS services for Fleetwood and surrounding areas.  There are approximately 70 active members in the crew, and all of them deserve a great deal of credit for the service they render. All these men and women have gone through extensive training in fire suppression, auto extrication, general rescue, EMS (first aid), hazardous materials, aerial operations, and fire police duties.

The Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Truck Crew also takes pride in being active in the community by sponsoring the annual Easter egg-hunt, assisting in traffic control during special events, funding local youth teams, assisting with the Prom Night Out program, DARE, and providing fire prevention programs at the local schools.

In addition to the training and serving the community during emergencies, the truck crew is also responsible for fund raising to ensure adequate funds are available to maintain the apparatus and purchase the necessary equipment.  These fund raisers include: Easter Flower sale, The Memorial Day car show and the firemen’s carnival which are both held in the Fleetwood Park, the ambulance chicken BBQ and golf tournament, as well as the semi-annual basket bingo and $20 ticket raffles. Also, we have started a pilot program to raise funds by doing youth birthday parties at our station. These events, as well as the generous support from the Fleetwood Borough Council, the local businesses, and the people of Fleetwood ensure we have adequate monies to fund our operation.

Recently we have expanded our membership roster to include 14 year-olds as junior members and we also host a Boy Scout explorer program to introduce these youths to fire, rescue and EMS training.

Equipment:

The Fleetwood Vol. Fire Co. Truck Crew takes great pride in the equipment and strives to maintain state-of-the art equipment at all times. This equipment includes a thermal imaging camera, the “Jaws-of-Life” Hurst rescue equipment, and the newest firefighting gear and air packs with integrated personal safety devices. The current fleet consists of:

Tower Platform - A 2004 LTI 100’ mid-mount with a 2000 gpm pump, 4 pre-connected hand lines, 800’ of 5” supply hose, and a 10KW generator, and 350 gallons of water.

Pumper – 1996 Luverne / Freightliner with 2000’ 5” hose, 6 pre-connects, 1000 gallon tank, and a 1250 pump.

Rescue – A 1999 Amtech / Freightliner 14KW generator, pre-connected Hurst tools, a portable Hurst unit, rescue airbags, a 6000 watt light tower, and it is a state certified QRS unit with limited transport capability.

Haz-Mat Trailer – Part of the Berks County Haz Mat task force. This trailer has 500 gallons of foam and other supplies needed in case of a large hazardous material incident in the county.

Utility Truck– a 1992 Chevy 1 ton pick-up truck used as a utility truck and tows the Haz-Mat trailer. Also used for fire police details and as a personnel transport.

Ambulances: 2003 and a 1996 Horton box ambulances, equipped with the most state of the art equipment including AED’s . We are anticipating the arrival of a Ford F450 / Horton 4x4 ambulance in the next few weeks to replace the 1996 unit.

Specialty Cart: A Cushman golf cart equipped to carry one patient on a litter. Used for EMS standbys and special events.

History of The Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company Ambulance
In December, 1951, then Fire Chief Lester “Legger” Moyer, seeing the need for a community ambulance service, presented a proposal to the Fleetwood Fire Company to raise money for a ambulance. The proposal was approved, hence the birth of the Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company Ambulance.  By March, 1952, they had received $956.00 in donations. A letter to inform the community of the fund drive to purchase an ambulance was sent in April. The truck crew held a benefit movie in May to help raise funds. In June, Mr. Elmer Rhodes turned his Gulf Service Station over to the truck crew for a day, with the proceeds to be used for the purchase of an ambulance.  By July almost $5,000 had been raised. They chose a Buick Flexible Ambulance at a cost of $7,600.00.   It was delivered in August and dedicated by rev. J. Paul Kehm on August 23, 1952.

The crew’s first big job came when the Honorable Judge Robert Mayes asked them to help transfer patients from the county home to Berks Heim. In September, 1952, the ambulance went on twenty four hour on-call status. By November there had been three ambulance calls. It has been onward and upward from there.

In order to maintain this enthusiasm and to serve our community better, we have to keep our equipment and training up to date. The Eastern Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services Council helped to fund needed equipment. In 1978 the crew also wanted to achieve voluntary state certification by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In order to attain this certification, we had to meet the criteria set forth by the Department of Health in regard to equipment and training of personnel. With certification as our goal, in September, 1978 we bought a Ford/Horton box style ambulance, which meets the state guidelines. The residents of Fleetwood, the Pennsylvania Emergency Medical Services, and the borough made this purchase possible. Through their combined efforts, we received a $10,000.00 state grant toward the $31,800.00 cost of the new ambulance.  

In 1992, seeing an increase calls, a 1992 International/Horton Ambulance was purchased.  This unit increased our Ambulance fleet to two.  Since then the second unit has been staffed as needed.  This additional unit has made it possible to handle the numerous standby requests for sporting events by the Fleetwood School District, provide EMS coverage for the Reading Rage Soccer Club in 1996 & 1997, the First Union Betsy King Classic (a sanctioned LPGA event), which became the Wachovia LPGA Classic in 2004, two Presidential standbys, cycling events and other standby requests, while still providing round the clock protection to our residents. In addition, we were called upon by the Eastern PA EMS Council to assist, if needed, with a task force from our region to provide ambulance services to our wounded troops returning from the Middle East in the first Gulf War and in the most recent conflict as well as during the September 11^th catastrophe.  Thankfully though, this task force was not needed.

Presently, we have thirty-eight members on the ambulance crew (also part of the truck crew). There are two paramedics, twenty-nine Emergency Medical Technicians, seven of which are paid staff and the rest have completed the First Responder program, and all the members of the truck crew and ambulance are CPR and AED certified.

When we began in that November of 1952, we had three ambulance calls and fifteen first-aiders. This past year we responded to 856 ambulance calls and have thirty-eight state certified personnel. In 1952 we had a Buick ambulance equipped with an E&J resuscitator, bandages, and some board splints. Today we have two state licensed ambulances with onboard oxygen unit, portable and permanent suctioning units, a portable CPR bag, a well-equipped trauma kit, modern splinting devices, three AED’s and the latest equipment for monitoring vital signs. In 1952, with the limited training that was available at that time, we were just movers of the sick and injured. Today we are capable of supporting life and preventing further injury until we can transfer a patient to medical facilities. As you can see, we have come a long way in fifty-two years.  We could not have done it without community support. We wish to thank the Fleetwood Borough Council, the Supervisors of Richmond and Ruscombmanor Townships, the residents of the Fleetwood area and the business community for their continuing support.  All of these people enable us to continue to provide state of the art ambulance service in our area.

Summary of Fleetwood’s Fire Apparatus and Ambulances

Year	Truck	Cost	Comments
1917	Jeffery Pumper	$1957	1st Fire Engine
1925	Seagrave Pumper	$12,500
1942	Mack 500GPM Pumper	$6500
1946	Mack 750 GPM Pumper	$9500
1947	Chevy Panel Truck	$3,000	1st Rescue Truck
1952	Buick / Flexible Ambulance	$7,600	1st Ambulance
1957	Cadillac /Eureka Ambulance	$7,900
1963	Chev / Reading Body Rescue	$12,000
1964	Used 1962 Cadillac Ambulance
1969	Ford / Hahn 750 GPM Pumper	$24,810
1970	1968 Cadillac Ambulance		Purchased from Reading Hospital
1974	Cadillac / Miller Meteor Ambulance	$19,960	1st “high body”
1978	Ford / Horton Box Ambulance	$31,800
1980	1966 Mack 1000 gpm -	$34,626	From Ogontz FD, 1st white truck
1983	Ford Chassis for the Horton Ambulance	$29,900
1984	GMC Chassis for the ’63 Rescue truck		Painted white to match the ’66 Mack
1989	Excellence Ambulance
1990	LTI 75’ Rear-mount Aerial / Quint 1500 gpm	$360,000	1ST Aerial
1992	International / Horton Ambulance	$113,900	First time two ambulances owned
1996	Luverne / Freightliner 1250 gpm Pumper	$165,000
1996	International / Horton Ambulance	$119,928	Matched 1992 ambulance
1999	Amtech / Freightliner Walk-In Rescue	$150,000
2000	1989 Chevy 1 Ton Pick-Up Truck		To also tow Haz Mat Trailer
2001	Used Cushman Specialty Golf Cart	Donated	For EMS Stand-Bys and special events
2003	Ford / Horton Ambulance	$135,000
2004	LTI 100’ Mid-mount Platform / Quint, 2000 gpm	$781,000	Replaced the 75’ Aerial
2005	Horton / Ford F450 4x4 Ambulance	$150,000

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Listed below is a quick guide and a complete list of Berks County Scanner Frequencies.

A quick guide first. (The basic scanner frequencies to listen to Berks County Emergencies

33.940 = Berks Fire Dispatch (includes Fleetwood Fire Co.)

33.680 = Berks Fire F2

33.020 = Fleetwood Fire private freq.

154.310 = Zone 4 Fire Dispatch (Wyomissing / West Reading / Etc.)

155.295 - All Berks EMS

155.160 - Berks EMS F2

155.355 - Fleetwood EMS private freq.

155.070 - Berks Police Dispatch

155.250 - Berks Police 2

Scanner Frequencies Below Copied from http://www.fordyce.org/cgi-bin/yabb3/YaBB.cgi?board=Berks

Fire Frequencies:

33.94 - Countywide Fire Communications - Dispatch
33.68 - Countywide Fire Communications - F-2
33.80 - Countywide Fire Communications - F-3
153.830 - County Fire Communications - Mutual Aid/Fire Police
154.265 - County Fire Communications - Mutual Aid/Fire Police
154.310 - County Fire Communications - Zone 4 F-1
154.400 - County Fire Communications - Zone 4 F-2
154.160 - County Fire Communications - Zone 4 F-3
153.355 - County Fire Communications - Zone 4 F-4
154.540 - County Fire Communications - Zone 4 F-5
453.0375 - County Fire Communications
460.5875 - County Fire Communications
153.950 - Fire Police Association of Berks County
154.385 - Fire Police Association of Berks County
159.270 - Fire Police Association of Berks County
33.94 - Amity Fire Co Disp
33.70 - Amity Fire Co (Montgomery Co Fire Disp ( M/A calls))
33.58 - Bernville Fire Company
33.90 - Birdsboro Fire District
33.54 - Boyertown Fire District
33.06 - Geigertown Fire Company
33.50 - Earl Township Fire Company
33.02 - Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company - Ambulance
155.355 - Fleetwood Volunteer Fire Company - Ambulance
154.235 - Keystone Fire Company 1
33.70 - Monarch Fire Company
460.6375 - Mount Penn Fire Company
465.625 - Mount Penn Fire Company
866.300 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
866.6125 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
866.9125 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
867.225 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
868.325 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
868.5875 - Reading Fire Department - Trunked (see above)
154.430 - Reading Fire Department - VHF Dispatch/Backup for 800 MHz system
153.770 - Reading Fire Department - Old system
154.295 - Reading Fire Department - Old system
33.90 - Mount Aetna Rescue Fire Company No 1
33.70 - Seisholtzville Community Fire Department
154.235 - Shillington Fire Company 1
154.310 - Spring Township Fire Company
33.62 - Shoemakersville Fire Company No 1
33.82 - Stonersville Fire Company No 1
33.84 - Temple Fire Company 1
154.295 - Topton Volunteer Fire Company 1
154.445 - Topton Volunteer Fire Company 1
33.84 - Topton Volunteer Fire Company No 1
154.310 - Volunteer Fire Company 1
33.90 - Western Berks Fire Zone 3
 

EMS Frequencies

155.295 - County E.M.S. - Dispatch
155.220 - County E.M.S. - Ambulance-to-hospital
155.160 - County E.M.S. - Unit-to-unit
155.340 - County E.M.S.
150.790 - County E.M.S.
462.950 - MedEvac Dispatch (PL 146.2)
155.220 - MedEvac Operations (PL 136.5)
462.950 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-9 (Dispatch)
462.975 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-10 (Dispatch)
463.000 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-1
463.025 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-2
463.050 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-3
463.075 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-4
463.100 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-5
463.125 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-6
463.150 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-7
463.175 - Eastern Pennsylvania E.M.S. Council - Med-8
47.42 - American National Red Cross (Reading)
453.0125 - American National Red Cross
463.400 - Animal Clinic Of Avon
150.775 - Bernville Quick Response Squad
155.175 - Birdsboro American Legion Ambulance
501.9875 - Community General Hospital - Security
461.625 - Cornwall Manor
155.295 - Exeter Ambulance Association
33.02 - Fleetwood Fire Company Ambulance
155.355 - Fleetwood Fire Company Ambulance
154.540 - Governor Mifflin Area Ambulance
155.295 - Governor Mifflin Area Ambulance
155.205 - Hamburg Community Ambulance
155.385 - Lower Alsace Ambulance Association
151.835 - Lutheran Home at Topton
155.280 - Muhlenberg Area Ambulance Association
461.2375 - Phoebe Berks Health Care Center
464.675 - Phoebe Berks Health Care Center
464.775 - Phoebe Berks Health Care Center
464.925 - Phoebe Berks Health Care Center
866.300 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
866.6125 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
866.9125 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
867.225 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
868.325 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
868.5875 - Reading E.M.S. - Trunked (see above)
155.220 - Reading Hospital & Medical Center (patch)
155.340 - Reading Hospital & Medical Center
463.300 - pl 88.5 Reading Hospital & Medical Center (maint.)
463.575 - pl 77.0 Reading Hospital & Medical Center
453.175 - Reading Hospital & Medical Center
463.775 - pl 88.8 Reading Hospital & Medical Center (maint/security)
466.3625 -dpl 051 Reading Hospital & Medical Center
159.645 - Reading Rehabilitation Hospital
157.450 - Saint Joseph's Hospital - Paging
464.825 - Saint Joseph's Hospital
155.265 - Schuylkill Valley Ambulance Association
154.600 - The Hawthorne (Reading)
155.280 - Topton American Legion Community Ambulance
158.280 - Topton American Legion Community Ambulance
461.275 - Tulpehocken Veterinarian Group
453.375 - Wernersville State Hospital
155.160 - Western Berks Ambulance Association
465.5125 - Western Berks Ambulance Association
 

Police Freq:

155.505 - State Police - Troop C (Base)
155.580 - State Police - Troop C (Mobile)
154.695 - State Police - Channel E (Base)
156.150 - State Police - Channel E (Mobile)
154.580 - State Police - Channel A (Base)
154.950 - State Police - Channel A (Mobile)
154.755 - State Police - Unit-to-unit
155.460 - State Police Tac 1
151.490 - State Police Tac 2
155.445 - State Police - Drug Control
155.415 - State Police - Crime Commission
155.475 - State Police - Nationwide Police Channel
866.0125 - State Police - Nationwide Intersystem
867.5125 - State Police - Nationwide Intersystem
868.0125 - State Police - Nationwide Intersystem
866.0875 - State Police
866.350 - State Police
867.100 - State Police
868.575 - State Police
868.825 - State Police
42.60 - State Police
42.62 - State Police
460.200 - State Justice Department
160.560 - Conrail Police
155.070 - Countywide Police - F-1 (Dispatch Repeater)(PL 91.5)
155.010 - County Police - F-2 (PL 91.5)
155.250 - County Police - F-3 (Kutztown & Northeast Sector)(PL 91.5)
154.725 - County Police - Unit-to-unit
156.210 - County Police - Input to 155.070
151.235 - County Police
155.595 - County Sheriff - Repeater
154.650 - County Sheriff - Input to 155.595
45.50 - County Police - Constables Association Repeater
46.02 - County Police - Constables Association Repeater
154.100 - County Park Rangers
156.180 - Alsace Police/ road crews
155.250 - BerksLehigh Regional Police
155.925 - BerksLehigh Regional Police (private)
154.815 - Birdsboro
156.030 - Birdsboro
156.105 - Birdsboro
163.4375 - Blue Marsh Park Rangers
45.74 - Boyertown Police
156.135 - Brecknock Township Police/ road crews
156.105 - Caernarvon Police
154.965 - Cumru Township Police
158.880 - Cumru Township Police
158.940R/155.985 - Cumru Township Police/ road crews
155.880 - Central Berks Regional Police
156.105 - Exeter Police
155.880R/153.965 - Exeter Police
155.820 - Fleetwood Police
155.130 - Hamburg Borough Police
155.250 - Kutztown Police
155.655/159.150R - Kutztown Police
155.415 - Kutztown University Police
154.115 - Lower Heildelberg Police
155.715 - Lower Heildelberg Police/ road crews
156.240 - Maidencreek Twp Police/ road cres
155.565 - Muhlenberg Township Police
158.970 - Muhlenberg Township Police
155.040 - Muhlenberg Township Police
155.880 - Oley Township Police
866.300 - Reading Police - Trunked*
866.575 - Reading Police - Trunked*
866.825 - Reading Police - Trunked*
867.300 - Reading Police - Trunked*
868.075 - Reading Police - Trunked*
868.325 - Reading Police - Trunked*
866.0125 - Reading Police - Mationwide Intersystem
866.5125 - Reading Police - Mationwide Intersystem
453.250 - Reading Police
453.400 - Reading Police
453.550 - Reading Police
158.745R/155.985 S. Heildelberg Police/ road crews
155.415 - Shillington Police
453.0625 - Spring Township Police
458.0625 - Spring Township Police
155.190R/159.315 - Spring Township Police
154.115 - Spring Township Police/ road crews
153.920 pl 91.5 - Wernersville Police/ Township crews
155.010 - West Reading Police
155.070 - West Reading Police
155.055 - West Reading Police
155.310 - Womelsdorf Police
151.190 - Wyomissing Police
154.040 - Wyomissing Police
158.835 - Wyomissing Hills Boro Police

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