Dept's Oldest Member Passes Away

Joseph "Jody" Hobbs passed away Monday, March 8th at the Moutain View Care Center, Scranton. Jody was a life member of the Fire Dept and our oldest living member at the age of 101.

It wasn't that long ago Jody was featured on this site, as the department presented him with a small gift for his 100th birthday. The photo above was taken at that event.

Information on the scheduled services is available at the Citizens Voice website.

New SCBAs Ordered

Based on the department's recent grant award (see NEWS page), members attended a special meeting Monday night and approved the purchase of 15 Scott NxG7 airpacks as well as a new thermal imaging camera. The new airpacks will meet the current NFPA standards and comes equipped with several options including pak tracker and buddy breathing capabilities.

The bulk of the funding will be coming from the grant funds, with the department handling the local cost share.

In addition to those items, the department will also be receiving a new Protege 4 gas meter. The department expects to have all items in service sometime in the Spring 2010.

Firefighters Kept Community Safe
Published in Times Leader Feb 28th.

Over the past week, our community has suffered two devastating accidental fires.
An electrical fire caused severe damage to a duplex home on Linden Street and an accidental cooking fire destroyed a four-family Victorian home on Wyoming Avenue. These fires left five families looking to put their lives back together, and they will, with the great support of our community and their family and friends.
But these fires could have been so much worse if it wasn't for our dedicated volunteer firemen and women. The phenomenal cooperation between West Pittston Hose Company No. 1, Exeter Hose Company, Pittston City, Avoca, Germania (Duryea) and Excelsior (Duryea) made it heartwarming to know we are in good hands!
These volunteers, who lose sleep, miss work and give countless hours to training — all to protect our residents and our property are so often taken for granted. They volunteer their time, and risk their lives to protect all of us.
On behalf of our community and all its residents, I say thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for being there when we need you.

Peter Achey and family Wilkes-Barre Carol and Tom Kriton and family Hanover Township Mayor Bill Goldsworthy West Pittston Borough

Guns-N-Hoses Game RESCHEDULED

The 4th Annual Guns-N-Hoses charity basketball game is scheduled for Saturday, April 17th at the Pittston Area High School Gym. Tip off will be at 5pm.

This battle pits local police officers against our local firefighters in an effort to entertain as well as raise funds for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. In the past, the basketball games have been quite competitive, with last year's game going into overtime. We expect the same efforts from our players this year.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. Doors will open at 4pm on gameday. Children 3 and under will be admitted free. The event will include door prizes as well as a halftime show by the Pittston Area Cheerleaders.

We invite the public to come out and support this very worthwhile cause.
Visit Guns N Hoses Website

Volunteers Needed

An all volunteer department can only exist if it has volunteer members. Over the past year, we’ve lost several active members due to new employment or relocation from the area. This has had a drastic impact on the services we provide. The only way for us to be sure to meet every emergency response is to increase our membership. We currently have less than 15 active members, which is not sufficient when it comes to all the work involved in running our fire department.

According to nationally recognized studies, there are only four options for communities to maintain viable emergency services:

• Recruit and retain volunteer firefighters;
• Create and maintain a combination volunteer and career fire department;
• Create an entirely career fire department;
• Contract services with an outside agency