Department History
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About Vernon Central
Vernon Central Hose Company was chartered in 1945 on the same property it's house on now,
McMath Avenue in Vernon Township. It was organized by local residents who saw the need for
faster, reliable fire service.
Not being the kind of people to do things halfway, a few very short years later, in 1949, our
department decided to begin dispatching fire services. We not only provided dispatching for our
department, but became Pennsylvania's first county wide fire dispatch. Unfortunately, with
success comes setbacks. Vernon Central housed the dispatch on the second floor of the station and
was manned by a wonderful woman who lost her life in a fire at the station. We were able to pick
up the pieces and continue our service, but at a great loss.
A new station was put into service and our department was moving forward again. Our station
was home to some of the more up to date fire equipment of the times, including one of the first four
HURST rescue tools in Crawford County. We not only covered Vernon Township with rescue
services, but responded into the western part of the county near Linesville and Pymatuning. Our
department became one of the premier rescue services in the region and began to specialize in that
field.
In the early 80's our station underwent more changes with the expansion of our truck garage. No
more would we pack the trucks into the garage. We had the garage expanded into three double
bays to hold our growing fleet. As the next two decades progressed, we gave the entire building a
facelift, added landscaping and increased parking for our social club (members only). We also
updated our equipment. In the 70's we called on American LaFrance to build our two front line
attack engines, one of which we still run today. As our rescue services demand increased, we had a
rescue truck built especially to house the tools of the trade and carry extra manpower and ems
equipment. This allowed us to abandon the old bread truck we used for years.
It wasn't until the 90's that our department saw such growth and prosper that we made the big
move into larger more efficient fire equipment. In 1993, we purchased an E-One Heavy Rescue
and increased the amount of rescue equipment we use. This allowed us to have two sets of rescue
tools and the ability to work from both sides of the truck simultaneously. This was a first for
Crawford County. In 1995, we replaced our 1974 American LaFrance Pioneer Engine with a state
of the art E-One, 6-man cab attack engine. We increased the amount of personnel space, water
and pump size.
In 2001, we continued making equipment improvements by purchasing a second E-One engine.
This was bigger yet, holding more water and increasing space for carrying equipment. It also
gave us the opportunity to put two kinds of foam on the truck, ready to flow with water at the pull
of a lever. This makes the old task of cyphening foam from a bucket, obsolete. Not to mention,
having hydraulics lower the ladders at the side of the truck so personnel don't strain to obtain this
equipment.
A lot has changed over the past 59 years. And in 2002, we expanded our building again. This
gave us more space in the truck garage, crew areas and the ladies auxilliary kitchen. We placed
new kitchen appliances, furniture and exercise equipment in our new space.
Vernon Central Hose Company continues to grow with the times and provides not only fire and
rescue services but quick medical response to our residents. We cover 68.2 square miles in Vernon
and Union Townships and protect about 7,500 people. Vernon Township is primarily commercial,
residential and some light industrial while Union Township is mainly residential and rural. ISO
ratings: Vernon - 5 and Union - 8. This translates into better property values and insurance costs.
And we strive to improve these numbers each year, creating more benefits for the residents we
serve.
Vernon Central Hose Company was chartered in 1945 on the same property it's house on now,
McMath Avenue in Vernon Township. It was organized by local residents who saw the need for
faster, reliable fire service.
Not being the kind of people to do things halfway, a few very short years later, in 1949, our
department decided to begin dispatching fire services. We not only provided dispatching for our
department, but became Pennsylvania's first county wide fire dispatch. Unfortunately, with
success comes setbacks. Vernon Central housed the dispatch on the second floor of the station and
was manned by a wonderful woman who lost her life in a fire at the station. We were able to pick
up the pieces and continue our service, but at a great loss.
A new station was put into service and our department was moving forward again. Our station
was home to some of the more up to date fire equipment of the times, including one of the first four
HURST rescue tools in Crawford County. We not only covered Vernon Township with rescue
services, but responded into the western part of the county near Linesville and Pymatuning. Our
department became one of the premier rescue services in the region and began to specialize in that
field.
In the early 80's our station underwent more changes with the expansion of our truck garage. No
more would we pack the trucks into the garage. We had the garage expanded into three double
bays to hold our growing fleet. As the next two decades progressed, we gave the entire building a
facelift, added landscaping and increased parking for our social club (members only). We also
updated our equipment. In the 70's we called on American LaFrance to build our two front line
attack engines, one of which we still run today. As our rescue services demand increased, we had a
rescue truck built especially to house the tools of the trade and carry extra manpower and ems
equipment. This allowed us to abandon the old bread truck we used for years.
It wasn't until the 90's that our department saw such growth and prosper that we made the big
move into larger more efficient fire equipment. In 1993, we purchased an E-One Heavy Rescue
and increased the amount of rescue equipment we use. This allowed us to have two sets of rescue
tools and the ability to work from both sides of the truck simultaneously. This was a first for
Crawford County. In 1995, we replaced our 1974 American LaFrance Pioneer Engine with a state
of the art E-One, 6-man cab attack engine. We increased the amount of personnel space, water
and pump size.
In 2001, we continued making equipment improvements by purchasing a second E-One engine.
This was bigger yet, holding more water and increasing space for carrying equipment. It also
gave us the opportunity to put two kinds of foam on the truck, ready to flow with water at the pull
of a lever. This makes the old task of cyphening foam from a bucket, obsolete. Not to mention,
having hydraulics lower the ladders at the side of the truck so personnel don't strain to obtain this
equipment.
A lot has changed over the past 59 years. And in 2002, we expanded our building again. This
gave us more space in the truck garage, crew areas and the ladies auxilliary kitchen. We placed
new kitchen appliances, furniture and exercise equipment in our new space.
Vernon Central Hose Company continues to grow with the times and provides not only fire and
rescue services but quick medical response to our residents. We cover 68.2 square miles in Vernon
and Union Townships and protect about 7,500 people. Vernon Township is primarily commercial,
residential and some light industrial while Union Township is mainly residential and rural. ISO
ratings: Vernon - 5 and Union - 8. This translates into better property values and insurance costs.
And we strive to improve these numbers each year, creating more benefits for the residents we
serve.
Upcoming Events
Photo Gallery
Wallpaper
Vernon
Central
circa 1970's
Central
circa 1970's
Vernon
Central
circa 2008
Central
circa 2008
| 814.337.2050 quickvent@allnet.net |
16589 McMath Avenue
Meadville, PA 16335
Emergency: 911
Fax: 814.337.8887
Meadville, PA 16335
Emergency: 911
Fax: 814.337.8887
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