Firefighters

The Fairplay Volunteer Fire Co. was established in 1947 after a resident's pants caught on fire while he was burning trash. “It did some pretty good damage on his legs,” Fairplay Fire Co. founding member George “Pete” Warrenfeltz said. He said the incident convinced residents to start a volunteer fire department. Warrenfeltz, 82, and fellow-founding member Charles Semler recently said they were disheartened by the Washington County Board of Commissioners decision to suspend the fire company because of inadequate response times to calls.

The Hagerstown Fire Department has promoted three firefighters to the rank of shift captain. Hagerstown Fire Chief W. Kyd Dieterich said in a news release that before they were promoted, Russell Daiello, Adam Hopkins and Trayer Stoops completed an extensive three-day process, which included a written test, a resume evaluation and an assessment by professional fire personnel from other local jurisdictions. “They have served the Hagerstown Fire Department well, and we are confident they will be an even greater asset to our operations in their capacity as shift captains,” Dieterich said.

Fire companies have been in the news over the past year, and not always for the best reasons. Questions over accountability have dogged local departments, as well as the association that governs the individual volunteer companies. Those issues aside, events of the past two weeks have once more demonstrated the dedication and efficiency of the vast majority of our local firefighters. Major fires burned historic buildings in both the Williamsport and Hagerstown business districts.

A fire that started in a wood stove damaged a house Monday morning at 4409 Locust Grove Road near Rohrersville. Boonsboro Assistant Fire Chief Troy Lloyd said smoke was showing from all four sides of the roof when the first units arrived at about 11 a.m. “We had to rip the walls out to get to (the fire),” Lloyd said. He said firefighters had the fire under control in about 10 minutes. Because a hydrant wasn't available, tanker trucks from fire companies in three counties lined up along Locust Grove Road to supply water.

On behalf of the residents of Williamsport, let me offer thanks to all of the firefighters and emergency personnel who responded to the fire at Wolfe's. The residents want the responders to know how much their courage and heroism meant to everyone. These brave individuals prevented this devastating fire from spreading to other properties and we are all truly grateful. Discuss the economy over a cup of coffee The Coffee Club meets the second Thursday of each month at the Desert Rose Café, on the corner of Conococheague and Potomac Streets.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

Two minutes after firefighters were called to a building fire on West Antietam Street Thursday night, other units were on their way to a house fire on Winter Street, according to a Hagerstown news release. The second fire at 237 Winter St., was called in at 10:59 p.m., the release said. The fire was contained to the bedroom of the house, but there was smoke damage throughout the house, the release said. No one was injured, although a family pet died in the blaze, the release said.

Firefighters were at the scene of a house fire that was reported at 8:17 a.m. Thursday in the 3300 block of Stillhouse Hollow Road in Greene Township, Pa., a Franklin County Emergency Services dispatcher said. Further details were not immediately available.

Firefighters were working to contain the damage of a house fire Monday night near Red Run Park in Washington Township, Pa. Homeowner Angie Thacker said she and her husband, Tom, were in the older portion of the house while their twins slept in their new bedrooms. The 4-year-olds each got their own second-floor room in a house addition as a Christmas present. Shortly after 8 p.m., the adults smelled something burning in the home at 12066 North Ave., Angie Thacker said. They checked heaters and the electrical panel in the basement, but nothing seemed amiss, she said.

Firefighters were on the scene of a house fire Monday night just off Buchanan Trail East (Pa. 16), a few miles east of Waynesboro, according to a Franklin County Emergency Services dispatcher. The call for the fire at 12066 North Ave., near Red Run Park in Rouzerville, went out at 8:09 p.m., the dispatcher said. Units are currently on the scene, with Blue Ridge Fire and Rescue Squad serving as the lead agency, the dispatcher said. Further details were not available. - C.J. Lovelace