Neighbor Spotlight: Blawnox fire chief, coordinator of Allegheny County Swiftwater Rescue Team, retires after 32 years

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

For four decades, George McBriar didn’t hesitate to crawl out of a warm bed in the wee hours of the morning when the fire whistle blared.

As chief of the Blawnox Volunteer Fire Company, McBriar didn’t miss too many of the 370 or so calls his crew responded to each year.

He’s seen it all — house fires, vehicle rollovers, train wrecks and boaters over the dam. He’s dropped everything to respond to calls that sometimes turned out to be a burnt pan on someone’s stove top.

Now, he can pull the covers up and stay put.

McBriar, who began his fire career in 1975 in Sharpsburg and served 32 years as chief in Blawnox, retired at the end of December.

“It was time,” said McBriar, who became a familiar sight in towns across the region not only on fire scenes but also on river-related emergencies.

In 2010, he founded the Allegheny County Swiftwater/Flood Response Team to provide rescue for the 745 square miles that encompass the county.

With more people drawn to the rivers for recreation and commerce, the need for dedicated water rescue teams climbed, too, he said.

The swiftwater team, compiled of technicians from regional departments that include Blawnox and Etna, provides water rescue to surrounding counties and is part of the state’s Homeland Security Task Force.

Members have been deployed by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to natural disasters that include Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Sandy.

McBriar called the swiftwater team his crowning achievement.

“It turned into a really good group that travels all over this side of the country for floods,” he said.

In Blawnox, the fire company is recognized by the state Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and the Office of the State Fire Commissioner as a Level 2a Swiftwater Team. It is the first team in the state to reach this level of recognition.

When McBriar first took the reins in Blawnox, there were four members in the company. It since has grown to about 20 people and a fleet of seven watercraft that is used extensively by an ever-busy rescue crew.

“There’s a good group of guys there, and (the new chief) is a good guy. He knows what he’s doing,” McBriar said.

He credits his impressive fire career to a humble start in Sharpsburg. The guys were terrific, and he enjoyed being among them, McBriar said.

“I joined at the request of former council President and firefighter Joe Lang and never looked back,” he said.

On Feb. 11, McBriar was honored by Blawnox council for his unwavering dedication.

“We appreciate all he has done for the borough and congratulate him on his exemplary career,” Manager Kathy Ulanowicz said.

Sharpsburg Mayor Matt Rudzki issued a proclamation to honor McBriar’s “extraordinary and distinguished” fire career.

He said that as a fledgling member of the Sharpsburg VFD, McBriar served with its ambulance crew and then as president of the department. Rudzki called him a dear friend to the borough and thanked McBriar for countless assists at fires, floods and river rescues.

McBriar will remain a member of the Blawnox fire department and has accepted the role of borough fire marshal. He still works a day job, too, as owner of a warehouse in the old Blaw-Knox mill near the railroad tracks.

As for how he’ll fill the countless hours previously spent in the fire chief’s role, McBriar said he’s unsure.

“I think I’ll just lay on the couch and take a nap,” he said.