Hempfield, Greensburg fire prevention event aims to combine education, entertainment, recruitment

The Hempfield and Greensburg volunteer fire departments will display fire apparatus, talk to area residents about fire safety and recruit new members next week at the 28th annual Fire Prevention Night.

The nearly 30-year tradition, held outside of the Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield, is meant to inform the community about how to prevent fires and demonstrate how the local fire crews operate, said Hempfield fire Chief Anthony Kovacic.

“It gives us the opportunity to display some of the fire apparatus that is here in the region,” he said. “We look at this as a very regional opportunity.”

Fire trucks will be on display and fire crews will perform a variety of demonstrations — including mock-up vehicle extrications and fire extinguishing, Kovacic said.

The demonstrations are family friendly, said Greensburg fire Chief Tom Bell. With assistance from a firefighter, children can practice directing water through a window frame.

Greensburg’s dive team and bloodhound team will also attend the event, Bell said.

“That’s a huge hit with the kids,” Bell said of the bloodhound team, which has done more than 50 demonstrations for community organizations this year.

Educating families about smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is a main point of discussion at the event, Bell said. He reminds attendees to have one smoke detector on each floor of their home, preferably away from the kitchen.

“That’s the worst spot you could have it in, because what happens is…everyone who has a smoke detector close to the kitchen says ‘Oh, they’re so sensitive.’”

Bell said many families remove the batteries from kitchen smoke detectors because they get tired of the alarm going off while they are cooking. Forgetting to put the batteries back in puts the home at risk, Bell said.

He also encourages them to install a carbon monoxide detector.

“That’s the silent killer,” he said.

Recruitment

By advertising at community events like Fire Prevention Night and Greensburg’s Night Market series, the city has attracted nearly 10 recruits to its volunteer fire service and youth programs, Bell said — which educate children and teenagers on the job.

Recruiting is key for Hempfield as the township continues to develop a new community park and municipal complex, which could house fire department headquarters.

The township purchased 43 acres from Excela Health about three years ago to build the Weatherwood Community Park and Hempfield Municipal Complex — a project that will cost about $16 million.

“We’re always looking for assistance, for folks to come on board with the fire department,” Kovacic said. “We spend a great deal of time trying to do recruitment, to get those interested from the community to come in and see what the fire service is all about.”

Hempfield continues to invite its 10 fire stations to become “nonchartered” — managed entirely by the township.

North Hempfield is the only nonchartered station so far. All of its expenses are paid for by the township.

The Fort Allen and Midway-St. Clair stations are completing the paperwork to make the change, Kovacic said. The Grapeville and Adamsburg stations are considering the opportunity and discussing it with the township.