Proudly serving the citizens of Ebensburg, Pennsylvania since 1836

Home > About Us > News

Pennsylvania Department of Health Voluntary Rescue Service Recognition (VRSR)

The Pennsylvania Voluntary Rescue Service Recognition (VRSR) Program was prepared by the Rescue Task Force of the Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council (PEHSC) under contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Emergency Medical Services Office.

The purpose of the VRSR program in Pennsylvania is to provide statewide standards of rescue service equipment, personnel training and staffing, communications, reporting, and operations. This program is offered to any rescue service that wishes to have their service recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The Dauntless Fire Company is being recognized as meeting all requirements set forth at the Advanced level, the highest possible level of recognition. Being recognized guarantees the community it serves that the rescue service has met the minimum standards at the time of inspection, it has the rescue tools to safely perform a rescue, and has the essential medical equipment to perform initial medical care.

Recognition for this program includes an application, followed by a field inspection with representatives from the regional council, and certified vehicle rescue instructors. The information is submitted to the state for review of all applicant materials. If the applicant has successfully met all of the requirements, the appropriate certificates and decals are presented to the qualifying rescue service. Recognition shall be effective for three years from the date of issue.

The Dauntless Fire Company is currently the only fire department in Cambria County to achieve the Advanced level of recognition.

 

The Dauntless Fire Company is proud to announce that we have received the benchmark 75% certification under the participating Department recognition Program through the Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner's Office. Today there are 2386 fire departments throughout the commonwealth. 23 career departments and 37 combination career/volunteer departments. Of the 2386 departments, only 337 participate in this program. of these, only 60 have attained this level of certification. In Cambria County , only the Johnstown City career department has attained a level higher than the Dauntless Fire Company, that being the 100% level.

The Participating Department Recognition program originated as a marketing tool to present those departments who had members who voluntarily became certified, receive some sort of public recognition and to be able to make use of the recognition as proof, of their willingness and desire to enhance public safety efforts through professional qualification certification. The process is one of "walking the walk" and not "talking the talk".

All firefighters are tested (measured) to the same scale. There is no difference between career and volunteer. For example, firefighters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh require certification during the final phases of their career academies. The point of significance being that the Dauntless Fire Department (volunteers) are being measured to the same standard and in the same exact way as career firefighters in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Certified firefighters are shown to be safer firefighters as well as more capable on the fire ground. There are significantly fewer Line Of Duty Deaths and serious injuries involving certified firefighters in Pennsylvania.

A Dauntless undertaking

The Tribune-Democrat

Pride. Tradition. Teamwork. For good measure, toss in dedication and sacrifice.
As our favorite high school, college and professional football teams return for preseason camps, those adjectives will be plastered on the walls of many locker rooms. They also could and should adorn the walls of many of our area fire stations.

But while we often offer high praise for all of the valiant men and women firefighters in our region, we would like to offer special recognition to the crew of the Dauntless Volunteer Fire Company of Ebensburg.

Dauntless has long been recognized as one of the finest companies in our region, and it isn't about to pull back now. Seventy-five percent of the company's active firefighters nearly 40 men and women have achieved Fire Fighter 1 level, reaching a status that only 43 of 2,400 fire companies in the state had attained previously.

Only the paid Johnstown Fire Department has attained a higher training level in Cambria County. All of the city's firefighters have completed at least Fire Fighter I training. What's also impressive is that the Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner's Office tests all firefighters the same, whether career or volunteer. In other words, Dauntless volunteers were measured by the same standards as career firefighters in Johnstown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. That should give residents a secure feeling.

It should also be a reminder for them to dig a little deeper in offering financial support for their volunteer department. When we first started, we didn't have a lot going for us, said Tony Sebetich, Dauntless deputy fire chief. But in the last four or five years, everybody has fed off the enthusiasm of Chief Dale Makin and assistant Chief John Hawksworth. Others in the company also credit the leadership of Sebetich. A ton have gone on even further (than Fire Fighter I), noted Sebetich, including instructor status. And what many residents might not realize is that firefighters often spend their own money, use vacation days from their jobs and give up time with their families to attend classes.

Sessions are held in places such as Johnstown and State College with some covering a week at a time or several days over a month. I think that's pretty terrific, said state Fire Commissioner Ed Mann in honoring the Ebensburg company. We think so, too.

 

EBENSBURG — More than 100 firefighters from 10 fire companies battled all night to subdue a stubborn roof fire at Gamesa Corp.’s wind-energy plant, under construction at the Cambria County Industrial Park.

Almost miraculously, no one was hurt.

And, to the relief of corporate and economic development officials alike, the blaze is being termed a minor setback.

“How much of a delay will it mean? Almost none,” said Tom Chervanick, site engineer with STV Construction Services Inc., of Douglassville, outside Philadelphia.

“Sure it’s a setback, but not much of one. Actually, we’re back up under construction now,” he said Monday afternoon.

For Gamesa, the Spanish turbine-blade manufacturer with U.S. corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, that means the 204,000 square-foot factory will open in 2006 as planned. Initially, 177 workers will be employed.

A dollar estimate on the damages was not given.

Firefighters battling Monday’s blaze found a bittersweet irony.

They were still at the site early Monday, instead of in Altoona as scheduled to be part of the funeral procession for fallen comrade Altoona fire Capt. Robert Gallardy.

And their equipment, polished in anticipation of the solemn lineup honoring Gallardy, stood gritty and mud-splattered.

“He’s probably up there laughing at us now, saying we shined it all up, but we have to do it all over again, anyway,” said a tired firefighter, who did not want to be identified by name. “He’d want us to be doing our job. That’s what we’re all about.”

Dauntless Fire Company of Ebensburg was scheduled to send 26 firefighters to the services in Altoona on Monday, said Chief Dale Makin, commander at the Gamesa fire scene.

“We’re still committed to forming the arch (of ladders) at the grave site,” he said.

Sure enough, by early afternoon, Dauntless trucks and other area fire equipment were polished again and on the way to New Germany for the interment.

Firefighters from Dauntless were called to the scene again around 5 p.m. when a pallet load of insulation on the roof rekindled, said Dauntless fire Capt. Scott Springer.

He said firefighters used their aerial truck to get at the pallet and douse the flames. They were at the scene about an hour.

The Gamesa fire has not been determined to be suspicious, and the state police fire marshal in Indiana has not been called in to investigate.

Local police departments are doing a preliminary investigation, Makin said.

It is thought that insulation may have ignited, he said.

Makin said the fire was reported at about 2 a.m. by workers who were at the site pouring concrete.

“Our big problem was getting our apparatus in a position to get to the building because of the mud at the site. We actually had to build makeshift roads, and in a hurry,” the chief said.

“The construction crews did everything they could. They were a tremendous help with putting down what we needed for roads, and they built them so fast,” he said.

Others assisting were EMS units with medics who could monitor and refresh weary firefighters and The Salvation Army, with its relief van offering coffee.

Firefighters’ biggest challenge was getting to the flames, the chief said.

“The involved area was in the middle of the roof, and getting water there was a problem. I couldn’t put our firefighters in danger, so we had to maneuver the equipment as close as possible,” Makin said.

The building is about half finished now, and manufacturing equipment for Gamesa has not been delivered.

Some construction equipment was water damaged, said workers at the scene.

Fire companies facing costly radio upgrades

BY SANDRA K. REABUCK
The Tribune-Democrat

Volunteer fire companies across Cambria County are facing costly upgrades this summer in their radio equipment as Cambria 911 Center moves to convert its radio equipment from low-band to the latest technology.

The move has been in the planning since July 2005 with officials hoping to implement the new system Oct. 1, said Brian Feist, director of Cambria County’s Department of Emergency Services.

He said the existing radios use 1940s technology and that the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 showed the critical need for police, fire, and ambulance departments to be able to communicate with each other. Police departments already have changed to the newer UHF system, he said.

“We’re coming down to the nitty gritty, and the departments will have to spend the money,” he said.

“I know it’s going to be painful (financially) for the fire companies and the ambulances, but it’s something that has to be done,” he said.

“I run with a small department (East Conemaugh), and it will cost us $20,000. But we have to keep up with the technology.”

Feist said the county already has installed new UHF radio consoles, paid for by state funds collected through cellular telephone fees.

He declined to say how much the county will have to pay to complete the system by installing new equipment on existing towers and equipping the additional towers the system will require, saying the commissioners will be make that announcement soon.

He said his office is assisting fire companies with acquiring government grants to help pay for the new equipment.

He said the new technology has been in used by area police and the Johnstown Fire Department for years.

“It works better,” he said, adding that there will be less interference.

Dauntless Fire Company Chief Dale Makin can attest to that.

Makin’s department took a step toward the new technology seven years ago when they purchased VHF portable radios for use by firefighters at the scene.

He said with larger buildings such as the county’s nursing home, firefighters inside the structure had trouble communicating to others outside with the current VHF frequency. The signal just wouldn’t reach outside, he said.

The issue is a safety one, he said. If someone was trapped inside that building and firefighters needed more manpower and equipment, they couldn’t get their message out. The UHF frequency is better, he said.

With a grant, they purchased the new radios plus equipment for their tower that translates the signal back and forth from UHF to VHF to be compatible with the other equipment, he said.

He said Dauntless is getting proposals from radio manufacturers to purchase the remainder of the equipment that will be needed. He expects the price tag to be between $25,000 and $30,000.

In Franklin Borough, Fire Chief Jeff Weir also is pleased that the frequency is being updated.

He said there are dead spots in the borough where firefighters can’t communicate with the 911 center. He said with UHF, they know it will work because police have been using that frequencies for years. He said he hasn’t heard of any officers complaining about their system.

He said they are planning to unite with other fire companies in the Conemaugh Valley area to find a better price due to buying equipment in bulk.

He expects his department’s outlay will be between $15,000 and $18,000 to update to UHF.

In Somerset County, Rick Lohr, the county’s emergency management coordinator, said what Cambria County is doing is an advancement. He said his county has no immediate plans to change frequencies.

In Bedford County, David Cubbison, the county’s emergency services director, said his county is planning to have the higher frequency available during the first quarter of 2008 and that they would operate both systems simultaneously until all fire companies could switch over.

He also said the new system will be an improvement.

 

New truck emblematic of Ebensburg’s enhanced fire service

 

By SUSAN EVANS
The Tribune-Democrat

EBENSBURG — As members of the Dauntless Fire Company begin to introduce their new fire truck around town, each does it a bit differently.

Nick Damin can tell you exactly what it cost: $758,153.

Dauntless President Ron Springer and Chief Dale Makin stress the technology of the 100-foot midmount aerial, which has a longer reach and can access different areas.

And a downtown Ebensburg regular describes it as “the biggest goshdang truck you’ve ever seen.”

Dauntless firefighters will be stressing all those things as they show the truck at a breakfast for the business community next week and then at an open house for the public that is yet to be scheduled.

The purchase was a lucky one, they say, because the new truck was a demonstration unit that was in the county seat in the summer and was used in a few settings.

“Buying it as a demo unit saved about $75,000 to $80,000, and all the warranties are extended,” Springer said.

Before the purchase, Dauntless was using a 30-year-old truck that did not qualify for optimum insurance ratings, he said.

That truck is being advertised for sale, but the fire company has no takers yet.

“Our community has changed. This enhances our ability to provide fire protection,” Springer said of the new truck. “And now it will mean a better insurance rate.”

Borough officials agree.

“Ebensburg has always been very proud of Dauntless,” said borough Manager Dan Penatzer. “They are a very proud organization, and it’s well deserved. Their training is excellent, and they have a great junior membership that replenishes their ranks.”

Dauntless’ members range in age from 14 to 94, the eldest being Cecil Springer. The company’s ranks include about a dozen women.

The company responded to 250 emergency and nonemergency calls last year, and it has a mutual-aid agreement with Cambria Township, Makin said.

The new truck joins a cadre of historic equipment in Dauntless headquarters on West Sample Street, including the 1836 original hand-pulled fire wagon and a 1926 LaFrance fire truck that is used in parades.

“We’ve had tremendous support from the community,” Makin said.