SHAMOKIN, PA—Physical pains and a lack of sleep are part of doing business as an emergency responder and over a 48-hour period this week, business boomed.
Three houses caught fire in Shamokin and Mount Carmel between 9 p.m. Sunday and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The emergencies beckoned rapid responses by volunteer firefighters, police officers and ambulance staff.
A series of emergencies is taxing enough physically on a population of aging volunteers that are finding fewer younger members to join the service. Chief Bruce Rogers of the Shamokin Fire Bureau said it’s taxing mentally, too. Volunteers leave work to fight fires or leave bed overnight before arriving at their jobs later than planned after responding to a serious car accident. It can disrupt family life and strain relationships at home, Rogers said, especially during the holiday season.
“These guys are aching and sore,” Rogers said. “I know I am.”
The string of fires began about 9 p.m. Sunday when a chimney malfunctioned at 1-3 Gold St., with flames spreading from a wood stove into the home’s walls. The fire destroyed the property and displaced a family of six.
About 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, crews responded to a fire at 50 W. Willow St. in the city. Flames engulfed the single home’s rear half. Neighbors and police officers helped residents Arthur and Debra Crone escape their home safely.
Firefighters hadn’t cleared the scene before they were dispatched to 32-34 W. Fifth St. in Mount Carmel to aid crews there when flames ignited inside the second floor of the vacant double-home.
Not long after clearing the scene in Mount Carmel, crews in Shamokin were called into action again about 10:30 p.m. when flames rekindled at the Willow Street incident.
Deputy Chief Ken Pilkus admitted he had enough by the time of the Mount Carmel fire.
“I really didn’t want to go but I have to,” Pilkus said.
Neighboring fire departments provided mutual aid in each instance. Crews from the Mount Carmel area responded to both Shamokin fires, according to Assistant Fire Chief Steve Jeffery.
Fire companies in Shamokin, Coal Township and Overlook often work together. The same goes for Mount Carmel, Mount Carmel Township and Kulpmont.
As evidenced this week, when the need arises, emergency responders travel beyond their primary response area to neighboring coal towns to lend a hand.
“No matter how many fires you throw at them, they’ll show up,” Rogers said of volunteer firefighters from communities across the coal region of Northumberland County. He called the collective a strong and dedicated community unto itself.
Work doesn’t stop when flames are doused.
Pilkus and Rogers each guessed they had a few hours of sleep before responding with a handful of other volunteers about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to a carbon monoxide incident on North Second Street in Shamokin. Ultimately, they concluded a battery-operated alarm malfunctioned. No one was stricken ill. The low-key emergency call was a welcome relief.
They’d each return to Willow Street about noon Wednesday to aid Shamokin Patrolman Ray Siko’s investigation into the fire.
And when there’s fire, there’s paperwork — mounds of it, according to Jeffery.
He guessed he’d had a few hours sleep before heading to the office in Sunbury where he works as Northumberland County’s emergency management director.
Jeffery said the Fire Bureau had 13 calls in 11 days — fires, crashes, medical assists, mutual aid calls. That didn’t include the fatal fire fought Nov. 26 on East Dewart Street in which a 75-year-old woman lost her life to carbon monoxide toxicity.
Emergencies don’t just wear on the men and women who respond in service; equipment wears down, too.
Pilkus said two city engines need repairs and a third one needs new tires. Jeffery said aside from repairs, equipment maintenance is a constant chore — vehicles, tools and equipment must always be at the ready.
“The equipment is breaking like crazy,” Rogers said.
“The firefighting part is somewhat easy. It’s all the other stuff,” Jeffery said. "I'm like half asleep. My mind's not even going."
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