HUMMELS WHARF — He was 4 years old when he put on his first uniform and marched in a fireman’s parade.
Now, decades later, Hummels Wharf Fire Company Deputy Chief John “Jack” Grove still is active.
“Nobody ever asked me to join the company,” Grove said. “You were never told you had to.”
It was just something he always knew, and always wanted to be a part of.
In 2012, his family will have been active in fire service for a century. His grandfather joined in 1912.
“We lived and breathed the fire company,” Grove said.
He was voted into membership with the Conemaugh Fire Department when he was 17. His three brothers are still involved in fire service there.
His father and two uncles were serving as chiefs at the time he joined.
“They were good role models,” he said.
In his 45 years of service, Grove said he’s run the gamut of fighting fires that spread to whole city blocks, to industrial fires to flaming gasoline tankers.
“I have a very understanding wife,” he said. “When I say I’m going somewhere, she just waves.”
He serves as a training coordinator for fire and emergency medical services for Snyder County, as emergency management coordinator for Monroe Township and as deputy chief and spokesman for the Hummels Wharf Fire Company, which includes writing grant applications and dealing with the media.
How does he do it all?
“Luckily, I’m retired,” he said with a smile.
Formerly the assistant principal at Selinsgrove Area High School for 25 years, he said fighting fires was a welcome distraction from what he calls one of the toughest jobs around.
“It was my former relaxation,” he said. “Every time the tones went off, I could just set it aside.”
“Sometimes, I think that kept my sanity,” he added.
However, emergency service also has its drawbacks. “You get tired, worn out, mentally drained,” he said.
So why does he keep doing it?
“There are days I ask myself the same question,” he said as he looked up and smiled slightly.
But then there are other days in which he finds great rewards.
For example, as a state fire instructor, with emeritus status, he gets to teach the ropes to new volunteers.
And he takes pride in all the work he and others have done recently to renovate the company’s new building along the Old Trail. The volunteers now have all new apparatus and a new truck room, filled with two engines, a tanker, a reserve engine, squad vehicle and an amphibious vehicle.
The department has 20 active members and averages about seven people per call.
News
Related Photos
-
Justin Engle / The Daily Item
Discussion
Deputy chief has fire service in his blood
- News
-
-
5 watershed projects get $873G
Five Valley watershed projects will get nearly $873,000 from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which announced funding for 73 projects to improve watersheds, stormwater runoff, acid mine drainage and educational programs, among other environmental efforts.
-
Dispute turns into gun threat, troopers say
After an argument in which his wife threatened divorce, William Warren Woolsey, 36, grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and told her to meet him in the bedroom, saying he would kill himself, state police at Milton said.
-
Mom allegedly beat toddlers with brush
A 22-year-old Mifflinburg mother has been charged with beating her two toddlers with a hairbrush until they bled from abrasions all over their faces and bodies, state police at Milton said.
-
Commissioners give disabled Sunburian a chance
A 22-year-old disabled man asked the Northumberland County commissioners a life-changing question last week. "Can I have a job?"
-
Trucking firm to add 25 drivers
The president of Watsontown Trucking Co. said Tuesday that his firm will be hiring 25 truck drivers in addition to several diesel technician and management positions, all due to expansion.
-
Moran raises rail bid to $30M
WATSONTOWN -- Moran Industries has raised its bid price for a short-line railroad, offering $30 million to buy the railroad and take over its operation.
-
Mayor wants trucks to help fund roads
SUNBURY -- Mayor David Persing is frustrated with truck traffic entering the former Celotex site on North Front Street, and he wants to do something about it.
-
18-year-old dies in truck crash on Routes 11-15
LIVERPOOL -- An 18-year old Selinsgrove man was killed when his pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer on Routes 11-15 in Perry County.
-
Reactions to budget plan mixed
NetSummary
-
Proposal alters school funding
HARRISBURG -- Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed steady funding for K-12 basic education in his $27.1 billion budget for 2012-13. But how school districts get their money will change as four line items will be combined into one block grant for most basic education funding.
-
Moran Industries raises rail line bid to $30 million
WATSONTOWN — Moran Industries, Inc. today announced a follow-up offer to the eight-member counties for the purchase of the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority properties. The company also revised its offer to include the rights and privileges to be the short line’s rail operator, bidding a total of $30 million.
-
State universities face steep cuts in governor's budget plan
PHILADELPHIA — State colleges and universities still trying to recover from deep cuts last year are facing the possibility of further steep reductions, and their students could receive less financial aid under the 2012-13 budget proposed Tuesday by Gov. Tom Corbett.
- More News Headlines
-
5 watershed projects get $873G
