Veterans returning from the far reaches of World War II found a different kind of battle waiting for them in the quiet hills of Lycoming County. In June of 1946, these service members recognized an urgent need for protection in their rural corners. They did not wait for government intervention or outside help to arrive. Instead, they founded the Clinton Township Volunteer Fire Company. Led by their first chief, Earl LeGrande, and association president, Charles Adams, the ranks swelled to eighty-one founding members by the end of that first summer. This was a generation defined by action, and their legacy continues to protect the valley eighty years later. They traded their military uniforms for heavy coats, yet their mission to serve remained unchanged.
Money was scarce for a new department with no tax support in the late 1940s. The earliest volunteers relied on the generosity of their neighbors and their own hard work. To buy basic gear, they organized community poultry and egg sales. The mission gained a powerful ally in September of 1946 when the Ladies Auxiliary held its first meeting at the Hulsizer garage. Historical records from that era often obscured the individual identities of these women by listing them only under the names of their husbands. While their first names may be lost in the archives, their impact is unforgettable. They elected Mrs. Hughes as their very first president and began the tireless work of fundraising that would sustain the company for decades. These women provided the financial backbone that allowed the department to survive its infancy.
The acquisition of the very first fire engine remains one of the most cherished stories in the station’s history. A local businessman named C.L. Hulsizer challenged the firefighters to raise half the money for a truck chassis. He promised to cover the remaining half from his own pocket if they could prove their commitment. The volunteers worked without rest and successfully gathered their portion of the funds. When they attempted to present the money to him, Hulsizer refused to take it. He returned their hard-earned cash to be used for transforming the chassis into a functional pumper and paid for the entire 1946 Chevrolet Howe pumper truck himself. This act of kindness gave the department its first true engine and set a standard for local support that persists today.
A permanent home required more than just a truck. Resident Fred Tebbs gifted nearly five acres of land along Highway 54 to give the volunteers a place to stand. In May of 1948, the members began digging the foundation by hand. They gathered on weekends to build a thirty-by-sixty-foot station themselves, laying every brick with a sense of shared purpose. They officially finished construction on New Year’s Day in 1949. By the middle of the next decade, they became pioneers in emergency communications. They purchased their first walkie-talkies and a mobile two-way radio in 1955, making them one of the most technologically advanced rural departments in the region.
The needs of the community evolved, and the capabilities of the department grew alongside them. After a series of difficult apartment fires in nearby Montgomery, the company realized they needed better ways to clear dangerous air. In April of 1961, they purchased two smoke exhaust fans, which were among the very first owned by any volunteer company in Lycoming County. Recognizing their original utility vehicles were too small for an expanding cache of life-saving tools, they upgraded to a larger international walk-in equipment truck in October of 1962. Every new tool was a promise kept to the people living in their shadow, an investment in the safety of their neighbors.
Community tragedy has also shaped the resolve of the department. In early 1989, a mother and her two infants perished after their vehicle entered the Susquehanna River. Because no local team was equipped for underwater emergencies at that time, the members vowed to find a solution. By July of 1989, they officially formed their specialized scuba dive team. For decades, this team has operated to rescue individuals from floodwaters and recover evidence for the Pennsylvania State Police. They turned grief into a specialized service that serves the entire Susquehanna River Valley. Their expertise in the water has become a vital resource for the region.
We’ve always looked to the future of our ranks. When lifelong members Donald W. Canada and Dorsey Crevelling passed away in 1995, the station used memorial contributions to launch a scholarship program. This program continues to support and recruit members for the Junior Firemen’s Association. New generations taking their place ensure the tradition of service remains strong. Recognizing a need for medical care, they launched an ambulance transport service in July of 2002. Because many volunteers work outside the township during the day, the department transitioned to using paid professional staffing on weekdays. This ensures that a medical crisis always meets a rapid response.
Today, the crew answers roughly six hundred emergency calls every single year. Their unique geography requires training for everything from traditional agricultural farms and an Amish community to heavy industrial sites and the county landfill. They even protect the nearby state correctional institution for women and busy commercial railroad lines. To handle these varied hazards, the station maintains a versatile fleet featuring a modern Sutphen pumper and an all-terrain brush truck designed for fighting fast-moving forest fires on rough ground. The vision of those returning veterans eighty years ago remains alive in every siren that echoes through Clinton Township. They prove that neighbors helping neighbors is the strongest safety net any town can possess.
