Bridgeport Fire Company Celebrates 125 Years of Volunteer Service

September 27 will be a day to remember for members of the Bridgeport Fire Company as they celebrate their 125 years of active service to the community.

“Bring a camera,” said the members of the department, as everyone is welcome to enjoy the festivities. This event is not just in commemoration of the fire company, but a means for the community to join in and participate.

A parade along Main Street will kick off anniversary activities. The parade will end at their station on Steelman Avenue.

If you are affiliated with a marching band, a youth group, antique car group, or just a business, you can be a part of the fire company’s parade. You can reach out to Bridgeport Fire Company by calling 856-803-4333 or by email at bvfd125anniversary@gmail.com.

Celebratory memorabilia for kids and grownups alike will be available at the firehouse, along with food and beverages. Kids can participate in activities. All proceeds will go directly to the volunteer fire company.

History

In 1900, the Bridgeport Volunteer Fire Company started out with just hand pumps pulled by horse and hand-drawn carts out of a small schoolhouse. As the years went on, their first motorized engine came in 1930. In 1967, they moved into their current building on Steelman Avenue.

By June of 1922, the Gloucester County Democrat, former newspaper of Gloucester County (1878 – 1932), made a published notice that rightfully identified Bridgeport Volunteer Fire Company and its 10 current volunteers to be a fully recognized fire department.

Since its founding over a century ago, the station has seen its share of chiefs and presidents. In total, 21 uniquely named chiefs and 20 uniquely named presidents. As of today, Bridgeport Fire has a volunteer count of 30.

A year before the station’s recognition, Bridgeport Fire Company organized the Ladies Auxiliary on August 21. At that time, there were 37 active members recorded, paying 50¢ membership dues to the station a year.

For more than a century, the auxiliary has served to provide aid towards the station and its volunteering members. Years ago, the Ladies Auxiliary would sponsor fundraisers towards the firehouse with beef-n-beer socials, auctions, raffles, and a comedy night. Most, if not all these events have long since been retired.

Gene Lemke, a 44 year veteran, recalls past events that were held in the station’s hall. In the past and sometimes to this day, the station would hold events like showers and weddings.

“Bingo nights were the big thing back in the day,” Lemke recalled, “and although we don’t hold it anymore, there are still old folks who occasionally ask about it making a return.”

Since its founding, the Ladies Auxiliary has seen members come and go. Present day, the auxiliary has a total of 16 active ladies, and the membership dues now costs $5 a year.

To this day, the station still has a rig that dates back to the original department. The 1958 Ward LaFrance (Fireball) is a relic of the past, and still functions to this day, though not for emergency purposes. To the volunteers of Bridgeport Fire, it’s the station’s pride and joy.

For the duration the station has been active, Bridgeport Fire Company has had to cover more than the small town of Bridgeport. Due to being buffered alongside Route 130 and I-295, while also minutes away from the Commodore Barry Bridge, the fire company covers 24 square miles.

Meeting the Team

At Bridgeport Fire Company, the station is made up of more than just bricks and mortar. What makes the station fundamentally unique is the people who make the firehouse what it is.

Seeing the members of Bridgeport Fire Company is an experience that only can be explained as a friendly and welcoming environment. Each of its volunteers, all of differing service years on the force, have stories to tell of what makes the firehouse such an iconic landmark of the community.

Michael Dombrosky, a volunteer on the force for 45 years, is currently the oldest serving member of the force. Designated as an officer “since forever”, he was the acting fire chief for 17 years. He is now the president of the company.

According to Dombrosky and the other volunteers, being a part of a volunteer fire company does not mean just battling flames. Whenever a dispatch is sent their way, they take to the scene with urgency.

Bridgeport Fire Company has done just about a little bit of everything imaginable from a water rescue along the waterways of Oldman’s Creek or Racoon Creek, to stranded cats in trees.

“If something happens, good or bad, this [the firehouse] is where they would meet,” said Dombrosky. “If something happens in this town here, everyone comes here to pitch in.”

The most common areas that the department covers are neighboring areas like Swedesboro, Woolwich, East Greenwich, and the rest of Logan Township. However, sometimes this might go a bit farther out of the way.

Bridgeport Fire covers a large expanse of territory, but is also a member aid system. This means that when other fire companies in the area need help, Bridgeport is called in.  Dombrosky said that there have been calls to aid locations in Salem, Camden, and Burlington Counties. They’ve even had a call or two from as far as Claymont, Delaware.

Lemke spoke about having fond memories that go way back to his childhood, which eventually led him to the department today. “My entire life has revolved around this building,” he said passionately, “[my life] has always been welcomed here. Whenever anyone looks back to change something in their life, this department is where I have seen the most of my life, and I would never trade it.”

Bert Zahniser, a former member of the company who served from 1992-2012, offered his insight. Zahniser joined the company because he wanted to give back to the community and pitch in where it mattered most. At the firehouse, the volunteers are “not what is seen on TV like beds and dinners” said Zahniser, but it is made up of “people just living out their regular lives.”

Donna Dombrosky with 39 years of volunteer service, Lori Zane with 42 years, and Laura Gouse with 23 years, all recall the importance of the station being similar to family. “Family resonates within the building,” they said, and that both the building and acting members of Bridgeport Fire Company are considered home away from home.

As a kid, Gouse would recall times her father, a former volunteer fireman, would have to leave at the drop of a hat whenever dispatch called the station. Mornings or evenings, rain or shine, at the dinner table or softball field, even holidays did not deter her father.

Now a part of Bridgeport Fire, Gouse said that she joined the volunteer force because “you grow up in it, and you think ‘I want to do that’.”

Samuel Stinger, a 32 year veteran volunteer and current fire chief shares the same sentiment. “As a kid, all my friends’ dads were fire fighters, and we would hang at the station,” he said. “The reason I joined is because it was something I always wanted to do. Bridgeport Fire is a second home made up of friendships and family.”

At the Bridgeport Fire Company, team and family are more than just words, they are the lifeforce of the station and its members, former and current. Everyone has their own unique skills they bring to the team, strength, gusto, consideration, the team puts forth effort wherever it may be, even at times outside of the station.

Working as part of the Bridgeport Fire Company might not always be a walk in the park. Life at the firehouse, according to the team, is never a dull day to work. It’s not what is seen on TV.

The summer heat can’t deter the members of the fire company. “There is no such thing as a fair-weather fire fighter,” said the team, laughing when asked about the weather. “No matter the time of day, week, month, or year, we’re always on call.”

Beyond their emergency work, they also go out of their way with community programs with Easter flower and hoagie sales, fire prevention week, and helping Santa Clause come to town by fire engine.

According to Lemke, during fire prevention week, Bridgeport is a unique station, offering fire truck rides for the kids. He said they are possibly the only department that still does this.

Do you or someone you know want to contribute to volunteering at the fire company? They are always looking for new faces to join for a good cause. If firefighting isn’t your thing, you can volunteer in other ways.

High school students looking for volunteer hours, youth group members looking to aid their community, or someone who just wants to volunteer their service, Bridgeport Fire Company opens its doors and welcomes anyone.

Donations are also accepted. These can either be monetary or non-perishable food and beverages, especially water. There never seems to be enough.

When the volunteers were asked what makes Bridgeport Fire Company special, the team had this to say. After careful consideration, in a unanimous agreement, they said with whole heartedness: “[At] Bridgeport fire department, you are never alone. You are truly a part of something bigger than yourself.”

By Gerald Philipp