25 members of family fight fires
Members of the Eley family say the desire to fight fire is simply a part of their genetic makeup. For decades the family has heeded the call to become firefighters, emulating their ancestors and strengthening a tradition already stirring the interest of the next generation. Twenty-five members of the Eley family battle fires for three counties. Nine family members fight fires for Fayette City and Perry fire departments, three for Belle Vernon and one at each of the following stations: Dawson, Monessen, North Belle Vernon and Scott Township.
“One thing that hits home with me is the generations of families that keep fire companies going,” Fayette City firefighter Debbie Parshall, 36, daughter of E. James Eley Jr., said. “I’m a third-generation firefighter and the bug has already bit my daughter.”
Her daughter Bailey and niece Ashley, both 6, listen to the scanners at home and recognize the different tones, she said.
“If that whistle blows they know which fire company is going out for the call,” she said. “It is true that it is a family tradition.
Her brother James M. Eley, chief of the Fayette City Volunteer Fire Department, echoed his sister.
He said he’d support his 6-year-old daughter “100 percent” if she wanted to join the fire department in the future, but would never pressure her to do so, adding that she has 12 years to decide.
“My daughter loves to be in the truck when we get a call and she has to go with me,” he said. “It’s the highlight of her day.”
Eley family members were also pioneers of firefighting organizations and grasped the top rung for generations.
Parshall said her great uncle Perry Stuck was the first president of the Fayette County Firemen’s Association. Her father, brother and husband Kelly and three uncles – Leonard Lynch, Barry Lynch and the late Dwight Lynch – are all past presidents of the association, and she, her brother and husband served as presidents to the Southwestern Chiefs and Associate Chiefs Association. She was the only female to do so, she added.
Leonard Lynch is currently the treasurer of the 2,600-member strong Fayette County Firemen’s Association and her cousin Larry Able is the secretary.
Leonard Lynch said the Fayette County Firemen’s Association was formed in 1939 in Dawson, adding that the main objective of the association is keeping up with state rules and regulations in training firefighters. The association, an umbrella organization for the county fire departments, offers member benefits such as the use of training facilities on Duck Hollow Road in Uniontown, where firefighters practice putting out fires, perform search and rescue drills and take fire-related classes, Parshall said.
Such organizations no doubt lend to the feeling of family among all firefighters.
“They become family – the guys in every fire station,” Parshall said. “No matter what you need, they’re there to help.”
Passing the torch to another generation, E. James Eley, Jr., 66, stepped down from his position as chief of Fayette City’s fire department after 45 years in January. The company elected his son James, 38, who was the 1st assistant chief of the station for 12 years, to the position of chief.
“The majority of departments, if it’s not one, two or three families, the departments will suffer membership wise. You find that a lot,” James said. “Most of us are second and third generations. Our dads spent so much time at the fire department that we went to spend time with Dad.”
Parshall said her father handed her an application to join the fire department when she turned 18.
“My dad has always been my hero. No matter what he did I was always right behind him,” she said. “We’re very close and it seemed the natural thing to do.”
Leonard Lynch, who has been a Perry Township firefighter for 50 years, said through the years the Eley family has never lost a relative in a fire and that the desire to fight those fires is a way of life.
“More or less it’s born and bred in us. It’s all family,” he said. “You grow up with it. You get involved in it. That’s just the way it goes.”
Parshall agreed.
“When we’re together we talk about this fire or that accident. It’s a camaraderie we have with each other,” she said. “When you have people who are volunteers they say it’s in your blood. It very much is a family tradition.”