Mar 23, 2016 By Anthony Conn managing Editor 3 min read

For many at the Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company, fighting fires is a family tradition. 

Ron Fox, president of the fire department, saw his father and grandfather serve Waynesburg as firefighters. As of today, he has been with the company for 45 years: half of its history.

This year, the Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company is celebrating 90 years.

“It’s been a big part of my life, and I’m very proud to be a part of it,” said Fox. “I’ve met a lot of great people, great friends.”

Fox has seen many changes during his tenure with the fire department. He said there have been several updates in technology, and everything has been carefully guided to match the industry standard.

“Our line officers have always been on top of change,” Fox said.

These changes include the introduction of a self-contained breathing apparatus and new fire truck designs, as well as new firefighter etiquette. 

Fox said the days of firefighters hanging on the sides of fire trucks are now long gone. 

Due to increased efforts to enhance firefighter safety, firefighters are prohibited from standing up on a fire truck while driving to a fire.

Though many aspects of the Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company have changed, Fire Chief Jeff Marshall has seen a constant.

“We feel have a very positive relationship with the community,” said Marshall.

Like Fox, firefighting runs in Marshall’s family. His father and grandfather served the Waynesburg community as members of the fire department.

The Fire Chief since 1993, Marshall has made it a focus to stay involved with the Waynesburg community. He said Waynesburg Borough formed the fire department in 1926 after a horrific fire broke out in town, and several neighboring fire companies had to defeat the flames. Following the tragedy, 43 volunteers joined together and the Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company was born.

Today, the borough provides workers’ compensation and money from tax dollars that allow the fire company to ensure the community’s safety is maintained with up-to-date firefighting technology.

“We know what the community has given us,” said Marshall. “If there’s something we can do, we do it.”

Volunteers train year-round at the fire hall. Everyone is required to complete a minimum of 180 hours before being considered ready to be on-call. They have five state-certified instructors for their training sessions, which they open up to all of Greene County.

Marshall is impressed with the amount of volunteers the fire department has trained recently and is not worried about involvement decreasing in the years to come.

“We’ve got about 16 members that have less than five years of experience,” said Marshall. “I’m proud of the work they do and I’m sure the community is too.”

Marshall said most of the younger members are children of current firefighters or friends of those volunteers. The Waynesburg-Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Company currently has 40 active members. 

“A lot of companies today are having trouble with membership,” said Fox. “But not us. We have a lot of young guys.”

These “young guys” that Fox described have many older men to learn from, work with and look up to. That is most likely one way this company has lasted for over 90 years. Generations have rode in and out of the fire hall during Fox’s time, but he is happy to have spent followed in his family’s footsteps.

“Anytime we roll out of here,” said Fox, “I’m proud of this department.”