A Brief History Bucket brigades were the mode of fire fighting until 1916, when a group of industrious men organized the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department. They secured a hose cart, which the firemen pulled to fires for eight years. Then, in 1924, the volunteers bought their first motorized piece of fire apparatus. It was a brand new open cab American LaFrance chain-driven pumper. At that time, the Bridgeville firemen began providing fire service not only to the Borough, but to Kirwin Heights, Bower Hill, Presto, Birdine, Federal, Hickman, Oak Ridge, Sygan, Morgan, Treveskyn, Gladden, Muse, Cecil, Hills Station, Fairview and Upper St. Clair. It was early 1929 when the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department was chartered as a non-profit charitable corporation by the commonwealth courts. In 1945, the volunteers purchased the Bonosky property on Bower Hill Road and donated it to the borough, on which land, the present Borough Building was built. The building housed the volunteer fire department and all other functions of the borough. The firemen moved into their new quarters on December 15, 1948, where they remained until 1997, when the firemen moved into their new fire station and social hall on Commercial Street. This building was built and financed without ANY tax dollars. The method of mustering volunteers for fires or other emergencies has changed dramatically over the years. Originally, the firemen were summoned by the ringing of the bell atop of the old Washington School. Then came the electric whistle (siren), which coincidentally was also installed atop the old three-story school building. During the early 1970's, FM home monitors were replaced by radio signal activated monitors, (pagers), which the volunteers carry with them now either in a pocket or on their belt. These devices emit either an audible signal or a vibrating silent signal accompanied by a voice message indicating the type of location of the emergency. We sure have come a long way since 1916!

Major Fires Play a Role in History The first major fire on record in Bridgeville occurred early Saturday morning, April 26, 1958, when the Washington Elementary School on Washington Avenue was destroyed. Police Captain, Ed Wolf, and Patrolman, Leonard Villani, discovered the blaze at 4:30 am. The fire whistle was atop the school building and the fire rendered it inoperable. The firemen had to be mustered by telephone and the siren and public address system on the emergency truck which was driven around town. Firemen from several neighboring communities rendered mutual-aid, finally extinguishing the fire. A general alarm fire took the efforts of ten fire companies on Tuesday, March 1, 1960. This fire destroyed an entire block of business establishments and apartments on Washington Avenue and Station Street. The blaze completely wiped out Isaly's Dairy Store, Mariani's Bar, Cake Box Bakery, Panther Restaurant, Sablo's Photo Studio, Torre's Meat Market and Sarasnick's Hardware, all on Washington Avenue, and M & G Barber Shop, Sam Lee Laundry and Becky's Beauty Parlor on Station Street. The main force of the fire was in the establishments fronting on Washington Avenue, where the fire started in Sablo's Studio located in the center of the block. Wednesday morning, March 15, 1961, a long-time landmark of Bridgeville - the 100 year old Norwood Hotel, owned by Louis Russo, was destroyed. Firemen from eight companies were hampered by high winds and dense smoke in their efforts to contain this stubborn blaze. The Norwood was originally built and operated by Joseph Wight, who purchased a few acres adjacent to the railroad, erected the hotel and made it a summer resort for well-to-do Pittsburgh families. Paintings of the original Norwood Hotel can be found on the interior walls in the Chartiers Room. Friday afternoon, December 8, 1989, shortly after 1:00 pm, a general alarm fire started in a basement apartment in the Rankin Building at 527 Washington Avenue, quickly engulfing the building and spreading to the Piccone Building next door, at 533 Washington Avenue, housing the Bridgeville Auto Parts Store and three apartments. The Rankin Building, also known as the Galaxy Theater building, housed the Vella School of Dance, ATS Karate Studio, My Own Styles Beauty Salon, 84 Properties & Real Estate, and six apartments. Thirty persons were left homeless by this fire which was fought by firefighters from Bridgeville and ten neighboring communities. The picture you see above is of the Norwood Hotel, March 15, 1961.

Washington Avenue Fire 1960/View from Station Street