Tight-Knit Pottery Addition Volunteer Fire Department Celebrates 75 Years
Christopher Dacanay Trending
A staple of its small, Ohio River community, the Pottery Addition Volunteer Fire Department celebrated 75 years of fighting fires and keeping others safe this past weekend.
The department's Station 55, which sits along Ohio's old state Route 7, saw friends and family unite for a relaxing day of food, fun and remembrance of the department's legacy.
Mary Bender, lieutenant for the department, was part of the six-person committee that planned the celebration, which she said was made possible through many people's donations.
"We just wanted it to be a fun celebration and make it free for the community so they can just come and have fun with us," said Bender, who is also an advanced EMT with TEMS Joint Ambulance District.
In addition to Pottery Addition's three engines, other emergency response vehicles on display came from TEMS, Irondale Fire and Rescue Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, which had an officer do a K-9 demonstration for visitors. Additionally, one of STAT MedEvac's air ambulance helicopters performed a flyover and landed next to the station.
There to support the Pottery Addition department was Jake Jackson, a retired firefighter from the Mingo Junction Fire Department. Jackson reflected on the nature of volunteer departments, saying, "I always had respect for (the fact that) it's an unpaid career. These people come out all hours of the day and night ... and do it basically for the community."
Jim Wood, assistant chief, said 75 years for the department calls to mind "brotherhood."
"The commitment to service to our community is amazing," said Wood, who has been in fire and EMS since 1995 and with the Pottery Addition department since 2012. "A lot of our guys here have over 25 years of service with this department. ... That's a lot of experience."
Almost every other person walking around the celebration wearing a Station 55 T-shirt. Those individuals and many more were connected with the department in some way, either being a volunteer, auxiliary member or family member of someone in the department, demonstrating its multi-generational nature.
Matt Marshall, the great-grandson of a department founding member, said, "In some way, shape or form, we're all related down here."
Joe Hayes, former volunteer and father of current Chief Andy Hayes, said he's glad the department is still around but disappointed that people in general are less willing to volunteer nowadays. Hayes, who started volunteering at 13, listed reasons to volunteer: "You're going to learn something, better the township community, meet new people and get some training. It's a no-brainer."
To find volunteers is difficult, Wood said, and the department having younger volunteers in addition to a core group of longtime members is "very fortunate nowadays."
Asked what the best part about the department is, Wood said, "Community service -- being able to help the community, provide that service to people and help them when they're in need."
Anyone interested in volunteering for the Pottery Addition Volunteer Fire Department should contact Chief Andy Hayes through the department's Facebook page, Wood said.