When the engines of Vigilant Fire Co. No. 1 lead a parade of fire trucks, ambulances and honor guards down West Market Street in York City on Saturday, they will have 225 years of history behind them. At least Vigilant Fire Co. Captain Robert Ditzel expects his engines in the parade. But if a fire breaks out, they will be off fighting it.
"You have to put the priorities first," Ditzel said.
The company will hold its 225th anniversary in conjunction with the 93rd York County Firefighter's Association Convention this weekend. The company has come a long way since it responded to fires with an engine men had to carry to the blaze. Men pumped a bellows to spray the water out while a bucket brigade filled the water tank, Ditzel said.
No one is sure when the company was formed because floods destroyed detailed records, but an 1876 history of the company said it started as the Union Fire Co. sometime between 1778 and 1781. Members voted in 1816 to change the name to the York Vigilant Fire Co.
"I'm going to stick my arm, neck and half my leg out and say we are probably one of the oldest in the county of York," Ditzel said.
But it's not the oldest in the area. Union Co. in Carlisle just had its 225th as well, he said.
A sense of history: Ditzel has been absorbing the company's history ever since he became a member of Explorer Post 610 at the age of 13, enjoying stories about the Vigilant's rivalry with the Laurel Fire Co. at King and Duke streets. What is now a friendly rivalry with the Laurel company was once serious, he said, as each company sought to defend its turf.
Laurel would "spook our horses when we went on calls," Ditzel said.
"They would disconnect our hoses when we went into their area."
The Vigilant company was the first in the city to use horses to draw its engines in 1876, Ditzel said. That's what the company was using when it battled a massive blaze at York Carriage Works in 1904.
Firefighters continued to work even as the walls of the building began to crumble, The York Dispatch reported at the time. Five Vigilant firefighters were buried as the building's south wall collapsed; three were killed.
Also in 1904, the company responded to a fire in Baltimore that consumed dozens of city blocks. The Vigilant and the rival Laurel fire company were honored last year for their contribution during the blaze.
Motorized in 1913: The Vigilant company entered the motorized era with an engine in 1913, Ditzel said. Now the station has two massive fire trucks, which the Volunteer Firefighter Association raised money for in 2001.
The Vigilant company is made up of career and volunteer firefighters. Like most companies, it is hurting for volunteers and city support, but has persevered. Ditzel named city volunteer fire companies that had continued operating even after the city closed their stations to save money.
"It's something that I look at, that I'm proud of, to continue 225 years of volunteerism," Ditzel said. "... It's what makes the York City Fire Department very, very unique."
History books about the company list names of Vigilant firefighters who have gone on to become city council members, county commissioners and judges.
"I think that being a member of a company is to learn the nostalgia, the history of your company," Ditzel said. "Regardless of what company you're a member of."
