History of BTVFC

The founding: 1946–1949

The Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company was formed in 1946 by a group of Civil Defense wardens, a volunteer group established for civil protection. This group wanted to provide fire protection to residents of the Township. The group first met at the Wilson School at 2nd & Linden Streets in the Miller Heights section of Bethlehem Township.

Black-and-white photo of the brick Bethlehem Township fire station with vintage fire trucks and cars parked out front

The founders successfully met the many challenges faced in the early years of the company, addressing issues such as where to locate the station, how to raise the funds necessary to support the company, and how to obtain the first fire truck.

In 1949, the property was purchased, and a station was erected at 1919 8th St. An important function of the fire department in the early days was the delivery of water to the residents to fill their cisterns.

Red Mack fire trucks and a red and white ambulance lined up outside the station, with a member in white coveralls

The 1950s: ambulance service begins

The Bethlehem Township Volunteers were pioneers. In 1956, after some of the firemen took the initiative to learn first aid, the company began to provide ambulance service. The men wore white coveralls when responding on the ambulance. At that time women were not allowed to serve. Early records show the ambulance responded to a handful of calls per month in the early days.

Three members in white coveralls standing beside a red and white ambulance

The 1960s: the Macks arrive

The company, with the assistance of the Township, purchased two Mack fire trucks in the early 1960s. One truck was a pumper (1962 Mack B-85); the other was a rescue truck (1964 Mack B-42). These trucks served the department and the residents of the Township for many years. The pumper was retired in the late 1980s and the rescue truck served until 2008.

The 1970s: Northampton County’s first paramedics

Another first occurred in the mid-1970s. Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company became the first paramedic service in Northampton County. The residents of the Township now had the finest in emergency care available before they arrived at the hospital. In addition to oxygen and other basic items, the ambulance now carried advanced equipment, including medications, a heart defibrillator, and radios that allowed the paramedics to speak directly to the emergency room physician.

The fire/rescue side of the company added the “jaws of life” to the trucks during this time as well. Now, victims of car accidents who were trapped could be rescued from the car faster than they could be using hand tools. The department was providing state-of-the-art emergency services to the community.

The brick fire station with its siren tower and flags, and two apparatus bay doors

The 1980s: Medic I and a new pumper

The 1980s continued to show growth for the organization. The ambulance service expanded with the start of the Medic I project, which joined the forces of numerous agencies in Northampton County. The Chevy Suburban vehicle was housed at Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company, but the staffing came from each of the agencies involved. The original agencies were Allen Township, East Allen Township, Bath, Moore Township, Hecktown, Hanover, Suburban, Williams Township, Dewey, and Se-Wy-Co.

The rescue truck was sent out for refurbishment; little did anyone know it would be more than two years before it returned to service. The vendor chosen to refurbish the vehicle experienced a fire after the rescue truck arrived at their location. Fortunately, the truck was not at the vendor’s location at the time of the fire. Every Monday night for more than two years we would hear Rescue 228 reported out of service.

A committee was started to begin the process of specifying a new pumper for the company. In 1989 we placed the new pumper (1989 Mack CF) in service. This ended the days of riding on the tailboard of the trucks to the call.

Black-and-white photo of a crew in white coveralls and helmets moving a patient on a stretcher beside a Lower Nazareth Township truck

The 1990s: Station 17

The station number changed from 225 to 17 in the 1990s as we joined the rest of the county in using four digits to identify apparatus. The “mini” (1975 Dodge) was replaced in 1996 with a new four-man cab truck that had fire and rescue capabilities.

The rescue truck purchased in the 1960s was getting tired, so another committee was appointed to specify a new rescue truck. The new rescue truck 1741 (1999 Freightliner) was placed into service in 1999. The old rescue truck became a specialty truck used for trench rescue.

Black-and-white photo of men in suits seated inside an ambulance patient compartment, beside a stretcher and equipment cabinets

The EMS side also saw new vehicles purchased during this decade. We went from the traditional ambulance to a new International chassis. The ambulances were now trucks and had an air-ride suspension. The volume of ambulance calls forced the company to employ EMS staff; we could no longer rely on an all-volunteer ambulance crew.

The 2000s: a new station and answering the nation’s call

The new century brought some old and some new challenges to the organization. The vehicle fleet stabilized, and membership was also fairly stable. We outgrew the old station, and it was decided to build a new one. The best location for the station was 1919 8th St., our home since 1949. For one year we were stationed at the Coolidge Building at 5th & Orth Streets, the former municipal building.

Black-and-white photo of firefighters in turnout gear posing with an early Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company engine

No one was prepared for the events of September 11, 2001, when the USA was attacked by terrorists on our own soil. The members of Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company wanted to help, just as everyone across the nation did. Seventeen members responded to New York City the afternoon of September 11. Our members were staged at Fort Lee High School in New Jersey for the night and were sent to Ground Zero on the morning of September 12. Although our services were not used in New York, our team was proud to be there to offer aid. The fire company had never seen the kind of widespread support it received in the months following September 11.

Black-and-white photo of members riding a parade float with signs reading “Always Ready to Serve You” and “Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Co.”

Another major disaster occurred in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. One of our ambulances was deployed to the New Orleans region as part of the strike team from the Eastern PA EMS Council.

2011 and beyond: room to grow

Our services continue to expand, as does the Township. For this reason, we purchased the house and property next door to the station to allow for expansion. On January 1, 2011, we moved into the new wing of the station, which will allow us to grow for many years to come. We made it a classic fire station by adding a pole from the second floor to the truck bay. The building has a training room, communications room, sleeping quarters, office space, and meeting rooms.

At the time, our fleet had grown to two pumpers, a heavy rescue, a brush/rescue truck, two pickup trucks that can tow the boat, four-wheeler, or gator, a command vehicle, and an operations vehicle, along with six advanced life support ambulances and the Medic 1 truck. See our current fleet on the Apparatus page.

Black-and-white photo of a large, bus-style Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company ambulance parked inside the station

From the vision of the Civil Defense wardens to the multifaceted fire company of today, we are the Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Company.