Other individuals and businesses donate money at times to support the department. One resident in Liberty Township does volunteer work for the department and through the PPG Foundation he has the opportunity to raise money for the fire department. They apply for grants from the Ohio State Fire Marshall’s office and a Federal Assistance to Firefighters grant and have received both. Sometimes other departments will host training on various subjects for all volunteer fire departments, for example, burning an old house. Firefighters must complete 18 hours continuing education every year and re-certification every three years. ![]() They have since purchased a second set to update the obsolete tool. Originally, the sheriff had the only set of hydraulic cutting tools, but Liberty saw the need and was the first volunteer department in the county to have a set of their own. Liberty Township was one of the first volunteer fire departments in the county to start the medical program. They have a large building with four bays and four trucks - one equipped with rescue and medical equipment, a brush truck for field and small fires, a pumper with 1,000 gallons of water and firefighting equipment, and a 3,000 gallon Pierce Tanker purchased in 2016. Liberty VFD has two meetings each month, one business and one for training. They get water from a farm ponds by using dry hydrants that were installed in some farm ponds by the fire department. Anytime EMS responds to 911 calls in Liberty and Sandusky townships, Liberty Township VFD responds also. Now all volunteers use the pager system controlled at the sheriff’s office and all 911 calls and text messages are sent to them. When they got a call, firemen set off the Plectrons from the truck and then transmitted a message where the emergency was located. Chief Rick said now “one turn out gear, head to toe, costs $2,600,” and they have 25 current volunteer firemen to outfit.Įd said eventually they used a Motorola Plectron with an Encoder in the truck. Ed said when he got in the fire department, the standard issues included hip boots, rubber coat and helmet. They added the meeting room, kitchen and restroom, all paid for by festival income or raised by the Fire Department Associationįire Chief Rick Harley and fireman Ed Foght have served Liberty Township VFD for the longest number of years and shared their history here. The current Liberty Township Festival that is held in July began at the firehouse in 1985 with a full food menu, drinks, bands and raffle. They held festivals in the late ’50s and early ’60s that included food, drink, games and live performances by the New Washington band and others.ĭuring the 1983 Sulphur Springs Sesquicentennial celebration, they served brats, French fries, beer and other items. Their township tax base is the main income for the fire department, but the firemen’s festival is the major moneymaker to purchase additional equipment. ![]() ![]() The Liberty VFD has a great working relationship with the township trustees. The first emergency run was a burning asphalt truck that had exploded on Stetzer Road. They dialed zero on a rotary phone that set the siren off, so firemen around town could hear and respond. Their first call was on a “fire phone system,” when someone needed help they called the fire number and it rang into those homes with a long continuous ring until the volunteer answered. The year was 1948 and the first volunteers under Chief Daniel Long were Elwood Dehays Ralph Brause Alvin Regula Walter Haynes Carl Stuckman Ray Heiby Ivan Pfahler Jay and John Wagner John Striker Carl Light Ralph Darr Ralph Phillips Rich Pfleiderer Kermit Kibler Robert Stewart John Hieber Jay Smith Robert Harley Fritz Layer Ralph Brause Kenny Reefy Fritz Baumgartner Bud Zaebst and John Heiber. Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department has come a long way since its first truck, a 1948/49 International, lumbered out of a two-stall garage in Sulphur Springs.
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