If you have lived in the township for a while, you have probably heard the fire truck sirens blast through your neighborhood at least a hundred times. The Lower Merion Township Fire Department is crucial to protecting the general public from dangerous fires, gas leaks, and other life-threatening situations. There are many fire departments that have been spread throughout the area, including the Narberth Fire Company, which serves the Narberth area.
What is more interesting to know about the firefighters is that there are students from LMSD who volunteer to risk their lives for the sake of saving lives and putting out fires. For example, Emmett Varrone ’25 is one student from LM who works at the Narberth Fire Company and who put out the fire for a demonstration. “It’s pretty fun!” said Varrone. “I think it’s a really good opportunity for high schoolers to do something good for the community. I’m also trying to build a career out of it. Some members of my family are first responders, so I wanted to keep the tradition going.”
Recently, there was an open house and a demonstration on how the Narberth Fire Company responds to fire calls.
“Some weeks we have only three calls,” Varrone said, “but last week we had eighteen calls, including the fire in Suburban Square that happened on Sunday,” referring to the fire on October 20.
The open house started with a hands-on experience inside the station. Participants were able to go into the fire trucks and see what it’s like inside. When I went inside, I was surprised by all of the equipment firefighters have in the seats themselves. There are oxygen tanks inside and a system that provides fresh air when there is too much smoke in the area.
“We can carry multiple tools, from axes, 500 feet of hose, and 750 gallons of water,” says Varrone. “And all that water gets spewed out at 1500 gallons per minute. Pretty impressive, but important.”
After half an hour, a fire was reported in a large dollhouse right next to the fire department. There was no time for waiting. The fire department took action as every firefighter dressed in their suits and set off with the fire trucks racing around the block with sirens blaring. Varrone was ready to take action. “The calls are the really fun part!” claims Varrone. “You get to ride on the firetrucks and respond to different situations.”
Shortly after the trucks arrived, Varrone and his crew unleashed the hose and blasted water onto the house. It was heartwarming to see Varrone helping all the kids use the hose to put out the fire themselves.
When asked about the experience, Varrone excitedly explained, “These children can learn how we save the general public, do our jobs, and who doesn’t like firetrucks?”
The ladder truck also arrived at the scene with its ladder fully extended and mounted by a fireman waving to the kids. Shortly after, the fire was put out, the trucks got refilled with water, and Varrone and the firefighters saved the day! Later that night, I talked to Varrone about what his goals as a firefighter would be. “My goal is to get forty years out of this career and hopefully a good life out of it. Most people want to go to college, but I want to serve my community right away, and it’s much more fun than staying up at 3:00 a.m. doing excessive homework.”
Being a firefighter is an important job, and this open house has shown everyone the amount of work they put into keeping the community safe.
