1943 - A toddler playing with matches catches the
curtains on fire in the upstairs room of the Sturgeon
Hotel (then located on Main Street across from the
current fire hall parking lot). Fire departments from
four adjacent communities respond to the fire and using
the water from the nearby Robinson Run Creek, fight
desperately to control the blaze. When it is all said
and done, an entire block of Main Street burns to the
ground leaving ten families, 35 people in all, homeless.
The conflagration is one of the top stories in the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette the following day.-p>
1946 - After the nation settles back into a sense of
normalcy following WWII, a group of men from the town
come together realizing the need for fire protection in
Sturgeon and other small communities bordering the town.
Using a donated old 1929 American LaFrance pumper from
Dravosburg Fire Department, the Sturgeon Volunteer Fire
Department is formed. The truck is housed under a tarp
in what is now the Lemon Tree parking lot.
Later in the year a Studebaker truck from the early 40’s
that was used to collect garbage in Cuddy is purchased
and retrofitted with the pump and equipment from the
American LaFrance. The Studebaker will be the only truck
the department has for the next 5 years.
1947 - The members charter as the second fire department
in South Fayette Township and begin constructing a
permanent home in the footprint of the 1943 disaster.
The new double bay garage will not be complete until
1948.
When there was an emergency, the switchboard connected
the caller with either Hajduk’s Bar (now the Lemon Tree)
or Rank’s General Store (now Hunners Deli). Depending on
who got the call, John Hajduk or Gaston Rank takes the
information and triggers an old air raid siren on the
roof of the store. The members hear the siren and,
meeting at the station, call to get the information.
Then they respond where needed.
A weekly bingo is started to generate revenue for the
department and is held on the third floor of the Eagles
Club (now the apartments at 7621 Noblestown Road). At
the time, there is no bridge at the Noblestown end of
Main Street and the townspeople coming to play have to
cross a small foot bridge near the club.
1948 - With the new garage complete, Bingo is now moved
from the Eagles Club. Each week, the truck is moved from
the garage and tables set up for the players.
1949 - The department begins holding an annual fireman’s
fair at the field of the town baseball team. The field
is located on Noblestown Road between Main Street and
Station Street just past where Allegheny Golf Cart
Rentals is located today. Due to a heavy rain that
turned the field to mud, the fair is only held there for
the first year and then moved to the lot next to the
station.
1952 - The first of what would be two brand new Mack
open cab fire engines is purchased.
1954 - The second twin of the open cab Mack’s is
purchased. This truck (later referred to by members as
"the Old Mack") continues to respond to fires until the
late 1980's when it is finally retired after shuttling
water to a large barn fire on North Road.
The siren on Rank’s store is replaced with a new siren
that is mounted on a pole at the station. The new siren
is still sounded from either the bar or the store. The
old store siren can still be seen today. Only now, it
has been replaced with a newer model siren, but
was used to alert the firefighters of Cecil V.F.D #3 on
Millers Run Road up until the early 2000's.
1958 - A new Chevrolet Apache panel truck is purchased
as a squad to help carry additional firefighters that
can not fit on the twin Mack’s.
1964 - Members begin building onto the garage a social
hall complete with kitchen, bathrooms and an office. It
isn’t completed until 1966.
1971 - After twenty four years of being alerted by Ranks
General Store (Hajduk’s Bar has since been replaced),
the department now begins to be dispatched by KGD664
radio base out of Kane Hospital in Scott Township. The
members now call via a base radio in the garage and
respond as KEX215 Unit 34. Sturgeon VFD begins going by
Station 34. The siren was set off by a set of radio tones
that KGD664 sends out. These radio tones are the same
that trigger the siren today.
The department begins holding a parade during the annual
fair.
1972 - An addition is built onto the social hall that
includes a stage, a bar, an additional office, and a
foyer.
The first of the twin Mack’s which have been in service
together for eighteen years is sold to Canton Township
Fire Department to make way for a brand new 1972
Seagrave pumper.
1974 - A new Dodge ambulance style van is purchased to
replace the Chevrolet Apache.
1978 - The 74’ Dodge begins being used to provide
ambulance service for the local area.
1979 - The department now begins being dispatched by
Control 6 radio base out of the North Fayette Township
Building.
1980 - A second brand new Seagrave pumper is purchased
and the 54' Mack becomes a reserve engine used for
parades and larger fires. Up until now, all the trucks
have been red. The new truck is now a yellow-green.
1988 - Members build a trussed roof above the old flat
roof of the garage and social hall. Within the trusses,
a meeting room, small kitchen, bathrooms, chief’s
office, and large storage area are housed.
1989 - A pavilion is built in the rear lot to house
bingo during the annual fair. Before that, a large
carnival tent was rented each year.
1991 - After seventeen years of service, the Dodge
ambulance is retired and a new Medtec Type III modular
ambulance is purchased to continue the need for
ambulance service in the area. It is the first vehicle
to have the color scheme of all the department’s trucks
today, white with blue and grey striping.
1993 - The pavilion that was built four years prior is
enclosed and turned into a three bay garage. It is still
used to hold the annual fair’s bingo, but talks begin
about turning it into a new garage to alleviate the
crowded conditions of the original double bay garage.
1995 - A Ford F350 4X4 extended cab pickup is purchased
as a squad.
1996 - After sitting under a tarp for nearly a decade,
the 54’ Mack is sold to a private owner. It still sits
today in a garage on Robinson Highway just outside of
McDonald.
1997 - The department, celebrating 50 years of service,
hosts the Allegheny County Fireman’s Convention during
its annual fair.
1998 - Due to the townships contracting out ambulance
service to Southbridge EMS and Central EMS, the need for
the department to run an ambulance vanishes. After 20
years of providing BLS service for the area, the 91’
Medtec is sold and a new era of running QRS (quick
response service) begins. The squad begins responding
QRS out of the utility box on the bed of the truck.
Allegheny County now begins its countywide 911 system.
After twenty seven years as Station 34, Sturgeon VFD now
becomes known as Allegheny County Station 267 and begins
being dispatched out of the 911 center in Point Breeze.
1999 - After twenty seven years of service, the 72’
Seagrave is sold to make way for a new Pierce Saber
engine. This is the department’s first engine with an
enclosed cab, new color scheme, and new station number.
After nearly fifty years of holding the annual fair, the
membership decides to no longer hold it due to the
waning interest of the community and the large amount of
work involved for minimal profit.
2000 - Because of a lack of space, the department begins
responding out of both the original garage and the
pavilion garage in back.
2002 - The 95’ squad is converted to a light rescue with
a new rescue body in place of the bed. It carries
equipment for QRS and for rescue calls including vehicle
extrication tools. The department becomes state
certified to run QRS.
2003 - An in-house refurbishment project begins on the
80’ Seagrave including rewiring, new emergency lights,
and a white paint job with blue-gray striping and
lettering to match the other trucks. The refurbishment
is not complete until 2004.
2004 - Thanks to a federal grant, a new Scott air
trailer is purchased complete with compressor,
generator, and Revolvair technology. Air 267 begins
providing mutual aid to many of the surrounding
departments.
2005 - Construction begins on a new garage in the rear
lot to accommodate the growing 267 fleet. It is an
addition that connects the existing building with the
old pavilion garage in the back lot. The new garage has
two drive-through engine bays, bays for the rescue and
air trailer, an additional bay for the future purchase
of a squad, and a utility bay. The new garage also adds
a twenty seat classroom and communications room to the
station. Construction is complete in five months and the
ribbon cutting ceremony is held in June.
2006 - A new Ford F350 4X4 pickup with crew cab and
utility bed is purchased as a personnel carrier and to
haul the air trailer. It is also equipped as a backup
QRS and brush truck with brush brooms, a chainsaw, and
Indian packs.
2007 - With a year over year increase in QRS calls and a
growing desire within the department to provide a higher
level of medical services, the department acquires the
neccesary equipment to become a PA State Certified Quick
Response Service
2008 - After 28 years of service, the 80’ Seagrave is
sold to West Polk Fire in Kentucky and a 2001 E-One
rescue engine is purchased from Company Two Fire
Apparatus in South Carolina. The truck is a Mississippi
survivor of hurricane Katrina and along with becoming
the second-out engine, it is used for vehicle rescue, RIT,
and standby responses.
2010 - After sixty three years, the weekly bingo is shut
down do to a decline in players resulting from the
Allegheny County smoking ban and the opening of local casinos.
The department becomes a state certified fire service.
2012 - A 2004 Ford F550 with American LaFrance rescue
body is purchased from Barnard Fire District in Greece,
New York to replace the 95’ Ford and provide more space
for the growing amount of rescue equipment. The 95’ is
sold to Kirwin Heights Fire Department in Collier
Township and the new truck is used to respond to QRS as
well as vehicle, water, and rope rescue calls.
The department becomes a state certified rescue company.
2013 - The department purchases a replacement emergency siren. The previous siren experienced constant failures and a more reliable siren was needed. The new siren alerts responders of emergencies and allows the town advance notice that emergency apparatus will soon be on the road.
Present Day - Sturgeon Volunteer Fire / Rescue
Department strives to provide excellence in life and
property protection services