When a group of 45 men gathered back in 1901, they did so with a mind to protect their West Reading neighbors.
They founded what would become known as the West Reading Fire Department with little more than a horse-drawn wagon and a hand-pumped hose, which they stored in a rented space.
But what they lacked in equipment, they made up for with dedication to their community.
Over the years the department grew and changed. Horses turned into fire engines, hand-pumps turned into fire hydrants. The department now has its own roomy home with scads of high-tech equipment and gear.
“Though all that changed, one thing hasn’t changed,” department President and past Chief Mark Burkholder said Saturday afternoon. “And that’s the people.”
The volunteers who make up the department today share the convictions of its founders, he said. They give of themselves, putting themselves in danger’s way to aid others.
The dedication that has always been found in the department was celebrated Saturday as emergency responders, local officials and community members celebrated its 125th anniversary.
“It says a lot about you that you’re willing to do this, to volunteer,” state Sen. Judy Schwank said, adding that she is proud to include the department in the area she represents.
Schwank said the department does a tough job, responding to calls in a densely populated borough. And in order to do it well, she said, they train and practice with zeal.
“You take this so seriously, you do your work to the upmost,” she said. “You are good citizens doing the work that needs to be done.”
West Reading firefighter and mayor Samantha Kaag speaks during the West Reading Fire Co. No. 1 125th anniversary and housing ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 223 Playground Dr. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
West Reading Mayor Samantha Kaag said she was proud to celebrate the fact that 125 years ago people thought the borough was as important and in need of protection as she and other borough leaders do today.
Borough Council member Denise Drobnick marveled at the volunteers gathered for the ceremony, saying they have her undying gratitude.
“I’m in awe of volunteers of all types because volunteers are hard to come by, let alone ones willing to put their lives at risk,” she said.
And the community knows it is made better because of their efforts, Drobnick said.
“They remember who cares about them, who saves them,” she said. “And that’s you. I don’t know what we would do without you.”
Spectators and firefighters raise their hands in a blessing of the 2025 Ford F250 emergency truck and the 2022 Spartan fire engine by Rev. Bruce Osterhout during the West Reading Fire Co. No. 1 125th anniversary and housing ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 223 Playground Dr. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Along with celebrating 125 years, Saturday’s event served to welcome two new pieces of equipment into the fold.
Chief Chad Moyer presented a pair of vehicles — a 2022 Spartan engine and a 2025 Ford F-250 utility truck — for an official housing ceremony.
Moyer said the ceremony, in which firefighters push new vehicles into the firehouse, recalls the era when the department was founded. Back then, horses weren’t able to back up to push the pump carts back into the firehouse, so the crews had to do it by hand.
Both vehicles are filled with bells and whistles. They were made specifically to meet the department’s needs, giving firefighters everything they need to safety do their jobs, the chief said.
“But an apparatus is only as good as the crew inside of it,” he added.
Following his remarks, a pair of bottles of champagne wrapped in blue towels were smacked against each of the new vehicles, breaking with loud pops and cracks. Members of the department then pushed them inside their new home, where they let their sirens blare in celebration.
The bell from the original firehouse hangs outside the West Reading Fire Co. No. 1 125th anniversary and housing ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at 223 Playground Dr. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)