Seelyville Volunteer Fire Company

The Seelyville Volunteer Fire Company was chartered in 1904 in the little town of Seelyville, Pennsylvania.

It was first started with just a hand cart that was used in case of a fire, as it carried buckets.

It was created to provide protection to the town of Seelyville and to assist neighboring townships, boroughs, and towns as well as other counties if needed.

The Fire Hall was a two story building that housed a single piece of apparatus. The second floor was a dance hall where dances would be held but also meetings.

In the 1930's the Hall housed a Chevy Pumper Engine to help with fire suppression.

In 1948 the Fire Hall was demolished by the Flood. The whole building was taken down as well as many memories being washed away.

Soon after a new building would be built to house the single piece of apparatus that was used for fire suppression in the town of Seelyville as well as the borough of Prompton and the towns of Honesdale and Waymart, but also its sister company White-Mills.

The building this time would be a one story block building that contained a hall where the truck was stored as well as containing a kitchen and a meeting room.

In 1960's it housed a new International Pumper for fire suppression to the community.

In years to come the Fire Company added onto the building moving the truck bays to the front of the building which would now house two pieces of fire apparatus. It would house an Engine and a newly acquired Tanker in the 70's.

The Fire company was now a two truck company that could supply even more assistance to fellow fire companies, and it was not limited to just the county of Wayne. The new Tanker was called on occasion to help with water supply to neighboring counties.

In 1991 The Company received a brand new Pierce Engine to replace their ageing Engine. This new Engine would be put into service to help with fire suppression as well as motor vehicle accidents. The 69' International was then sold.

In 1997 the Fire Company would welcome the newest piece of apparatus with open arms. The company purchased a 1975 lime green squad/rescue truck to assist with motor vehicle accidents. At this time the Fire hall still only had a two bay garage but now had three pieces of equipment. The Firemen would squeeze its three pieces of equipment into the small garage.

This vehicle would also house the JAWS of life used to extricate people out of vehicles in severe car accidents.

At this time they new that they would need a bigger building and they put bids out for another truck bay to be added onto the existing building. Soon after the completion, the Fire Co. had much appreciated room for their three pieces of equipment as well as a much larger meeting room.

As the years went on the equipment became obsolete just as everything else does. So in 2000 the Fire Company put a committee together to start looking into getting a new tanker for the Fire Company.

The Company dealt with Central States Company. In the year of 2002 a member flew to South Dakota to pick up the truck and deliver it back to the Fire Company. The Company now, with open arms again, welcomed their new sophisticated and more modern Tanker. This truck would be put into service with the capabilities of holding 2,000 gallons of water, the ability to be used as an attack Engine, Supply truck, and water supplier.

With the new truck here and in service the old tanker would end up being sold to Leeward Construction and still has Seelyville Fire Co. written on the side of it. It is used to haul water from conmstruction site to construction site.

In the year of 2004 the Fire Co. and its members of old and new would celebrate 100 years of community service to its communities. There was a dedication ceremony held to honor 3 members of the armed forces and the Fire Co. as well as a celebration party for the Firemen and the community that many people attended. This was a welcome sight to the Firemen which showed how much they were appreciated by the community as well as how much they are still needed.

In 2005 the Fire Co. new that their Rescue truck was getting old and plans were set in motion to get a committee together to look into getting a new truck. In 2006 the company agreed to a contract with Sutphen East Co. on the production of a new Rescue truck. The company purchased a GMC 3500 cab and chassis and sent it to Sutphen East for the custom body to be put on it.

Production of this truck took a year to complete and the Fire Company received the truck in the summer of 2006. The truck was put into service swiftly to give the best response time as well as the best protection to the people in the area.

The Rescue contains a 200 gallon tank, as well as a 25 gallon foam tank. It holds a 750 gpm pump to be used as an attack engine if needed. It houses an O-cutter on one side and the Jaws-of-life on the other.

Reluctantly the Fire Co. would put the old Rescue up for sale just as the old Tanker. The Firemen though, would not let it go without making sure that it was thanked for the years of service they received from it and the hard work it did. This truck was thanked but was obsolete just like the Tanker before it.

The Fire Company now houses a 1991 Pierce Engine, 2006 Sutphen East GMC 3500 Rescue Truck, and a 2002 Central States Tanker.

In the Fall of 2009 the company again put a committee together to start discussions on the replacement of the 1991 Pierce Engine.

In the Winter of 2009 the Company settled on plans from Pierce for a new Engine. Production on the new Engine started quickly. Pierce took only 5 months to complete and deliver the new piece of apparatus to the men and women of the Seelyville Fire Co. The Company recieved the New Kenworth Cab and Chasis with a custom Pierce body at the end of March 2009. The new Pierce Engine holds 1000 gallons of water with a 1250 gpm pump. It can hold 5 members and is 36 feet long. The new truck is a much needed upgrade from the 1991 Pierce Engine with its more compartments and compartment space as well as power to pull hills.

Pierce took the 1991 Engine as part of a trade and it is now located in a Wyoming Fire Dept. The Engine will be missed greatly and did not owe the Fire Company, nor the men and women who worked with it anything, it worked hard to complete its tasks and will be missed. Fortunately the new Engine will do what it needs to in order to replace the old Engine and will for years to come, as it is state of the art and is what it needed to help protect the community of Seelyville, Texas Township, and thier neighboring companies.

The 2002 Central States Tanker was damaged during a structure fire in Dyberry Township. The truck was sold and repaired and now serves a Fire Company in Iowa. A new tanker was purchased Through Pierce. It is a Freightliner cab and chasis with a custom body from Pierce. It contains 2100 gallons of water with a 1000 gpm waterous pump, with 2 crosslays, a internal hose reel with 1" forestry line.

The Fire Company now houses 3 state of the art pieces of Equipment, a 2007 Sutphen East GMC 3500 Rescue, a 2010 Pierce Kenworth Engine, and a 2015 Pierce Freightliner Tanker.

The members have been able to serve and protect the community of Seelyville as well as Texas Township for over a hundred years because of its dedicated members and its dedicated community members. Because of all of your donations we have been able to protect the people in our local areas with the best equipment available. Your donations are greatly appreciated. And please, support your local VOLUNTEER fire companies as much as possible.