In 1893, a group of men realizing the need for a fire company in Walnutport met in the George Roth Saloon and the Diamond Fire Company was organized. The organization received their charter in 1896. The company's first quarters were on South Canal Street where the meetings were held and the chemical fire wagon which members pulled was kept.
In 1902, the company bought land at Main and Washington Streets for the sum of $601. In 1910, construction of our fire company began and in November 1911, the first meeting of the Diamond Fire Company was held on the completed first floor. Countless hours of unselfish time was given by members to defray the cost of the building, but still a $3,000 mortgage was needed. Electricity to the company was furnished by the Citizen's Electric Company of Walnutport, which was located between the Lehigh River and the canal, north of Main Street, at a cost of fifty cents a month.
In November 1912, the H.J. Feldhedge Silk Manufacturing Company requested to rent the unfinished second floor for a silkmill and they would install a stairway, floor, steam heating plant and furnish heat to the company at no charge in return for the use of the premises for five years. This was agreed upon by members and a five year contract was signed at $15 per month the first year and $25 per month the last four years. The silk company leased the second floor in 1917 for ten years at $35 per month and they built the annex to the first floor at no cost to the company.
In 1913, Town Council started holding their meetings in the fire company and a two cell "lock up" was installed in the basement of the company.
In September 1915, a 48-inch "Hymer" bell was installed at the fire company at a cost of $156 for the bell. The bell was used as a fire alarm until the early 1940's when a siren was installed.
The mortgage of the fire company was paid off in April 1918 and mortgage burning ceremonies were held on February 22, 1919.
In January 1922, the company signed an agreement with Lewis Sauerwine of Slatington to install their chemical apparatus on a one ton Ford with pneumatic tires, electric starter, generator and battery at a cost of $1,150.21.
In 1923, the newly organized Walnutport State Bank moved into the fire company. They leased their operations from the fire company until April 1978 when they moved to the intersection of Route 145 and Main Street in the Borough of Walnutport.
In 1946, the company purchased a 1946 Mack 500 gallon pumper which is shown in the center with the three Slatington fire companies.
In June of 1963, a new American LaFrance 1000 G.P.M. custom pumper was purchased at a cost of $31,000. From 1963 until June of 1969 the American LaFrance and Mack pumpers served the community. In June of 1969 the Mack truck was sold to Robert Martin of Martin Volkswagon to be kept as an antique. An American LaFrance Pioneer truck was then purchased for $24,000. It was sold in the early part of 1983. The American LaFrance 1000 G.P.M. custom pumper is pictured below along with Chief Wentz and Assistant Chief Merkle.
Our social quarters were organized in the early 1930's when we received our license. In June of 1962, due to an income tax problem, we received our charter as the Diamond Fire Company Home Association. Our social quarters were remodeled in 1964 and the hall on the second floor, which had been used for dances, bingo and wedding receptions in the past, was remodeled in February of 1968.
Seeing a need for a new social hall, on December 30, 1976 the apartment building located west of our original premises was purchased.
In April 1977 the apartment building was demolished and in October 1977 ground was broken to begin building our new social hall. The shell of this brick-front aluminum frame hall, which seats close to 1000 people, was erected at a cost of $98,000. Several thousand dollars additional was added to the interior of the building which is centrally air conditioned and includes a kitchen and a small office.
After several years of thought, discussion and investigation, the decision to begin purchasing some new equipment was made. Our community was growing rapidly. The addition of a shopping mall, a new housing development and several eating establishments within the Borough of Walnutport, led us to believe that a ladder truck could be utilized in our community. In light of the aforementioned, in May of 1981, a 75-foot American LaFrance Water Chief ladder truck with a 1500 G.P.M. pump was purchased at a cost of $161,000. This vehicle was built in Elmira, New York.
In November 1982, the company spent $127,000 to obtain an American LaFrance/Saulsbury 3200 gallon tanker to handle the community's water problem. This vehicle was built in Tully, New York.
Because we had acquired those two trucks, we found it necessary to purchase a 1982 Chevrolet diesel step van to be used as an equipment truck to carry the equipment needed to perform sufficiently when called to a fire. The cost of this equipment truck was $20,000.
Now that we had the ladder truck, the problem of where to house it was solved by building a garage alongside the borough public works garage at the rear of our new social hall. A new garage was also added to our original garage to house the new tanker and equipment truck.
The poor condition of the original building brought the decision to renovate the facility. Weather had caused wear and tear on the bricks, and upon putting an addition to the building, a large crack appeared. The building received a facelift in 1982. In addition to the white brick stucco, new windows were installed on the second floor to improve the appearance of the building and two large picture windows were changed on the first floor in the front of the building. Between the sidewalks and the building on Main Street there is a brick wall with shrubbery and flowers. The surrounding lots were also blacktopped in 1982.
In 1983, a Chevrolet/Saulsbury 4-wheel drive mini-pumper was purchased to enable off-road firefighting at a cost of $56,000. This vehicle was built in Tully, New York.
In 1986, due to the high cost of a new pumper, it was decided to refurbish our 1963 American LaFrance pumper. It was completed at a cost of $110,000. The work was done by American LaFrance Service Center in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.
Due to the need for a larger fire station, ground was broken in September of 1990. We moved into the 85' x 102' fire station on April 2, 1992. Most of the work was done ourselves including all painting, insulation, wall studs, paneling, ceiling, doors and staining of the wood trim. It took longer than expected but, it was well worth it. The building's cost, including contents, cost over $350,00.00.
The station was built because of the need for a larger facility to house our fire apparatus, training space, maintenance area, bathrooms, storage areas and office space. All we had prior were 2 garage bays housing four pieces of apparatus and our tanker was housed in a garage by the borough public works garage.
The new fire station also features:
Due to the large number of vehicle accidents in our area, the "Jaws of Life" was purchased with the help of local civic organizations, businesses, and legislative initiative grants. This system was placed in service October of 1994 and has been beneficial on numerous occasions in the Northern Lehigh area. Now having the "Jaws of Life" rescue system, a larger vehicle was needed to carry this equipment to better serve the Walnutport and Northern Lehigh area. On July 26, 1995, we received our new Rescue-Pumper that was built by Saulsbury Fire Apparatus in Preable, New York. The cost was $370,000.00.
On June 21 & 22, 1996 we hosted the 99th Four County Firemen's Convention and Parade. At this time we dedicated our 1995 Spartan/Saulsbury Rescue-Pumper to Kelton "Kelly" Wentz for his hard work and dedication.
In May of 1999 we obtained a 1970/86 AMC General 6X6 from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry at no cost. After extensive refurbishing by our personnel at a cost of $9,000, this brush vehicle was placed into service in May of 2000.
Also in May of 2000, the 1963/86 American LaFrance pumper and 1981 American LaFrance 75' Water Chief were sold to Elkland Fire Department in Tioga County, Pennsylvania for $150,000 ($30,000 for the pumper and $120,000 for the ladder).
In September 2003, Attack 2971 became QRS certified by the Eastern Pennsylvania EMS Council.
In October of 2003 the 1982 American LaFrance/Saulsbury tanker was refurbished by Swab Wagon Company in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania for $32,405. New side dumps were added along with additional lighting.
We received Rescue Certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Health in August of 2005.
To replace our aging 1982 squad truck, in January of 2006 we purchased a used 1993 International/Swab rescue truck from Macungie Fire Company at a cost of $65,000. Additional work at a cost of $22,649 was done and the truck was put into service in May 2007.
In March of 2007 the 1982 squad truck was sold for $5,000 to Walnutport Authority to be used as a utility vehicle.
We purchased a Polaris Ranger 700 ATV for $15,548.56 with a State Fire Commissioner grant. This was placed into service in February 2008.
This shows that we continue to strive to better serve the safety and welfare of our fellow citizens and neighboring communities.
The Diamond Fire Company always has been and still is owned and operated by its members, having to raise the necessary money to buy equipment, meet the overhead on equipment and to keep our property repaired. The Borough of Walnutport does however provide funds to pay the insurance on our equipment, training, fuel and fire equipment for which we are very grateful.
We want to thank our old-timers for giving us a good start at the Diamond and we want to thank all the people who have supported us in the past, as well as today. Our goal is to furnish the best fire fighting equipment and protection that we possibly can.
