Founded in 1899 as the Union Fire Company, what a year later would be renamed Alpha Fire Company was formed by a group of 29 volunteers to provide fire protection to the tiny, but growing, Borough of State College.
From its turn-of-the-century origins serving a few downtown blocks with hand-drawn hose carts, Alpha has grown with the State College area community over the last 125 years. It now has three stations, 30 apparatus and 100 volunteers who respond to fires, rescues, Hazmat incidents and hazardous conditions for 100,000 people across 104 square miles of the Centre Region.
On Saturday, Alpha commemorated its 125 years of serving the community with a public celebration on the 200 and 300 blocks of South Allen Street.
“Celebrating 125 years of service gives us an opportunity to look where we’ve been, and to look to where we’re going. We’re proud of our past and we’re excited about our future,” Alpha Fire Company President Svend Pedersen told The Centre County Gazette prior to the celebration. “Our celebration is a way for us to thank the people we serve for their continued support of the Alpha Fire Company and its volunteer members.”
Aside from a few paid positions, Alpha remains a volunteer fire company, with members who are lifelong Centre County residents, transplants and Penn State students, all of whom want to make a difference in their community.
“In a time when volunteer organizations are suffering from a lack of members, we are proud of the fact that the company had been able to provide service for well over a century,” said Carmine Prestia, an Alpha volunteer of 52 years. “This is the result of cooperation among the community, the [Centre Region Council of Governments] and the members of the company. That is a remarkable record and should be celebrated by all of us.”
Saturday’s celebration brought to mind another piece of Alpha’s and State College’s history: the fire company’s Fourth of July carnival that was held downtown beginning in 1927 before moving to Westerly Parkway in the 1960s then being discontinued in the 1970s.
The 125th anniversary event featured a bounce house, games other kids activities, fire safety demonstrations, fire truck bucket rides, antique fire engines, historic Alpha Fire Company memorabilia, food trucks and live music.
The Centre County Gazette’s Jessi Blanarik contributed to this report.
Take a look at scenes from the celebration by photographer Greg Guise.
