# Harrisburg Bureau of Fire

Harrisburg Bureau of Fire (HBF) is a firefighting agency that is located in and serves Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is a career firefighting agency with at least 15 firefighters and fire officers on duty at any given time, supplemented with volunteer staffing as well. Everyday duties for the Bureau include fire suppression, emergency medical services, tactical rescue, urban search and rescue, water rescue, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, fire codes enforcement, and public safety educations.

## History

As Harrisburg became a Borough in 1791, a volunteer bucket brigade was established as the Union Fire Company, and several other temporary ones existed throughout the 19th century. The first hose companies with carriages were formed in 1841 following the installation of the city's water system, initially with the Washington Hose Company. On December 1, 1913 following the passing of Clark Act to restructure Pennsylvania cities, the Bureau was named so under the Department of Public Safety (headed by the Mayor). Despite this technicality, it is not uncommon to hear "Harrisburg Fire Department" instead of "Bureau." In 2018, the city approved a budget of 10.1 million dollars, along with a Future of Fire report stating the need for updated equipment and apparatuses in the next 10 years. In January 2019, the city announced its plan to purchase 12 new pieces of apparatus from 2020 through 2035.

## Operations
### Specialty units

* HAZMAT unit; the HBF is the home station for Hazmat 77 which is housed at Station 1. HAZMAT 77 was recently moved to Dauphin county hazmat teams new station and the team moved HAZMAT 77-3 to station 1. Hazmat 77 is a part of the Dauphin County Hazmat team.
* Urban search and rescue unit; Harrisburg is mostly urban with small patches of wooded areas and parks throughout. In 1983 the HBF formed an urban search and rescue unit with two Ford F-350 marked trucks. This team is made up of numerous department employees as well as dozens of civilian volunteers.
* Marine rescue unit; the marine rescue unit is make up of one fireboat and three smaller rescue boats. Due to Harrisburg's proximity to the Susquehanna River the HBF often respond to emergencies in the water. Majority of which include missing swimmers/sportsmen and vehicles which entered the water. This unit is made up of department volunteers and is located at station 8 due to its proximity to the waterfront. The marine unit can respond anywhere along the cities waterfront within 15 minutes of a call.

### Stations and apparatus

* Station 1: 1820 N. 6th Street
* Station 2: 140 N. 16th Street
* Station 8: 9 S. 13th Street
* Department of Public Safety HQ/de facto Station 4: 123 Walnut Street (Vance C. McCormick Public Service Center)
The Bureau has over 30 apparatuses, trucks, and vans. The HBF fleet contains Pierce and Seagrave firefighting apparatus and Freightliner ambulances. The truck and SUV brands used by the department include Ford and Chevrolet.

## Fallen firefighters

| Rank | Name | Last Alarm | Badge | Age | Description |
| Captain | Samuel J. Miller | May 13, 1859 | Unknown | 21 | Fell and was run over by hand pumper |
| Fireman | George Hotcorn | December 19, 1874 | Unknown | Unknown | Succumbed to injuries sustained due to fall and being run over by hand pumper |
| Fireman | Maximillian Grieshaber | July 31, 1880 | Unknown | 27 | After developing a cold during 36-hour exposure to fire in December 1878, succumbed to Pneumonia |
| Fireman | William C. Fisher | March 28, 1899 | Unknown | 40 | Electrocuted investigating an electrical fire |
| Fireman | Charles F. Deiker | April 19, 1901 | Unknown | Unknown | Ruptured intestine while cranking hose reel following structure fire |
| Fireman | Eli K. Hoffman | May 13, 1908 | Unknown | 31 | Electrocuted at fire on S 18th Street |
| Fireman | William H. Benner | August 15, 1909 | Unknown | Unknown | Succumbed to injuries sustained due to fall from scaffolding inside Fire House while scraping paint |
| Fireman | H. Howard May | September 10, 1912 | Unknown | Unknown | Succumbed to Pneumonia after being drenched working a hose on a fire Christmas Eve 1911 |
| Driver | Samuel Wanbaugh | November 21, 1912 | Unknown | 45 | Killed in an accident at 15th & Market Street responding to scene |
| Fireman | William H. Harris | April 8, 1914 | Unknown | 56 | Collapsed from a heart attack while fighting an industrial fire |
| Fireman | Thomas A. Wenrick | September 3, 1919 | Unknown | 45 | Succumbed to Tuberculosis after a prolonged heavy cold from manning a hose for hours during a fire |
| Fireman | Charles A. Filmore | June 11, 1921 | Unknown | Unknown | Killed in collision with streetcar while riding on running board of pumper |
| Fireman | Daniel P. Huber | November 26, 1922 | Unknown | Unknown | Inhaled superheated gases while trapped at a general alarm fire at 14th & Howard Street |
| Fire Chief | Marion Verbeke | October 29, 1926 | Unknown | 64 | Succumbed to Bright's disease after inhaling chemical laden smoke while directing a fire (Son of William K. Verbeke) |
| Fireman | Bernard E. Goodyear | May 7, 1927 | Unknown | 29 | Smoke inhalation from a large industrial fire |
| Fire Chief | Edward Halbert | March 11, 1935 | Unknown | 58 | Succumbed to injuries from three-story fall while surveying a fire |
| Driver | William Metzger | June 1, 1941 | Unknown | 28 | Struck by a fast moving car while on scene |
| Fireman | Donald Henery | August 22, 1953 | Unknown | 26 | Killed under collapsed wall of large industrial fire |
| Fireman | William F. Barbush | May 10, 1968 | 90 | 41 | Collapsed on duty as a radio dispatcher |
| Fireman | William Corish | June 13, 1978 | 15 | 51 | Succumbed to injuries after being suddenly pinned to a wall by a stalled car he was trying to free |
| Lieutenant | Dennis H. DeVoe | March 11, 2017 | 401 | 45 | Killed in accident when responding to scene |