Longwood Fire Company’s members and graduates attending this month’s fire school graduation ceremonies include Mike Maurer, graduate Kim Siegel, graduate Gabe Pepper, Deputy Chief Matt Rouss, Lt. Mike Well and Andrew Yacka.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — Longwood Fire Company has two new firefighters as Kim Siegel and Gabe Pepper successfully completed instruction at the Chester County Fire School.
A graduation ceremony for the new firefighters took place November 19 in Wagontown. The 26 graduating members completed a 10-week course that included 174 hours of instruction. Siegel was voted Class Cadet by members of the graduating class. The award is given to the cadet who excelled in spirit and exemplified the traits of hard work and dedication.
“We’re happy to have Kim and Gabe as members of Longwood,” said Chief A. J. McCarthy.
Siegel said, “Becoming a firefighter stemmed out of my passion to help others and give back to the community. It is such a rewarding feeling knowing you made a difference in someone’s day.” She said volunteering at Longwood has been a great experience. “The camaraderie between everyone is amazing and it feels like we’re all a part of one giant family. We constantly work to better each other and are eager to teach our new members everything they need to know to be successful both on and off the fire ground.”
Pepper added, “I always thought about being a firefighter but just never did it. I started having a conversation with a firefighter buddy of mine and I told him I had thought about it for years and just never did it. He asked ‘why not?’ I didn’t have an answer for him.
“I am really glad I joined Longwood! They accepted expected me from day one and have really prepared me for the fire 1 class. We run a lot of calls and do a wide variety of incidents. I feel a tremendous amount of pride when we are able to help people in their time of need. That is what it is all about for me, being able to help people at a drop of a hat. None of it would be possible though without the support of my wife and son.”
McCarthy said, “We’re looking for additional individuals to become firefighters and we have a lot of non-firefighting tasks that need to be done. I’m urging interested persons to join our dedicated team here at Longwood.”
Longwood Fire Company has served the communities of Kennett, East Marlborough, Pennsbury and Pocopson townships since 1921. Longwood Fire Company provides fire and rescue and emergency medical services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information see www.longwoodfireco.com.
