Latest news with #PhoenixFireCo
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Phoenix Fire Co. No 2 firehouse to become a real estate office
POTTSVILLE — The Phoenix Fire Co. No. 2 firehouse, set to be closed due to a merger with Humane Fire Co. No. 1, will be repurposed as a real estate office. Jill Saunders, owner of Saunders Real Estate, is purchasing the building and will relocate her business from Schuylkill Haven to Pottsville. 'Our current office has become too small for our growing team,' she said. 'The moment I walked into this firehouse, I knew I had found a forever home.' On a recent tour of the firehouse, which she compared to the one in 'Ghostbusters,' Saunders said she had been hired by Phoenix to list the building for sale. Instead, she bought it. 'As I walked through the firehouse, I was completely taken aback,' she said. 'Not just by the stunning architecture and original craftsmanship, but by how well it has been preserved.' Walking through the building, which still houses Phoenix's ladder truck, Saunders took note of the original tin ceilings, which will be preserved. Lending to its historic character, the room where the fire company housed its horses in the 1800s is still there. It was used as a storage area by the fire company. * The Phoenix Fire 320 E. Norwegian St. in Pottsville was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. The building will be used as office space. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) * Jill Saunders, (center) owner and broker of Saunders Real Estate, opens a Saunders banner, with help from Pottsville firefighters and members of her team. At the Phoenix Hook Fire Co. #2 in Pottsville which was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. Saunders plans to use the building at 320 East Norwegian Street, as their future office space. On May 23, 2025 members of the fire company met with members of the Saunders Real Estate team. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) * Standing near the Phoenix Fire Co.'s Tower 21 ladder truck, Jill Saunders, owner and broker of Saunders Real Estate, talks about her renovation plans while inside the Phoenix Fire Co. #2 in Pottsville which was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. Saunders plans to use the building at 320 East Norwegian Street, as their future office space. On May 23, 2025 members of the fire company met with members of the Saunders Real Estate team. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) * The Phoenix Fire Co. #2 in Pottsville will have to find a new home for it's Pierce 100-foot aerial ladder truck, which is still in service at it's current location. At the Phoenix Fire Co. #2 in Pottsville which was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. Saunders plans to use the building at 320 East Norwegian Street, as their future office space. On May 23, 2025 members of the fire company met with members of the Saunders Real Estate team. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) * A firefighter's leather helmet, at the Phoenix Fire Co. #2 in Pottsville which was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. Saunders plans to use the building at 320 East Norwegian Street, as their future office space. On May 23, 2025 members of the fire company met with members of the Saunders Real Estate team. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) Show Caption 1 of 5 The Phoenix Fire 320 E. Norwegian St. in Pottsville was recently sold to Saunders Real Estate. The building will be used as office space. (JOHNATHAN B. PAROBY/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand Founded as the Schuylkill Hydraulian Fire Co. in 1829, it became Phoenix Fire Co. in 1867. When the merger is complete, Phoenix and Humane will become Pottsville Fire Co. No. 1. Saunders expects to close on the sale of the roughly 4,000-square-foot Phoenix building at 320 E. Norwegian St. by the end of May. Saunders Real Estate will occupy the main floor, with offices of sales agents on the second floor. The property has parking on both sides. 'We're excited to expand, and become a more active part of the city that has supported us for so long,' Saunders said. A grand opening is scheduled for Oct. 25. Saunders, who's been in the real estate business for 10 years, received her brokerage license three years ago. On staff are her father, James Saunders; plus Joel Ovalle, Tracey Kreiser and Coral Kreiser. Bill DeWald, a Phoenix lieutenant, said he's happy that the firehouse will be preserved. 'The sale is in the best interests of the fire company and Saunders Real Estate,' he said. Steve Karinch, Phoenix vice president and an assistant Pottsville fire chief, also expressed congratulations to the new owner. Saunders thanked Phoenix officials for entrusting the building's future to her. 'It's more than just a real estate deal,' she said, 'it's a chance to preserve a piece of Pottsville's history.'
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Irish emigrees formed first fire companies in Schuylkill
POTTSVILLE — Given the oppressive conditions under which they lived and worked, it's hard to imagine how 19th Century Irish immigrants had time to volunteer as firefighters. Yet they did, according to firefighting historians Michael J. Kitsock and Michael R. Glore. In 'Irish Firefighting Heritage of Schuylkill County,' they showed that immigrants from the old sod played a crucial role in forming some of the county's earliest fire companies. The logo on this Phoenix Fire Co. No. 2, Shenandoah, fire truck features the flags of America and Ireland. RON DEVLIN/STAFF PHOTO The social hall at Humane Fire Company No. 1 in Pottsville was filled to capacity recently when Kitsock and Glore presented an hour-long slide show focusing on Irish firefighting heritage. Sponsored by the Schuylkill County Historical Society, the event was held in Humane in anticipation of a large turnout. Kitsock and Glore, authors of several books on firefighting, moderated the presentation. Their work includes 'Pottsville Firefighting' and 'Reading Firefighting.' Their newest book, 'The Great Memorial Day Fire of 1945 and Other Schuylkill County Disasters,' was published last month. Between 1820 and 1860, one in three immigrants to America were from Ireland. Following the Great Potato Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1852, an estimated 500,000 Irish emigrated to America. In all, by 1875 some 6 million Irish settled in the U.S. An estimated 500,000 people emigrated from Ireland to America after the potato famine of 1845. The migration from Ireland coincided with the rise of anthracite coal, and many came to Schuylkill County to work in the mines. It's said that Irish miners went to work when it was dark, worked all day in the dark and emerged from underground when it was dark. Kitsock borrowed a line from Tennessee Ernie Ford's 'Sixteen Tons' to illustrate the plight of Irish miners: 'St. Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store.' The Schuylkill Hydraulians in Pottsville, now Phoenix Hook & Ladder, was the first 'Irish' fire company in Schuylkill County, the authors' research showed. It was founded in 1829, the same year D. G. Yuengling founded the Eagle Brewery in Pottsville. It celebrates its 196th anniversary this year. Irish firefighters had a hand in the formation of Humane Steam Fire Company No 1, Mahanoy City, in 1867. A Gaelic inscription on its logo, a 4-leaf clover, reads 'Na Eireannach At Sabhail,' roughly translated 'The Irish are Safe.' The Independent Hose Company in Minersville, formed in 1869; and Citizens' Fire Company, Palo Alto, formed in 1884, both had Irish roots. A crew from Phoenix Fire Company No. 2, Shenandoah, arrived for the presentation in, naturally, a green firetruck. A plaque in its firehouse honoring World War II veterans, painted by Leo Ploppert, has numerous Irish surnames like Brennan, O'Brien and McDonald. Phoenix No 2 was founded in 1885, the same year a devastating fire swept through 400 homes in a mostly Irish neighborhood in Shenandoah. Irish surnames are common on a plaque in Phoenix Fire Co. No. 2, Shenandoah. Other fire companies with a hint of green in their ancestry included Rescue Hook & Ladder, Saint Clair; East End Fire Company, Tamaqua; Clover Hose Company, Hecksherville, and Rangers Hose Company, Girardville. Joseph Wayne, a lifelong member of Rangers Hose, said the presentation was a fitting tribute to Irish firefighting heritage. Proprietor of the Hibernian House, Wayne is a great-grandson of John 'Black Jack' Kehoe, alleged leader of the Molly Maguires. Wayne served as president of Ancient Order of Hibernians John Kehoe Division No. 1 in Girardville. 'My first cousin, Jackie McDonald, was fire chief at Rangers,' he said. 'It's a well-run fire company.' Kitsock, president of the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society, said Irish immigrants had to struggle to gain acceptance in their adopted country. 'They had to prove themselves,' he said. 'Their mettle enabled them to do the hardest jobs, and devote time to forming fire companies and fighting fires.'
