East Huntingdon Twp. Vol. Fire Company #1 was chartered in July of 1954. The township was growing, and the charter members felt there was a need to provide the township with its own fire department. Before the fire dept was started, residents of the township had to rely mostly on the Scottdale and Mount Pleasant Borough Fire Departments. Since our township is so large and borders these other fire departments, we still have a good mutual aid relationship with these other fire departments to ensure a quick reponse.

       The first official fire station was the old Tarrs East Ward School Building which was purchased and remodeled to be a fire station. The first fire truck was a Buffalo Fire Engine purchased in 1955. Through the years the fire station in Tarrs was added on to and remodeled to include more truck bays, a lounge area, kitchen, offices, and storage rooms. The Tarrs Fire Station is now considered our base station and houses 4 fire trucks and has one bay which is a Mutual Aid Ambulance Service Station.

       Over the years as the township and fire company grew, a need for another fire station was realized. In 1978 the Alverton Sub Station was built to provide better response time to other areas of the township. Today, it houses two fire trucks and is manned by the memebers living in or near Alverton. The Alverton Civic Assn. also uses one garage bay for storage and its community programs.

       At one time the fire company also provided an ambulance service. The fire company had the ambulances to provide emergency and transfer services. But like many other fire departments ambulance services, the ambulance service was given over to a professional ambulance provider that could better deal with all the insurances and regulations to hopefully better serve the township. The fire company still has many paramedics and EMTs in its ranks. They respond with the fire company, but give aid to patients and assist the ambulance provider.

      Today, the fire company has approximately 60 junior, active, and life members. We have 8 pieces of apparatus. Every year we respond to an average of 600 fire calls, and with the growth of the township, this number is also growing. Our department covers 33.8 square miles with a population of 7,781 based on the 2000 census. We also have many large commercial parks that house Reinhart, Sony, ABB, and many other companies. There are many shopping centers including Wal Mart, Kmart, County Market and other large shopping centers. East Huntingdon is home of a rare ethanol  Rail-to-Truck Transloading Terminal and other chemical unloading at the site. We hope the next 55 years brings about as much progress as the first 55.