The PVFD was formally organized in 1932. Prior to 1923, fire protection came from the Titusville Fire Dept. or impromptu fire brigades. In 1923, local citizens purchased a two wheeled hose cart and a wheeled fire extinguisher. They were kept in a shed behind the old Borough Hall on Main Street. One year later, the townspeople organized a Forestry Crew for fighting woods fires....it was the first of it's kind in Pennsylvania. Local resident William Field was the first Fire Warden. He was stationed at the Tionesta Fire Tower, in Harmony Twp., Forest County during the spring and fall forest fire seasons. (This fire tower is still in use today, staffed by Dept. of Forestry personnel, but usually only during the high forest fire season every spring.)
Then, in 1932, the Pleasantville Vol. Fire Dept. was offically formed. A 1929 International delivery truck was purchased and converted into a fire engine. It was named the "Red Robin" and was in service until the 1950's.
A steel tower was built and an electric siren was mounted on top to alert firemen of fires. (This same siren still serves the PVFD to this day, however, it is now used mainly for weather alerts and other such emergencies, to notify the public. Firemen are alerted for calls using pagers.) Prior to this, church and school bells were used to alert firemen.
Meetings were held in the Borough Hall and the truck was kept in the old IOOF Building on South Main Street. Then, a new combined Town Hall/Fire Station was built on West State St., near the middle of town. (This building is still in use as the Borough Hall.) It was built out of stone and housed Borough Council rooms, a meeting room for the firemen and space for 2 trucks.
In 1936, an International convertable pumper was purchased. This allowed the F.D. to have a pumper for house fires and the Red Robin for woods fires.
In 1955, a bell system was purchased for alarms. Bells were placed in each of the firemens homes and wire was ran from the siren to each of these bells. When the siren blew, the bell in each firemens homes would ring also, alerting them to a fire.
In 1954, a flatbed Ford truck was purchased to replace the aging Red Robin. This was used for woods fires and a garage was built behind the then, Borough Building/Fire Station to house the new truck. The Red Robin was sold to a local resident, who drove it in parades for years to come.
In 1956, a Ford truck was purchased and built into a pumper by Howe Apparatus Co. and it contained a 1000 gal. water tank and a 500 gpm pump.
In 1964, a three bay steel garage was built on W. State St. just down from the Borough Building to house the new and bigger trucks. Meetings were still held at the Borough Building.
A 1967 Ford pumper was purchased which had a 300 gal. water tank and 500 gpm pump. (After years of good use, it was sold to a private individual in 2001.)
In 1972, another pumper with a 1000 gal. water tank and a 500 gpm pump was purchased. (It has since been sold to the Grand Valley VFD and is still in service today.)
In 1977, a rescue squad was formed. A 1978 Chevrolet pickup was then purchased and converted into a Rescue Unit. The medical equipment was in the back of the truck and was protected by a truck cap. Some of the firemen were certified as EMT's to respond to medical calls. After it's use as a rescue unit, it was converted to a brush truck. (It was eventually sold to a private individual in 2001.)
In 1979, the 1956 Ford was overhauled by Four Guys Co. in Somerset, PA, into a tanker truck with a 1600 gal. tank and 500 gpm pump.
In 1981, since the fire hall was now becoming to small, the Sharp Convalescent Home property across the street was bought and razed. Construction was started on what is the current fire station in Pleasantville. It was finished by the spring of 1982. It had 4 bay doors, meeting room, restrooms and a large social hall. Since then, 2 more bays and doors have been added to house equipment.
The 1956 Ford tanker was taken to four Four Guys, had the Ford chassis replaced with a 1984 GMC chassis and the same tank was placed on this chassis and a 1000 gpm pump was placed on it. (It is still in use by the Dept. today.) The 1956 then had a 6X6 Army truck bed put on it and was used for a brush truck. (It has since been sold to a private individual.)
Many changes have been made over the years. Photos of previous Fire Halls and trucks can be seen in our Photo Gallery, as well as photos of our present Fire Hall and trucks.
