Friendship Hook & Ladder Fire Company

Friendship Hook & Ladder Fire Company Cuttin' Truckin' and Pumpin' since 1882! Our primary response area encompasses 12 square miles with a population of 7400 residents.

The Friendship Hook & Ladder Fire Co. #1 is a non-profit, all-volunteer fire company located in Boyertown Borough, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Along with the Keystone Steam Engine Company #1 of Boyertown, we are the primary fire protection for Boyertown Borough and portions of Colebrookdale and Douglass-Berks Townships. We are supported by donations from the municipalities, residents we serve, and

different fund raising events held throughout each year. We operate out of one station with six pieces of apparatus manned by over 50 volunteer men and women firefighters and fire police. We have a weekly training session every Monday evening at 7:00pm, and our Company Meeting is held the first Thursday of each month at 8:00pm. We also operate a members-only social club, and have a dining room open to the public for Sunday morning breakfast each week from 8:00am-12:30pm. For more information, please feel free to contact us!

In memory of long time FireFighter and Life Member Rick Kuser.
02/08/2022

In memory of long time FireFighter and Life Member Rick Kuser.

Today, our "Hookie" is Glenn Trate.Glenn served Friendship since 1988, and has held ranks of Junior Firefighter, Interio...
07/22/2014

Today, our "Hookie" is Glenn Trate.

Glenn served Friendship since 1988, and has held ranks of Junior Firefighter, Interior Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, Captain, Assistant Chief, and Deputy Chief.

When asked about his most memorable call, Glenn states, "All calls were memorable. The most memorable call was the old Boyertown Body Works fire in 2001." Glenn also shared how he feels about the opportunity to be a member at Friendship. "The reason why I joined was to follow in my father's footsteps. He was also a member of the Hooks back in the day. My most favorite thing about being a Hookie was knowing you have a lot of brothers and sisters at the firehouse who are like family."

Glenn is now serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as Captain of Facilities and Apparatus.

Today's "Hookie" is Tim Trate.Tim has been a very dedicated member despite serving Friendship for only 2 years. Tim join...
07/13/2014

Today's "Hookie" is Tim Trate.

Tim has been a very dedicated member despite serving Friendship for only 2 years. Tim joined Friendship as a 14-year-old Junior Cadet and most recently served as a Junior Firefighter.

Tim is very passionate about being a firefighter and looks towards a long and bright future in serving the community. "My reason for joining the fire company is because my father has been a firefighter for 26 years. One of the best memories was throwing ground ladders and breaking windows to vent the house with my dad at a structure fire. Becoming a firefighter is one of the best choices I've ever made and that I'll never regret."

Tim is currently serving as one of the Junior Firefighters with Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue.

Today's "Hookie" is Ryan Bingaman.Ryan has served Friendship for just shy of 16 years. Since joining, he has held positi...
07/11/2014

Today's "Hookie" is Ryan Bingaman.

Ryan has served Friendship for just shy of 16 years. Since joining, he has held positions of Junior Firefighter, Interior Firefighter, 3rd Assistant Chief, 2nd Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, and last served 6 months as Fire Chief. Ryan works full-time as a career Firefighter/EMT with Township of Spring Fire & Rescue Services in Reading, PA.

When asked, Ryan can clearly remember his very first call, which was a chimney fire. When asked about his feelings about Friendship, he simply states that he loves "all of the brotherhood and pride felt in the department," and also "the long tradition of the Hooks I helped to mold."

Ryan is now serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as the Deputy Chief.

Today's "Hookie" is Ashley Neubauer.Ashley has served Friendship for 11 and a half years, and has been a Junior Firefigh...
07/07/2014

Today's "Hookie" is Ashley Neubauer.

Ashley has served Friendship for 11 and a half years, and has been a Junior Firefighter, Interior Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, Lieutenant, and most recently, Captain. Ashley also is an Instructor through the PA State Fire Academy, the PA Department of Health, and the American Heart Association. She works full-time as a Paramedic and the Chief of Boyertown Ambulance.

"My biggest reason for joining the fire department is and will always be to follow in my Dad's footsteps." Ashley's father, Charles, served as Friendship's Fire Chief for almost 30 years. "I can't begin to try to choose a single most memorable call. I think they are all memorable. What I can say is that I enjoy doing what I do to prove to society and to my colleagues that gender does not matter when it comes to firefighting and EMS. Women can definitely do the job."

Ashley is serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as Assistant Chief of Personnel.

07/05/2014

Today, our "Hookie" is Cheryl Summerfelt.

Cheryl served Friendship for about a year and a half with our fire police. Cheryl is a very passionate and dedicated woman who is always very quick to help others.

Cheryl simply states that she loved "coming to Friendship and finding a warm welcome by all." She also had a little family reunion here! "I found out our fire police lady Karen Fryer was my cousin! My mom and her mom are half-sisters! You never know who you find at the firehouse!"

Cheryl is serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as part of the Fire Police team.

Our first "Hookie" is Justin Burns.Justin has served our Department since March of 2010, and has served us as a Junior C...
07/02/2014

Our first "Hookie" is Justin Burns.

Justin has served our Department since March of 2010, and has served us as a Junior Cadet, a Junior Firefighter, and most recently an Interior Firefighter. Justin is also a state-certified EMT. Justin's father, Mike Burns has been a firefighter at Friendship for decades, most recently as Chief Engineer, so we all knew Justin would follow right in his Dad's footsteps.

"Growing up on the same block as the firehouse, I feel as though I was raised by the fire company. On my 15th birthday, I was finally able to fulfill my life-long dream of being 'one of the guys.'" Ever since that day, all of my firefighting experiences have been the most memorable. From my first call to the first time I went into a burning building, these 5 years have been the best years of my life so far."

Justin is now serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as an Interior Firefighter.

07/02/2014

Even though our Fire Department is no longer in service, the legacy will always live on! Throughout the next week, we will share some thoughts and memories from some of our "Hookies!" Stay tuned!

Here is a photo of the Friendship crew from our "Last Hurrah" banquet a few weeks ago! Special thanks to photographer Va...
07/01/2014

Here is a photo of the Friendship crew from our "Last Hurrah" banquet a few weeks ago! Special thanks to photographer Valerie Newman for taking this photo! We have moved on to a new chapter, but we will always be "Hookies" at heart!

07/01/2014

As one legacy comes to an end, a new one begins. For the past 132 years the members of the Friendship Hook and Ladder Fire Company No 1, Berks County Station 15 (aka The Hookies or The Hooks) proudly served the community. Today we have officially joined together with the Keystone Steam Fire Engine Company of Boyertown and the Liberty Fire Company of New Bernlinville to form the new, bigger Boyertown Area Fire and Rescue, Berks County Station 95. We would like to thank all member of The Hooks, both past and present for all their support over the past 132. The apparatus crew, the board of directors, the ladies auxiliary, the social members, the communities, and everyone else that supported us. We could not have survived all those years without you all being there to help us. Words can’t express how grateful we are for all your support. Thank you, everyone. We look forward to everyone’s continued support as we move on to our next endeavor to proudly serve the community as the Boyertown Area Fire and Rescue.

06/12/2014

Did you know?

Our apparatus crew is currently operating within its last month as Friendship Hook & Ladder (Station 15). Starting July 1, our firefighting force will be incorporated with Keystone Fire Company and Liberty Fire Company (Stations 16 and 17), and we will be operating as a new fire department - Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue (Station 95)!

If you haven't done so yet, head on over to BAF&R's page and give it a "like" to continue following the happenings of the fire service in the Boyertown area!

Address

10 Warwick Street
Boyertown, PA
19512

Telephone

(610) 367-2300

Website

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