Service with pride: Junior auxiliary firefighter program marks 50 years in Jeannette

It was an exciting childhood pastime for Bob Carter and Mark Scalzo to watch Jeannette fire trucks race out of the station.

It was even more exciting when the firefighters started waving at the youngsters.

Their fascination with the flashing lights and sirens ingratiated them with some department members, eventually leading to an idea that has stood the test of a half-century.

As they grew into teenagers, Carter and Scalzo worked with several firefighters more than 50 years ago to establish the department’s junior auxiliary program.

They’re proud of it, and for good reason.

The program, which became official in August 1974, has funneled more than 100 firefighters through the department, some of whom took on leadership roles and turned it into a career.

The program is still in use, but has only one member now.

Scalzo, 66, said they were “young kids with big ideas.”

“Just to have another avenue for a young person to pursue a public safety career … knowing this might get them or sway them in some way, is just enough for me,” he said. “It’s needed more than ever right now.”

Carter and Scalzo looked back on their roles in starting the junior auxiliary as Carter recently received a letter from the department informing him of a change of his status to retired active member.

The letter cited fire department rules and age limits in the Third Class City Code, but informed Carter that he is permitted to participate in meetings and social and fire prevention events. Carter, 66, questioned the letter after 50 years of service and said he still intends to be involved.

“That’s been my life, I gave up doing a lot of things,” he said. “I was 100% committed to the fire department.”

That’s evident from a look around his house. He has old gear, photos and even a bell mounted on the wall that is hardwired to the station a stone’s throw away. It dings when there is a fire call.

“It made you a better person because you’re helping somebody at their worst time,” he said, “and it’s up to us to try our best to make it better for them. Sometimes it’s rewarding.”

Junior firefighters can start at 14. They work mainly on training, giving them the ability to hit the ground running when they turn 18, Jeannette fire Chief Bill Frye said. That’s how he and a few friends got started with the station in the 1990s.

Many of them are still active in the fire service.

The program at one time had a 100% retention rate, but now the department is lucky to keep one junior member out of every 10, he said.

Frye believes there is still a benefit to accepting junior firefighters, but pointed to changes in society over the decades as being a factor in having less interest from young people.

“We can’t even get adults in,” Frye said. “Nobody wants to do public service anymore.”

As 14-year-olds in the 1970s, Carter and Scalzo heard about volunteer fire departments in other municipalities starting up programs accepting junior firefighters. It was an important endeavor to them, as Carter’s father was killed in a 1972 fire at the Penn-Albert Hotel in Greensburg while trying to alert those on the upper floors.

It wasn’t an easy process — they had to get Jeannette firefighters and city council on board. Jeannette runs Westmoreland County’s only paid fire department with three full-time firefighters and others who are part time.

“It took a couple times for it to get through,” Carter said. “It created an avenue for what we have today.”

Once the program got the OK in 1974, Carter was appointed chief and Scalzo assistant chief. They were joined by a few other juniors.

Bringing to the forefront a focus on education and ways to streamline emergency response times helped the department better prepare itself for potential emergencies with industries that were prevalent in the city at that time, Carter said.

Plus, the junior firefighters invigorated the department.

“I think the older guys took a liking to us because it was a breath of fresh air,” Scalzo said.

There are tragic calls that have stuck with Carter and Scalzo over the years. They recalled being exposed to difficult scenes at a time when post-traumatic stress disorder wasn’t a diagnosis. As they grew older and aged out of the junior program — becoming lieutenants at age 19 — they continued working with younger members as mentors.

While Carter stayed in Jeannette, Scalzo moved to Florida in the 1980s and became involved with a fire department there. He has since returned and lives part time in Mt. Pleasant Township while still being involved in the Jeannette department.

Now that they’ve turned into those “older guys” in the department, they revel in sharing their wisdom with the young members eager to learn and help.

“That was us 50 years ago,” Scalzo said.