Centennial Celebration
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department celebrates 100 years of community service.
BY KATHY RUDOLPH
At the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department’ s( BVFD) 100th Anniversary Banquet, Ray Costain, a BVFD firefighter, included in his speech a story about former BVFD assistant fire chief Joseph Flood.
“ It’ s from an old newspaper article from 1933 that a member at the department found out about a fire on Washington Avenue,” says Costain.“ The facts aren’ t all black and white, but I referenced‘ Smokey Joe’ in my speech because of his willingness to do whatever it took to fight a fire. He was always the first to go inside a burning building with the hose line.” In the story, Flood’ s fellow firefighters got worried when he didn’ t come out of the burning building.
“ Back then, we did not have the breathing apparatus we wear today and he actually went into cardiac arrest from smoke inhalation inside the building,” says Costain.“ They went into the building and brought him out and he was revived on scene. Believe it or not, he reentered the structure to finish putting out the fire!”
That same dedication that“ Smokey Joe” had has remained a constant at BVFD since it was founded in 1916.
“ Day or night, seven days a week, 365 days a year, we are there at the drop of a hat to lend a helping hand to anyone in need,” says Costain, a firefighter for 20 years.“ The eight individuals who started the BVFD
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