At approximately 2:06 PM today, the Bethel Park Police Dispatch Center dispatched the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company (BPVFC station 110) to the report of smoke coming from the roof of a house on Smith Drive. 110 Assistant arrived on scene confirming a working fire inside the residence and requested a full first alarm assignment. This alarm assignment included Mt. Lebanon Fire Department (station 198) and Pleasant Hills Volunteer Fire Company station 232). 110 Rescue arrived on scene followed by 110 Truck 3 and crews went to work to locate the fire in the basement and bring it under control. During the next several hours crews checked for extension and put more water on smoldering spots. All fire apparatus cleared the scene by 5:30 to return to the stations to begin cleanup. The Allegheny County Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire which is standard procedure for any structure fire in our community.

This is a reminder that our community, along with most others in this area, relies solely on volunteers for fire protection. They have to respond to the stations to get equipment to respond to an emergency. It may seem like we had plenty of companies and vehicles responding, but many only had a small number of firefighters in them. We were extremely fortunate to have a few volunteers working from home, and others working nearby that were able to leave work to respond. We thank all of our mutual aid departments for responding and providing the much needed manpower and assistance. Special thanks also goes out to Bethel Park Police and Tri Community South EMS who are always there when we need them. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, please reach out. We could always use the help.

Bethel Park, PA (August 25, 2023)
Structure Fire
At approximately 2:25 PM today, the Bethel Park Police Dispatch Center dispatched the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company (BPVFC) to a possible kitchen fire on Willow Glen in Bethel Park. Our volunteer fire fighters began responding to our 3 fire stations from all areas of Bethel Park.

Chief Officers began arriving on scene at 2:31. 110 Deputy arrived first and confirmed a working fire and requested our full first alarm which added Mt. Lebanon Fire Department and Upper St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department to the assignment. 110 Chief arrived on scene shortly after 110 Deputy and assumed command. Initially 110 Rescue responded from Station 1 on Brightwood Road and 110 Squad 3 responded from Station 3 on Clifton Road. 110 Rescue arrived on scene at approximately 2:35 and a hoseline was pulled to begin the fire attack. As more volunteers arrived at the stations, more apparatus began to respond from Station 1 and Station 2. A second alarm was called for additional manpower during the fire attack. This requested Library Volunteer Fire Company, Broughton Volunteer Fire Department, and Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department to respond to the scene. The fire was brought under control by 3:00 and crews spent the next three hours checking for hot spots and cleaning up.

No civilian injuries were reported and one volunteer firefighter was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. While using the nearby fire hydrant to fight the fire, a water main break on a nearby street occurred and the water company was called to address it. The water main break did not have any impact on firefighting operations. The Allegheny County Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire which does not appear to be suspicious.

This is a reminder that our community, along with most others in this area, relies solely on volunteers for fire protection. They have to respond to the stations to get equipment to respond to an emergency. It may seem like we had plenty of companies and vehicles responding, but many only had a small number of firefighters in them. We were extremely fortunate to have a few volunteers working from home, and others working nearby that were able to leave work to respond. Two volunteers were off of work today and happened to be at the station in our gym when the call came in. This allowed for a timely response and larger than normal volunteer crew on the first apparatus. We thank all of our mutual aid departments for responding and providing the much needed manpower and assistance. Special thanks also goes out to Bethel Park Police and Tri Community South EMS who are always there when we need them. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, please reach out. We could always use the help.

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At approximately 1:34 PM today the Bethel Park Police Dispatch Center dispatched the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company (BPVFC) to assist Bethel Park Police (BPPD) and Tri-Community South EMS (TCS) with the rescue of an injured male. The male was over a hillside in the area of Bethel Church Road at Oakhurst Road. Our volunteer fire fighters began responding to the stations from all areas of Bethel Park and Chief Officers began responding directly to the scene. When 110 Deputy arrived on scene, he found that the male had fallen approximately 15-20 feet over the hillside. 110 Chief arrived assuming command while 110 Deputy went over the hill to assist BPPD officers with the patient. Other volunteers responded in apparatus from all 3 of our stations to the scene. Once crews arrived on scene they set up a 4:1 rope system and lowered a stokes basket down the hill. The patient was packaged and secured into the basket and the 4:1 rope system was used to pull the patient up the hill where he was turned over to TCS EMS for patient care at 1:59 PM.

This is a reminder that our community relies solely on volunteers for fire protection. They have to respond to the stations to get equipment to respond to an emergency. Calls like this do not happen often, but our volunteers have received specialized training and obtained nationally recognized certifications for many different types of rescues and hazards. Just this past Monday we practiced for scenarios just like this one at our weekly drill. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter to assist the community with rescues like this, please reach out. We could always use more help.

At approximately 2:44PM this afternoon the Bethel Park Police Dispatch Center dispatched the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company (BPVFC) to a house on fire on Cedar Street in Bethel Park. Our full first alarm structure fire assignment was automatically dispatched which included Mt. Lebanon Fire Department and Upper St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department. BPVFC Chief began responding from his workplace off of Fort Couch Road and upgraded the call to a second alarm assignment upon seeing heavy smoke in that direction. This alarm included Library Volunteer Fire Company, Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department, Broughton Volunteer Fire Company, and the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services. Our Chief Officers began arriving on scene at 2:50 confirming a working fire on the front of the house. Once the Rescue arrived from Station 1, crews were able to make a quick stop on the fire before it extended into the house too far. A valiant effort was made to save a dog who unfortunately succumbed to the smoke that was in the home. The fire was brought under control by 3:30 and crews spent the next two hours checking for hot spots and cleaning up. The Allegheny County Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire which does not appear to be suspicious at this time.

This is a reminder that our community, along with most others in this area, relies solely on volunteers for fire protection. They have to respond to the stations to get equipment to respond to an emergency. It may seem like we had plenty of companies and vehicles responding, but many only had a small number of firefighters in them. We were extremely fortunate to have a few volunteers working from home, and others working nearby that were able to leave work to respond. Two volunteers were off of work today and happened to be at the station in our gym when the call came in. This allowed for a very timely response and quick on scene time. We thank all of our mutual aid departments for responding and providing the much needed manpower and assistance. Special thanks also goes out to Bethel Park Police and Tri Community South EMS who are always there when we need them.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, please reach out. We could always use the help.

Bethel Park Police Department
Tri-Community South EMS
Mt. Lebanon Fire Department
The Upper St Clair Volunteer Fire Department
Library Volunteer Fire Company
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department
Broughton Volunteer Fire Department
Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services of Western Pennsylvania

At approximately 5:58 AM this morning the Bethel Park Police Dispatch Center dispatched the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company (BPVFC) to a shed on fire on Fairview Drive in Bethel Park. BPVFC Chief began responding from two miles away and upgraded the call to a full first alarm assignment upon seeing heavy smoke in that direction. This alarm included Mt. Lebanon Fire Department and Upper St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department. Officers from the Bethel Park Police Department (BPPD) arrived first on scene and reported the fire had spread to a tall pine tree, car, and house. At this time the second alarm was added for additional manpower which requested Library Volunteer Fire Company, Broughton Volunteer Fire Department, and Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department. BPVFC Chief arrived on the scene and assumed command of the incident while several fire apparatus from all 3 of our stations responded. The first arriving crews were able to make a quick stop on the fire before it extended into the house too far. The fire was brought under control within an hour and crews spent the next several hours checking for hot spots and cleaning up. The Allegheny County Fire Marshall is investigating the cause of the fire.

Special thanks to the Bethel Park Police Officers who were on scene early and assisted us with moving hoses and making our hydrant connection since we were extremely short on manpower. This is a reminder that our community relies solely on volunteers. They have to respond to the stations to get equipment to respond to an emergency. It may seem like we had plenty of vehicles responding, but many only had a small number of firefighters in them. We thank all of our mutual aid departments for responding and providing the much needed assistance.

Mt. Lebanon Fire Department
The Upper St Clair Volunteer Fire Department
Library Volunteer Fire Company
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department
Broughton Vol. Fire Department – South Park Twp.
Bethel Park Police Department
Tri-Community South EMS