A New Millennium: 1999 – present

As the century came to a close, Bower Hill was quite a different place from what it had been 75 years earlier. Now an aging residential suburb full of “empty nesters,” the demands on the fire service were as new yet as constant as ever. No longer did the department support itself through Bingos and Firemen’s Fairs. Special events designed to bring people from outside the community and rental of the meeting hall took the place of the former events. The Annual Fund Drive, the Fire Prevention Week Raffle and the Good Friday Fish Fry became the most important sources of community event income for the department. The fire department was now seen as a public service provider, and it was expected to operate like a business or a government agency.

Fire emergencies remained relatively few, though each presented the possibility of an encounter with a disabled or elderly occupant, and firefighters trained accordingly. The site of the former elementary school was now occupied by a retirement residence, and fire prevention in the school was replaced by fire and injury prevention for the elderly. The old paint plant was long gone, replaced by an industrial park with warehouses and light manufacturing, some of which present special hazards. Trains ran on the railroads less frequently, but each still presented the same potential hazards. The site of the former Kane Hospital became a demolition and construction site, with the area occupied by the former dormitory building becoming the site of the new South Hills facility of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, and much of the remainder of the property being prepared for development as the Providence Point retirement community, which will be completed in 2008. The department continued to prepare to face these new challenges.

In 1998, another new pumper joined the fleet. It was a 1998 Pierce Dash 2000 model, with a 2000 GPM pump. This was the largest and most powerful engine the department had ever purchased. In 2002, the ambulance provided to STEMS was replaced with a new Ford Type III with a Medtec ambulance module. At the same time, Glendale replaced the unit they supplied to STEMS with an ambulance identical to the one purchased by Bower Hill. The Squad was replaced in 2005 with a slightly improved model, a Ford F350 pickup truck with a slide-out bed for easier access to equipment. This vehicle has one peculiarity. It is powered by a gasoline engine, something the department hadn't purchased in a vehicle other than a chief's command vehicle since 1984.

Though the firefighters of the department had long been trained in how to deal with the threats of violent terrorist action (the first record we have of  training in counter-terrorism by the department is from 1957, but the records only go back to September of 1956), that training received more focus after September 11, 2001.  The Scott Township Emergency Management Office conducted training sessions for residents as well as emergency service responders in how to deal with all types of natural and man-made threats. Though target hazards in the Bower Hill area are relatively few, any such incident anywhere in Southwestern Pennsylvania will require massive response capabilities, not unlike those required for a major natural disaster. This readiness was put to the test on September 17, 2004 and subsequent days, when record-breaking rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan caused record-breaking flooding of Chartiers Creek and its tributaries, which had not flooded since the remnants of Hurricane Agnes passed through in June of 1972. Though the Bower Hill area sustained relatively minor damage, nearby Bridgeville, Heidelberg and Carnegie Boroughs saw major destruction. Bower Hill responded to assist its neighbors, and remains ready to respond to any hazard.

Today, Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department is a strong and stable firefighting and emergency response force. Though the age of the average firefighter remains somewhat greater than in the past, as the people who turned Bower Hill from a mining and mill town to a suburb now move off to the new retirement communities springing up in and around the area, young families are beginning to find what their grandparents found: This is a good place to live. And as it has since 1924, the fire department remains at the heart of the community as a place to serve.