The Junior Fire Brigade of the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department began informally in 1957 when the department unofficially admitted several members under the required age of 18, all children of active firefighters, with the intent of forming them into active members by the time they reached legal age. The brigade was not officially established until 1969, with five boys ranging in age from 13 to 17 years. Membership was open to any student living in Bower Hill, but total membership was limited to 15 students. Chief Richard Choura and Captain John Blum, Sr. organized and supervised the establishment of the brigade and taught the boys to develop their own leadership and organizational structure. The boys established this structure, and elected their first officers: Anthony Blum, President; Richard Braun Jr, Vice President; Richard Flood, Secretary; and Sherman "Kip" Padgelek Jr, Treasurer.

One of the first duties the Juniors took on was maintaining the appearance of the department's vehicles. Soon after, they started the "Firemen's Home-Sick Aid Program" assisting incapacitated members of the department with yard work and household repairs.

To support these and other activities, they established their own treasury, and held their first fund raising event by selling Easter Candy in March of 1970. This event was successful, and they followed with a bake sale the next month. The proceeds from these sales enabled them to buy their first uniforms.

By 1971, the Junior Fire Brigade had grown from 5 to 13 members, and they were actively participating in firefighting and emergency medical training under the leadership of Lieutenant Bob Berdnik. The Juniors earned Red Cross Advanced First Aid cards, and any Junior age 16 or older was allowed to attend fire and ambulance calls as an observer and as an assistant in non-firefighting and non-patient-contact roles.

In subsequent years, in addition to firefighting and EMS training, the Juniors would aid in such details as painting the station, maintaining the grounds, and, as always, maintaining the appearance of the vehicles. They replaced the original memorial to deceased members of the department with a wood and brass plaque, which was used until the new hall was built and supplied with the current bronze memorial. When the department re-instituted the annual Firemen's Fair, known as "Monte Carlo Week," in 1974, the Junior members did the bulk of the set-up, clean-up and support work, and staffed many of the ticket and skill games.

The original uniforms were replaced in 1972 with rather unique salmon-colored shirts and maroon pants, with wide maroon ties and broad-brimmed trooper hats. These were quite distinctive when the boys marched in local parades. By 1975, though, it was decided to adopt the standard department uniform of the day, light blue shirts with navy pocket flaps and epaulets, narrow navy ties and navy pants. Only the badge, which had a red center instead of the standard department's blue, and the shoulder insignia, which included the word "Junior" in the department name on the standard light blue keystone patch, distinguished the Junior members from their senior counterparts. For a short time, the Juniors maintained the trooper hats, but soon returned to the standard five-point cover used by the department.

The original membership of the Junior Fire Brigade was all male, but there was no proscription against female members, and the first girls joined the brigade in the early 1980s. At the same time, the 15-member limitation was removed. In the 1990s, Chartiers Valley School District adopted a policy that required all high school 9th and 10th grade students to do a minimum number of community service hours as a graduation requirement. Membership in the Junior Fire Brigade was one way to meet this requirement, and this boosted membership in the Juniors. Though some of these new members serve only to meet the school's requirements, the training they receive will prove invaluable throughout their lives. Other Juniors have gone on the become the leaders of the department, and many have gone on to successful careers in firefighting, fire investigation, fire protection engineering, emergency medical services and nursing in other departments and in other communities.

Today, the Junior Fire Brigade continues to educate its members in firefighting, EMS and emergency response skills, to support the department in its mission, and to provide a safe and supervised environment for young people to gather. Through its organizational structure, it teaches social behavior, the value of community, and the ideal of service.

The members of the Junior Fire Brigade are an integral and essential part of the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department. For information on how to join this category of Membership, click here to go to the "Join Us" page.