Fire Department celebrates 60 years

ANDOVER — The Andover Township Fire Department is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year. A lot has changed since 1953, but its mission and dedication remain the same.

Bob Sipley has been an Andover Township volunteer firefighter for the past 49 years. His contemporary John Bauerlein joined nine years later in 1975. They both sat down with the Township Journal to give some insight as to what has gone on.

The Andover Township Fire Department, identified as Station 32, was established in September of 1953 with 28 charter members, six of whom are still alive today, but not active.

The actual firehouse, located on Limecrest Road, was erected with a single bay for storage of one fire truck in 1954.

A few years later it was expanded to add three more bays. As the trucks got bigger, the bays had to accommodate the change.

At one point, the ambulance service also used to operate out of the firehouse. Over the years additions were made with most of the construction done by the firefighters except for the second floor addition in 1985.

Sipley, retired ready-mix concrete driver, said “Today you have to take a Firefighter 1 course. When we joined, there was no firefighter school.”

All members are volunteers and on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Early on, firefighters like Sipley and Bauerlein were not available during the day because of their jobs, so others would handle the calls when they were dispatched. In those days, the team was alerted form Aeroflex Andover Airport via the Plectron radio system and a siren call, making the response time 20 minutes long.

Today they utilize a paging system where everything is fielded through the police dispatch, and response time is within five minutes.

“We used to have old tankers. We were lucky we made it to the fire. Every so many years, they buy us a new truck,” said Bauerlein. The tanker size and the pumps were not as efficient; often, they would share tankers with neighboring fire departments.

One of the fires they recall with great clarity was at Bauerlein’s home in 1981.

“It was an electrical fire from some county work that was being done. I’ll never forget it. I was driving a truck working when the call came in about 9 a.m. on the Plectron. My wife worked in town hall at the time. I lost everything — a dog too,” said Bauerlein. “Two months and nine days later, I moved back in.”

Another big fire they experienced while on duty was in 1972 right when Sipley became chief of the department.

“There was a huge fire in a barn on Lawrence Road — six or seven horses died. It was horrible. We had to have mutual aid come in,” recalled Sipley. And they both remembered a tragic house fire in the early 1970s where lives were lost.

“Today we are lucky that we don’t have as many fires. The fire prevention bureau is working well. There are not as many old buildings either,” said Sipley. "The equipment and everything is better today.”

And the results prove it, with both men estimating there are less than five serious fires a year, mostly chimney fires and the occasional house fire.

“There were 230 calls last year,” states assistant chief Dan Hennighan. “Most are from alarms, cars and natural disasters like the hurricane which significantly impacted that number.”

Today there are 28 active members. The Andover Township Fire Department hosts several fundraisers throughout the year notably their legendary venison dinners and the Santa Drive which they created and other towns now emulate.

Although Sipley, 79, and Bauerlein, 77, have passed the baton and no longer go on calls, they continue to help out where they can. Their spirit and pride is infectious, and the younger generation respects them.

“You really have to enjoy it because you get up 2 or 3 in the morning and sometimes it’s freezing out — you have to be dedicated,” concluded Bauerlein.