| For forty-six years, Jack Anderson has called the Gladwyne Fire Company his home away from home, as an engineer within the department, and the veteran of the three paid firemen. This Saturday morning Jack will finish up his final tour with us, after more than four decades of serving the community.
In his illustrious career with the fire department, Jack has seen it all. From our townships largest fires, to the changes in the fire service, and especially the changes right here in Gladwyne. For instance, when Jack first came to GFC in July of 1965, still a student in high school, the firehouse was a single building with one bay door, storing only two truck. Since that time – as you can see – the firehouse has flourished into a sufficient building with world-class fire apparatus.
As you can imagine, a lot can happen in almost half a century! Jack claims his most memorable fire is when Connolly Containers went up in flames, and he along with all of Lower Merion firefighters battled for nearly three days. Jack also responded to other memorable fires, includin large estate house on Valley Road and recently, the Winding Way fire in Merion last winter.
Al Culbertson, who was Chief of Gladwyne for 31 years, and has known Jack his whole life, reminded us of the time Jack entered the Schuylkill River to rescue a duck stuck on the ice only to find out that is was a decoy. Nevertheless, Jack received letters of praise from all over the world and even a phone call from Australia. Since that "rescue" over 35 years ago, the duck has proudly sat on top of the chimney at the firehouse. Take a look at it the next time you drive by.
Jack has made significant contributions to Gladwyne including his input on the constructing of our new trucks in the recent years. His knowledge on a range of material makes him a tremendous asset to the fire company, not to mention, his sense of humor that will certainly be missed. Upon retirement, Jack still plans on running and operating his tree service company, as well as spending time with his two children, Dylan and Emma. |
