The Greenfields Fire Company is totally volunteer and protects Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Bern Township is a 42 square mile suburban/rural township bordering the northwest side of the City of Reading. Our population served is 6900. Our Fire Station is located on Route 183 at the southwest side of the Reading Regional Airport. The Station has 4 bays and houses 2 Engines, a Brush Truck and a Car. We have approximately 20 active firefighters, 5 Line Officers and 3 Fire Police Line Officers
We average between 250 and 275 Emergency Calls a year, mostly Automatic Fire Alarms and Vehicle Accidents. Our primary response area includes residential properties, businesses such as Arrow International, Direct Link Technologies, Classic Harley Davidson and many others. We also protect the Reading Regional Airport, Berks County Prison, the County Nursing Home and the Bern Township portions of Blue Marsh Lake. The new Saint Joseph Hospital will be opening in November of 2006 and will present our volunteers with even more challenges. Two major highways run through our area; Pa Route 183 and US Route 222. We receive and provide Mutual Aid assitance to Mount Pleasant, West Reading, Leesport, Lower Heidelberg, the Township of Spring, Goodwill of Hyde Park and Temple Fire Companies on a regular basis. We also respond as part of the Zone 2 Tanker Task Force where we perform tanker fill site duties. Occasionally, we are dispatched into the City of Reading to assist on multi-alarm fires.
We contend with the same challenges as many other volunteer fire companies in our area - volunteer retention and recruitment problems as well as insufficient funding. We are trying to address some of these challenges by investigating the formation of a partnership with the Mount Pleasant Fire Company in Penn Township. Our Social Quarters is located at the former Station on Boeing Ave in Greenfields. The Club has an active schedule and is available for rentals for groups up to 60 people.