Stepping out of the car at Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department on a brisk, autumn afternoon brought an encouraging community environment to the scene. The air was buzzing as numerous volunteers prepared to welcome countless families around the area to the department’s 100th year anniversary celebration with a community open house. The company’s numerous emergency vehicles were proudly displayed outside, and children were encouraged to climb inside and witness the scale of these massive rigs. Three local food trucks offered a variety of lunch options, and more vendors congregated inside the fire station’s bays. Children’s games and bounce houses were also featured. But it wasn’t just families who came to visit for this special occasion– family is the concept upon which the Jefferson VFD is built.
Genea McCartney, paramedic of 31 years and current president of the department, provided a wonderful introduction to the numerous families who devoted their lives to the service of those in the community, especially many of her own relatives. “My first memory, I was five years old. I was at my Aunt Diane and Uncle Earl’s house (then Jefferson’s fire chief) and I remember them getting a call. I remember him putting on his orange jumpsuit uniform.” Since 911 services had not yet been established at the Greene County Courthouse, the McManneses personally housed the fire whistle, and took turns answering emergency calls with Frank Behm, just down the road.
McCartney grew up around the firefighting family and came to raise her own with her late husband, Second Lieutenant John McCartney. She now serves as a paramedic at the department alongside her firefighter daughter, Krista.
The company’s history dates back a century to its inception on April 16th, 1925. The Downey House Fire in Waynesburg was a devastating disaster to Greene County and prompted the creation of a volunteer response service in the Jefferson area.
In those days, Jefferson’s fire department was housed in the present-day Senior Citizens’ Center. Only in 1977 was the firehall built at its current location less than half a mile down the road. In 1979, the new facility was finished, complete with a social hall to facilitate community fellowship through years of bingo, carnivals, and gatherings, as well as a second story to accommodate emergency workers’ 24-hour needs. The first meeting was held on December 7, 1979, and the services provided– as well as the needs arisen– have only grown since.
Jefferson’s Fire Chief Joe Petek remarks that the company is on track to hit 500 total emergency calls just within this year. He explains that ambulance calls account for the highest number of call-outs, but fire services are also critical. However, with this growing need for trained emergency professionals comes the equally difficult challenge to secure individuals who are willing or able to support the company.
Chief Petek cites growing challenges on the National Registry Test as a stumbling block to certifying “good and experienced” individuals, as well as off-the-charts equipment and training costs. “To outfit just one firefighter, it takes $10,000. It’s $45,000 for a cot system in an ambulance. We just spent $80,000 at the company.”
Training requirements are also becoming stricter, with difficult biannual certifications needed for paramedics and EMTs, as well as expensive costs associated with achieving higher levels within the firefighting world.
These challenges often prevent potential volunteers from lending their time and talents to their local departments. “Our rosters used to be full, with waiting lists to get on with the department,” says McCartney. “Now, we’re in the low forties with only two junior members.”
“People assume we’re good,” continues the chief. “But maintaining state-of-the-art rigs and equipment takes top-notch supporters and volunteers.”
Thanks to a recent grant, however, the department is excited to provide a new piece of crucial safety equipment designed to decrease cases of “Fireman’s Cancer” in volunteers who serve in smoky, toxic environments. Large, yellow hoses serve as air vacuums, filtering disease particulates from within the firetrucks and purifying the air firefighters are breathing.
The department is also excited to restart its Auxiliary at the beginning of 2026 as a means for community participation from those who aren’t necessarily able to fight fires themselves, but can contribute to the work being done through facility maintenance and staffing fundraisers.
Petek and McCartney agree that operating a volunteer fire department is always a learning process. “I read everyday,” Petek says. McCartney explains that the Western Pennsylvania Fireman’s Association also provides an enlightening training opportunity at the annual Western Convention for emergency responders. She shares that this week-long event of education and comradery inspired the idea for the community celebration held. “We wanted a day for people to come in and talk. We didn’t really want to be doing anything.”
And, as it turns out, this event provided equal parts education and comradery. Many tables inside the department functioned as mini workshops in emergency training, such as Linda Coen’s medical information station. Coen serves as the company’s EMS instructor and is herself a Jefferson paramedic and firefighter. She shares that the company offers public courses in CPR, AED use, and Stop the Bleed practices. “We need younger folks involved,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s rewarding.”
Krissa is one such young person. A junior member of the Jefferson VFD, she trains at the Greene County CTC’s EMT program and serves as a medical responder along with the other adults in the company.
Jay Adamson, Jefferson’s assistant chief and longest-standing member of the company with 48 years of service, sums up the family-like passion that drives each member to serve in such a capacity. “I started in 1978 because my Dad did it, and I figure someone’s got to do it!”
In all seriousness, when asked about the most rewarding part of his role, Adamson replies, “Seeing people smile when you help them, seeing their gratitude. Doing CPR on someone and then three months later shaking their hand. We’re a big family.”
It is more than evident that each member of the Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department is not only committed to their role but fully invested in the sacrifices required of them. Petek says “If my house were on fire, I’d want someone there.” Fortunately for the families of this community, there is indeed a dedicated, highly qualified family ready to serve and sacrifice for another hundred years.
