BVFD - Station 36

BVFD Recruitment Video

BVFD News, Calls and Information

Social Hall Rental

The Board Of Directors has made the decision that we will no longer be renting the Social Hall for events of any kind.

Bingo will continue as usual on Friday and Sunday evenings since this is a fire department function, not a rental.

BVFD Auxiliary Garage Sale June 25th

BVFD Auxiliary will be conducting a garage sale on Saturday, June 25th, from 8:00 AM to Noon. For more information, or to reserve a table, call 814-528-7487.

Ukraine Gear Donation

Through the efforts of Dan Hesch from Kearsarge Fire Department and the First Ukrainian Pentecostal Church, the Belle Valley Fire Department was able to donate 8 sets of firefighting gear that will be sent to Ukrainian firefighters desperately in need of it. The children and adults in these pictures are friends and neighbors of Dan’s who helped unload the gear and prepare it for shipment to Ukraine.

Click on photos to enlarge. Photos by BVFD photographer Katlyn Zimmer

National Patriots Tour

On 5/21, the Belle Valley Fire Department was honored to be asked to participate with the Erie Fire Department in flying an American Flag from BVFD Tower 369 and EFD Tower 1 to help kick of the start of the National Patriots Tour. A flag that was lowered from the Brig Niagara was then transported to Jamestown, NY on it’s first leg of a 14,000 mile motorcycle journey across the US, to return to Erie on September 17th when it’s journey will be complete. Several BVFD members are also members of Fire And Iron Motorcycle Club Station 280, which participated on the kickoff ride. Fire And Iron is a firefighter motorcycle club with members located throughout the US and internationally.

Click on photos to enlarge. Photos by BVFD photographer Katlyn Zimmer.

We remember, respect, and honor the members of the military and first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

2022 Fire Officers And Support Staff

2022 Belle Valley FD Fire Officers and Support Staff:

Chief 360 - Jeremy Moreland

Assistant Chief 361 - John Stephens

Deputy Chief 370 - Ryan Geist

Captain 371 - Zach Kuhn

Captain 372 - Jeremy Kuhn

Safety Officer 36S1 - Steve Woytek

Safety Officer 36S2 - Dave Soule

Fire Police Captain 36FP1 - Jonathan Altadonna

Fire Police Lieutenant 36FP2 - Nick Maly

Lieutenant 36L4 - Mark Longenecker

Lieutenant 36L8 - Ian Jaskiewicz

Lieutenant 36L9 - Josh Horstman

Quartermasters - Steve Woytek, Dave Soule, Josh Horstman

Mechanical Wizard - Thomas Krahnke

Photographer - Katlyn Zimmer

Election Of Officers/Board of Directors 2022

Belle Valley FD Election Of 2022 Officers

Results of the recent election are as follows. These positions become effective January 5^th, 2022

BUSINESS OFFICERS/BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President – Jeff Skonieczki

Vice-President – Steve Woytek

Secretary – Jeremy Kuhn

Assistant Secretary – Josh Horstman

Treasurer – Steve Woytek

Assistant Treasurer – Matt Rogers

Board Of Directors – Jeff Skonieczki

Board Of Directors – Ryan Geist

CHIEF OFFICERS

Chief 360 – Jeremy Moreland

Assistant Chief 361 – John Stephens

Deputy Chief 370 – Ryan Geist

Line officers and support personnel will be appointed as soon as the chiefs review the candidates.

The department wishes to thank the 2021 officers for their hard work during a truly challenging year, and congratulates the team for 2022 and wishes them much success!

Designer Handbag Bingo October 9th 2021

Designer handbag bingo, sponsored by the Belle Valley Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary.

Doors open at 11:00 AM, bingo begins at Noon.

BYOB alcoholic beverages, food and non-alcoholic beverages will be available to purchase.

For tickets, contact:

Carrie 814-440-8902

Kathy 814-823-3953

BVFD 814-825-4359

National Night Out ~ Tuesday, August 3rd, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Another fantastically successful National Night Out hosted by the Belle Valley Fire Department at the station on Norcross Road on Tuesday, August 3rd!

We would like to thank the following sponsors and participants in the event:

United Way of Erie County
Green Acreage Landscaping
UTZ Quality Foods
TOP’s Friendly Markets
Smith’s Provision Company
Schwebel’s Baking Company
Mammoth Restoration
Joe Kujawa
Rockdale Farms of Butler
Sundance Kids Farm Petting Zoo
Crazy Monkey Attractions
Erie County Firefighter’s Association Safety House
DJ Justin
Millcreek Paramedic Service
Millcreek Police Department
PA State Police
Pat Martin Photography
Kearsarge Fire Department Ropes Team
NW PA K9 Search and Rescue Team
The Anna Shelter
The Bair Foundation Family And Child Ministries
Russell C. Schmidt and Son Funeral Home
AT&T FirstNet
The Belle Valley Presbyterian Church
Representative Bob Merski
Councilwoman Kim Clear
Councilman Jim Winarski
Dr. Tyler Titus
Deputy Sheriff Chris Campanelli

Special thanks to the members of The Belle Valley Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary for the many hours of time and effort spent planning, preparing, and volunteering at the event!

Extra special thanks to Nathanial Hall, operator of “Lawns 4 Locals” for his generous donation of $400 to the Belle Valley Fire Department! Nathanial is a young man who mows lawns for donations, which he then passes on to local businesses and organizations.

Photos by BVFD photographer Katlyn Zimmer. Click on individual pictures for a larger version.

Glass Recycling Container Relocation

The Prism Glass Recycling container has been relocated from Headwaters Park on Wager Road to the East end of the Belle Valley Fire Department parking lot to enable easier access for East Millcreek Township residents.

Please be sure that glass items as shown in the guidelines are deposited carefully in the container only. If the container is full, please do not leave items around the outside of the container. Thank you for your assistance in keeping this area clean and safe for everyone.

Bingo Returns!

We are pleased to announce that bingo doors will reopen April 11th! After the Sunday startup, Bingo will be held on Friday and Sunday evenings as usual. Doors open at 4:30 PM and Bingo begins at 6:15 PM.

Please keep in mind we are still under the governor's guidelines so there will be some modifications seating wise, and we are still not allowed to serve food, so please eat dinner before coming. As always, masks are required in the building. We can't wait to see you all again! Thank you for all your support and patience during the pandemic.

Bingo Returning Announcement / Social Hall Rental Announcement

Belle Valley Fire Department Bingo Announcement

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We are happy to announce that based on recent guidelines from the Erie County Department of Health, we expect to be able to open for bingo again soon! Once we are able to finalize the arrangements, we hope to be able to safely welcome our loyal regulars, and fun-loving newcomers as well. Stay tuned for further details as we have them, and thanks for your past and future support! We want to emphasize that bingo is NOT affected by the Social Hall Rental announcement below.

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Belle Valley Fire Department Social Hall Rental Announcement

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Unfortunately, due to different guidelines that apply to rental of the social hall, we are unable to safely offer it to the public for events such as wedding receptions, birthday parties, stag and drags, etc. Based on this, as well as damage done to the hall during previous events, the Board of Directors has decided that we will no longer be offering the Social Hall for rentals.

2020 Recognition Awards

The Belle Valley Fire Department is proud to announce the following recognition awards for 2020. These are normally presented at our Christmas Party and Dinner, but were delayed until our virtual January Business Meeting on 1/6/2021

RESCUE TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR – Tom Krahnke Sr., Matt Rogers, Josh Horstman, and Parker Cerneck

PRESIDENT’S AWARD – Katlyn Zimmer

DAVE TEUBERT SAFETY AWARD – Steve Woytek

CHIEF’S AWARD – Jason Wilson, Ryan Geist

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Mark Longenecker

FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR – Tyler Warhola

Congratulations to all the recipients!

2021 Fire Officers and Support Staff

These are the fire officers and support staff for 2021. These positions are in effect from 1/6/2021 through 1/5/2022. We are fortunate to have a number of members are interested in accepting the additional responsibilities that these positions require. Being a member of a volunteer fire department at any level requires a great deal of time and effort, and even more so for those accepting these positions. In addition to these officers and staff, we appreciate and thank all of our members, and look forward to serving our community in 2021 as we have since 1938!

Chief – John Stephens (360)

Assistant Chief – Zach Kuhn (361)

Deputy Chief – Ryan Geist (370)

Captains – Jeremy Kuhn (371), Matt Rogers (372)

Lieutenants – Josh Horstman (36L1), Paul Rogers (36L2), John Krahnke (36L3), Jason Wilson (36L4)

Scene Support Captain – Jonathan Altadonna (36FP1)

Scene Support Lieutenant – Nick Maly (36FP2)

Safety Officers – Steve Woytek (36S1), Dave Soule (36S2), Joe Altadonna (36S3), Jeremy Moreland (36S4)

Quartermasters – Steve Woytek, Dave Soule, Josh Horstman

Vehicle and Equipment Maintenance/Repair – Tom Krahnke Sr., Paul Rogers, Josh Horstman

Santa Patrol - Saturday, December 19th

Santa Inspection Visit Saturday December 19^th

Once again, the members of the Belle Valley Fire Department will be escorting Santa as he checks the roofs and chimneys in our district before he delivers gifts on December 25^th.

The visit will begin approximately 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 19^th. Santa will be starting on the Eastern side of our district in the Kohler Road area and proceeding through the streets to the Western side of our district in the Glenwood Park Avenue/Perry Highway area.

In accordance with the latest CDC and PA guidelines, neither Santa nor the firefighters will be permitted to leave the vehicles, so we will sadly have to skip our usual candy cane distribution to the kids along the way. The firefighters and Santa will be masked. As usual, though, Santa will be in the bucket of our tower truck so that he can respond to the children, and we will pause as often as possible for those who want to take pictures or videos.

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, but especially for children, so we’d like to do what we can to bring at least a small sense of normalcy to the season.

BVFD Election Results

Results from the recent Belle Valley Fire Department elections. All terms take effect on 1/1/2021 and are for one year unless otherwise noted.

Chief Officers

Chief 360: John Stephens

Assistant Chief 361: Zach Kuhn

Deputy Chief 370: Ryan Geist

Business Officers

President: Jeff Skonieczki

Vice President: Joe Altadonna

Board Secretary: Jeremy Kuhn

Board Assistant Secretary: Josh Horstman

Treasurer: Matt Rogers

Assistant Treasurer: Steve Woytek

Board of Directors

Joe Altadonna (3 year term expires 12/31/2023)

Dave Soule (3 year term expires 12/31//2023)

Erie Gives / Annual Fund Drive

We would like to thank those who were able to support us during the recent Erie Gives event, as well as those who contributed to our fundraising drive. Your contributions help make it possible for us to do what we do. We truly appreciate every dollar, and do our best to make sure that every dollar is spent wisely.

Bingo Canceled Until Further Notice

Due to concerns over the Coronavirus and the recommendations from authorities that we take care to avoid group events, Belle Valley Fire Department Bingo is canceled until further notice. We will be back up and running as soon as it is considered safe again. Thank you for your support of the department!

2020 Officers and Board of Directors

Here are the BVFD officers and support staff for 2020:

Chief 360 - John Stephens
Assistant Chief 361 - Zach Kuhn
Deputy Chief 370 - Tom Krahnke Jr.
Captain 371/Training Officer - Ryan Geist
Lieutenant 36L1 - Jeremy Kuhn
Lieutenant 36L2 - Josh Horstman
Safety Officer 36S1 - Steve Woytek
Safety Officer 36S2 - Dave Soule
362/364 Engineer - John Krahnke

Previously announced board of directors members and business officers for 2020 are:

Board Of Directors

Joe Altadonna
Jeremy Kuhn
Zach Kuhn
Tom Lewis
Matt Rogers
Jeff Skonieczki
Dave Soule
John Stephens

Business Officers

President – Jeff Skonieczki
Vice President – Joe Altadonna
Secretary – Jeremy Kuhn
Assistant Secretary – Josh Horstman
Treasurer – Laura O’Connell
Assistant Treasurer – Steve Woytek

2019 Christmas Party and Awards Banquet

Our annual Christmas Party and Awards Banquet was held on Saturday, December 7^th, at the Siebenbuerger Club.

Santa made an appearance and presented gifts to the children and grandchildren of members, and gifts were also presented to the members by the Board of Directors.

The following service awards were made:

President’s Award – Joe Altadonna
Chief’s Award – Steve Woytek
Safety Award – Tom Krahnke Sr.
Rookie of The Year Award – Ian Jaskiewicz
Citizen Supporter of The Year Award – Bill Kuhn
Vehicle Rescue Related Awards – John Stephens, Zach Kuhn, Tom Krahnke Jr., Ryan Geist, Tom Krahnke Sr., Dave Soule, Dakota Moreland, Ian Jaskiewicz
EMS Related Awards – John Stephens, Zach Kuhn, Matt Rogers, Ryan Geist, Jeremy Kuhn, Josh Horstman, Ray Bauer, Jeremy Moreland, Jason Wilson, Parker Cerneck, Ian Jaskiewicz

Special thanks to the Auxiliary for their donation of $5000 to be used towards the cost of the recently installed exhaust hood and fire suppression system for the station kitchen; and to member Kaitlyn Zimmer for her gift of a copy of her award winning framed picture of our firefighters in a recent parade.

And additional thanks to the Siebenbuerger Club for their hospitality and consideration in support of the department and our mission.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Elections For 2020 Officers

Here are the results for the BVFD elections held on Sunday, 11/10/2019. All positions are effective January 1, 2020:

Chief Officers

Chief 360 – John Stephens

Assistant Chief 361 – Zach Kuhn

Deputy Chief 370 – Tom Krahnke Jr.

Board Of Directors

Joe Altadonna

Jeremy Kuhn

Zach Kuhn

Tom Lewis

Matt Rogers

Jeff Skonieczki

Dave Soule

John Stephens

Business Officers

President – Jeff Skonieczki

Vice President – Joe Altadonna

Secretary – Jeremy Kuhn

Assistant Secretary – Josh Horstman

Treasurer – Laura O’Connell

Assistant Treasurer – Steve Woytek

Congratulations!

Designer Purse Bingo

Designer Purse Bingo!!!

Hosted by The Belle Valley Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary
Proceeds benefit The Belle Valley Fire Department

Saturday, October 5th, 2019
12:00 - 3:00 PM (doors open at 11:00)

Food and beverages available to purchase. BYOB!
50 - 50 raffle

Tickets $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Must have a ticket to enter.

To order tickets online via PayPal, click here: Designer Purse Bingo tickets

For tickets or additional information, contact Laura at (814) 825-4359

The rain may have washed away the plans that some of you made to attend The Belle Valley Community National Night Out celebration at our station on Tuesday evening, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the many Emergency Services and community-minded organizations who participated, nor the enthusiasm of the community members who were able to attend. Some of the participating organizations came from as far away as Butler, PA and Ellington, NY, and we really appreciate their extra travel effort in the rain.

Events like this are impossible to conduct without the dedicated hard work of the organizers and planners, and the community members who participate in one way or another. Thanks to some contingency plans, we were able to minimize the impact of the rain, and keep the attendees safe, dry, and well fed!

Special thanks to our major sponsor The Siebenbuerger Club, as well as additional sponsors The Belle Valley Fire Department, The Belle Valley Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, Green Acreage Landscaping, The Belle Valley Presbyterian Church, United Way of Erie, Smith’s Provision Company, UTZ Quality Foods, The Schwebel Baking Company, TOPS Markets, and former Millcreek Township Supervisor Joe Kujawa.

We expect to have pictures and videos to post soon.

Belle Valley Community 2019 National Night Out

The Belle Valley Fire Department will once again be hosting the National Night Out event for our area. This event is free, and all are welcome. It will be held at the Belle Valley Fire Department Station 36 (1514 Norcross Road Erie, PA 16510) on Tuesday 8/6/19 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

National Night Out is an event designed to allow the members of the community to interact with public safety and other community service groups to promote better understanding of what their roles are, and the services they provide.

Here is a partial listing of the expected participants:

Emergency Services (Millcreek Paramedic Service, Millcreek Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Erie County Sheriffs, Erie County 911 Center, Erie County Ropes Team, NW PA K9 Search and Rescue, Erie County Fire Safety House, Belle Valley Fire Department)

Local Organizations (Petting Zoo, Erie Bayhawks, Anna Shelter, Belle Valley Presbyterian Church)

Rockdale Farm Percheron Horses

Local Media (WICU/WSEE, WJET)

This will be a fun, family friendly, kid friendly event, with free food, a bounce house, gaming trailer, temporary tattoo parlor, petting zoo, and music by DJ Justin O'Connell, in addition to the organizations listed above.

Hope to see you there!

The Belle Valley Fire Department mourns the loss of long time member Gary Baughman, who passed away Tuesday morning, April 30th, after a brief illness. Our deepest condolences go out to Gary's family and friends.

There will be a memorial viewing from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Saturday 05/04/2019 at the Burton Wintergreen Funeral Home, 2532 Norcross Road, Erie PA.

From 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Saturday, there will be a Celebration of Life at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1101 South Hill Road, Erie PA.

2019 Officers

OFFICERS
Chief	360	John Stephens
Assistant Chief	361	Tom Krahnke Jr.
Deputy Chief	370	Zach Kuhn
Captain	371	Ryan Geist
Captain / Training Officer	372	Matt Rogers
Lieutenant	36-L1	Josh Horstman
Lieutenant	36-L2	Jeremy Kuhn
Lieutenant	36-L3	Paul Rogers
Safety Officer	36-S1	Steve Woytek

Election Of Officers and Board of Directors Members

The Belle Valley Fire Department recently held elections for Officers and Board of Directors members for the coming year.

Fire Operations Officers (effective 12/5/18)

Chief: John Stephens
Assistant Chief: Tom Krahnke Jr.
Deputy Chief: Zach Kuhn

Business Operations Officers and Board of Directors Members (effective 1/1/19)

President: Jeff Skonieczki
Vice-President: Matt Rogers
Secretary: Josh Horstman
Assistant Secretary: Jeremy Kuhn
Treasurer: Laura O'Connell Siren
Assistant Treasurer: Steve Woytek
Board of Directors 3 year term: Tom Lewis
Board of Directors 3 year term: Matt Rogers
Board of Directors 2 year term: Dave Soule

Congratulations to all!

Condolences

The Belle Valley Fire Department extends our condolences to the family of Paul J. Martin. Paul passed away on Wednesday, August 8th, 2018. He was a long time member of the Belle Valley Fire Department.