The Vigilant Hose Company

Includes 1-10 oz. steak & all the crab legs you can eat, baked potato, cole slaw, green beans, rolls, can beer, soda. Doors open at 3:30pm. Event is 4-8pm at the Firehall. Price is $25/person. No carry-outs.

Sprinklers save Historic Carriage House Inn

EMMITSBURG -- After a fire sparked in the Carriage House Inn kitchen after hours, sprinklers saved the structure, according to officials with the Vigilant Hose Company.

A National Fire Academy student was walking near the restaurant at 200 S. Seton Ave. about 1 a.m. Sunday when the student saw smoke coming from the building, said Lt. Jason Powell. The student called 911 but the sprinklers had already started to operate.

"The sprinklers definitely saved the building," Powell said.

The county fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, he said. The building suffered only about $5,000 in structural damages but employees have a lot of cleaning up to do.

No one was injured in the blaze, he said. Fire crews were on the scene for about three hours.

The building dates back to 1857 but within the past couple of years, the owner decided to put in the sprinklers, Powell said.

A message on the Carriage House Inn's answering machine Sunday said the restaurant will not reopen until Wednesday.

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Fairfield House Fire

Fairfield, Pa. - The Vigilant Hose Company responded to a house fire in neighboring Fairfield, Pa. on April 27, 2008. Follow the link provided to view all the pictures of the incident.

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Fire crews battle brush fire
Originally published in The Frederick News Post

Fire crews worked to extinguish a brush fire that threatened two structures along Mountaindale Road in the City of Frederick Municipal Forest. The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m.

Nearly three dozen units and 125 personnel responded to the fire, which came within 25 feet of both structures, a cabin and an unoccupied home.

Frederick County Battalion Chief Thomas E. Coe said at several points, fire crews had to retreat from the fire. Cole said he believes the fire was caused by a controlled burn.

Firefighters were drawing water from Fishing Creek.

Human remains found in Emmitsburg
By Stephanie Long
Emmitsburg Dispatch Staff Writer

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Skeletal remains were found on a wooded parcel of land between Route 15 and St. Anthony Road, just outside Emmitsburg.

“We’re handling this as a homicide until we find out differently,” said Captain Tim Clarke with the sheriff’s office.

On Feb. 29, realtor Jack Klingler, who declined to comment on the on-going investigation, discovered the bones while conducting a property survey and called 911 at 3:42 p.m. When deputies arrived on the scene, they determined the remains were possibly human and secured the area.

“We also had deputies securing the scene overnight,” Clarke said. “We knew about the body Friday, but because we were expecting bad weather, we waited until Saturday to investigate.”

From 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, about 10 crime scene technicians, detectives and deputies, worked the scene, sifting through soil and sweeping the area for potential clues or scattered bone fragments.

“Anytime you have a body that’s decomposed, there’s the possibility that small animals may have moved bones from the original site. You have to look beyond that location,” Clarke said.

Vigilant Hose Company firefighters assisted with the search, including Jim Click. Click said about 12 members of the company slowly walked in a straight line through brush, trees and thorn bushes looking for evidence.

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Renovations nearing completion

Originally published in The Frederick News Post March 05, 2008
By Gina Gallucci News-Post Staff

Officials with the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg expect this week to complete renovations to their station which have been in the works for about two years.

Tim Clarke, public information officer, and Frank Davis, president, gave me a tour of the station last week -- just as workers were putting the finishing touches on the renovations.

Five offices, storage areas and bunk rooms for up to 11 people are among the highlights in the more than 2,000 square feet added to the building.

In the late 1990s, the company bought an apartment building next door to its 25 W. Main St. location for about $130,000, Clarke said. The building, which is about 100 years old, was to be renovated to expand the station, which then was about 9,000 square feet.

After getting the station and vehicles paid off, the company decided to start the expansion.

"We felt it was a good time to start the project," Clarke said.

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VHC Hosts Drill near Mount Saint Marys

The VHC and several nearby fire companies held a drill at nearby Mount Saint Mary's College for training purposes. To review the pictures of the day.... Click Here.

Vigilant Hose Company Holds Annual Banquet

Dot Davis - Hall Of Fame

Vigilant Hose Company held its annual banquet on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg. The 2008 officers were installed by the Maryland State Fireman’s Association First Vice President Frank Underwood.

The fire company was established 1884 and has served the community 124 years. The current building site was purchased in 1920 for $4,500.

Outgoing Auxiliary President Dot Davis was inducted into the Hall Of Fame but not before presenting the Vigilant Hose Company with a check for $30,000.

For full coverage of the banquet click here

Emmitsburg's Fire Corps wants you

Originally published June 20, 2007
By Ashley Andyshak News-Post Staff

EMMITSBURG - Two emergency services groups are looking for volunteers.

Not a trained firefighter or EMS technician?

Not a problem, said John Hoyle, training specialist at the Emergency Management Institute on South Seton Avenue.

The Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company want citizens to help with everything from administrative duties to manning booths at fundraisers as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Fire Corps program, Hoyle said.

The Corps encourages citizens to volunteer in any capacity with their local fire and EMS companies. The organization formed after Sept. 11, 2001, when demand for emergency services increased while funding decreased, Hoyle said.

The Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company will kick off their campaigns for volunteers at the town's 25th annual Community Day June 30.

The Corps is looking for people with administrative and computer skills, mechanics, plumbers and carpenters, people who can serve food at fundraising events, and even those who can make quilts or birdhouses to be used in company raffles, Hoyle said.

"It's a very open-ended program, where people can contribute what they feel they can do to help," he said. "The important thing for people to realize is there are no regular meetings. This is a nonoperational corps; we're not recruiting them to be firefighters or EMS people."

People with backgrounds in preserving history and preparing marketing programs and written materials are needed as well, he said.

The Corps would also like to form a group to give fire prevention presentations at area schools, if citizens show interest. The Corps would provide training for such a group, he said, but there is no training required for other volunteers.

"It's open to what they think they can give us; there's no hour requirement," he said. "A lot can be done in people's homes."

Both the Vigilant Hose Company and the Emmitsburg Ambulance Company are all-volunteer organizations, Hoyle said, making the need for Fire Corps volunteers even greater.

The two companies serve all of northern Frederick County, and also assist Washington and Carroll counties and areas in southern Pennsylvania.

For more information or to become a Fire/EMS Corps volunteer contact:

John Hoyle, Vigilant Hose Company, 301-447-2728, or Mary Lou Little, Emmitsburg Ambulance Company, 301-447-6626

If We Can't Find You, We Can't Help You!

House numbers should be:

In plain, block numerals on a contrasting background.
Unobstructed and large enough to be seen from the road.
Facing the street named in your address.
Displayed at your driveway entrance if your house is not visible from the road or on a flag lot.

In an Emergency, Seconds Count! Clearly visible house numbers are vitally important in saving precious time when firefighters, police, or paramedics must respond to your home.

Thanks to Howard County Fire & Rescue for this content!

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