FIRE CHIEF - GEORGE C. REESE

     The Carbon Volunteer Fire Department is a progressive, 100% volunteer department located in the Municipality of Hempfield Township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.  Carbon is situated just outside the City of Greensburg and is 30 miles, or about one half hour east of Pittsburgh.  The Carbon Fire Department (Station 23) is responsible for providing fire protection and rescue services to the residents and visitors of Carbon and its neighboring communities in a suburban area of central Hempfield Township.

     The Carbon Fire Department operates entirely out of one fire station which is located in Carbon. Carbon is dispatched by Westmoreland County 911 over the countywide fire dispatch channel 33.70MHz and Hempfield Township Fire Dispatch over 154.135MHz. All incidents occurring in the Carbon Fire District operate on one of the two Hempfield Township Fire channels, 154.135MHz or 154.355MHz. However, when responding into other areas, fireground operations may be switched to an encrypted 800MHz radio system.

     The Carbon Fire District consists of the communities of Carbon, Swede Hill, and Haydenville; the housing plans/subdivisions of Heather Ridge, Hempfield Manor, Westwind Acres, Westwind Estates, Woodward Estates, Grandview Estates, Mount Odin, and Cool Valley; the Menock Manor and Suburban Estates Trailer Parks, Oakridge Estates Townhomes, Hunt Club Villas Condominium Complex, the Greensburg-Hempfield Business Park, and a large stretch of retail and commercial property along State Route 136     (West Newton Road) and U.S. Route 30 (Lincoln Highway). 

     Additionally, Carbon is often called to assist (provide mutual aid to) other nearby communities such as Fort Allen, Midway/St. Clair, South Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg, and the City of Greensburg thus bringing our total population to nearly 70,000 residents and our annual call volume to 400-500 fire calls per year.

     In order to provide these vital services to Carbon and other nearby communities, our firefighters spend countless hours every year devoting their time to raise money for the department. Some of our more well known fundraisers throughout the year are the annual fish fry which takes place during Lent, and our annual jeep ticket sales which are held from early October to New Year's Day.

     The Carbon firefighters would like to thank the residents of the entire Greensburg area for their continued support of the fire department, as we look forward to continuing to provide our services to Carbon and the surrounding communities in the years to come.