SENECA VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT HISTORY AND SERVICES We are known as the Seneca Volunteer Fire Department, located in the village of Seneca, Pennsylvania. Our charter was enacted May 26, 1949 “… for the support, management, and maintenance of a fire department for the control of fires and the protection of life and property from and during such fires and emergencies as may occur in Cranberry Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania…” Concerned citizens organized the fire department when the City of Oil City passed an ordinance to charge Cranberry Township residents for responses to emergency calls. The Seneca Fire Department has a rich heritage of service and tradition. For the past 60 years, residents have been able to take comfort in the knowledge that dedicated, trained Seneca Firefighters are just a phone call away, ready and able to provide a first response to meet the challenge regardless of the type of emergency. The Seneca Volunteer Fire Department operates out of one station and covers 72.4 square miles, encompassing all of Cranberry Township. We house 2 engines, a pumper/tanker, a heavy rescue truck, a quick response medical squad/rapid intervention team deployment unit, a brush truck, a rescue boat, and a mobile breathing air cascade trailer. We are responsible for protecting much of the critical infrastructure of Venango County, including a major business district housing both Federal and State properties as well as UPMC Northwest, a new 110-bed hospital and emergency department operated by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; a high pressure 12” Tennessee Valley natural gas pipeline and a National Fuel natural gas extraction plant; water wells, water supply and pumping facilities for the township and City of Oil City; and a bridge carrying U.S. 322 over the Allegheny River. To expand on the large area and diversity of our service area, there are 79 miles of township roadways, 22 miles of State roadways and 11 miles of U.S. Route 322 within Cranberry Township. In addition to trans-state traffic, U.S. Route 322 provides a vital alternative transportation artery in the event of the closure or emergency shutdown of Interstate 80. Route 322 together with State Route 257 carries over 38% of the commercial and private conveyance traffic in the county. The Cranberry Area School District public schools within the Township, include an elementary school, middle school, and a high school. Christian Life Academy, a private school, also maintains an older building housing their school facility as well as leased office space. Although Cranberry Township only has a residential population of 7,300 persons, on a typical school and workday, the population of the Fire Department’s primary service area increases as individuals travel in to work and shop. Considering that we provide mutual aid to 8 fire departments in neighboring municipalities, (the City of Franklin, City of Oil City, Cornplanter Township, Pinegrove Township, President Township, Rockland Township, and the Reno and Rocky Grove fire departments in the Borough of Sugarcreek), this also extends our total service base. Our services include, but are not limited to fire prevention and suppression, basic life support medical rescue, vehicle rescue, operations level Hazardous-Materials response, water and ice rescue, disaster response and support, traffic control, and public service activities. We also provide a response for airport crash/ rescue support to the Venango Regional Airport. A new mission has been the training and equipping of a Rapid Intervention Team, which is on call for 4 neighboring municipalities. The Rapid Intervention Team is available to any department upon request to Venango County 9-1-1. This is not a list of services in name only, the Seneca Volunteer Fire Department has experience in responding to emergencies involving hazardous materials spills, chemical plant fires, refinery fires, tornadoes, floods, and farm accidents as well as the more typical fire and rescue calls. In the face of the challenges presented by the growth of the township, the department has continued to build on the foundations laid by those who have gone before us. Fire Prevention activities in the schools and local retail complexes is a priority each year. We are constantly involved in training and the process of maintaining, evaluating, and updating or replacing equipment to meet the expanding requirements of our mission of “…protecting life and property in Cranberry Township.”