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Seventy-five percent of the volunteers had significant damage to their own homes.

Tilbury Station is replacing the floor in the auditorium of Horror Hall, the fundraising haunted house.

Clark Van Orden/The Times Leader

Shawn Souder and fellow Tilbury firefighters have continued to aid the community despite flood damage to station, homes.

Clark Van Orden/The Times Leader

The Plymouth Township Fire and Rescue Tilbury Station in West Nanticoke normally holds events to raise money for operating expenses.

This year, the annual Mudbog scheduled for July was canceled because of rain, and the Horror Hall haunted house for Halloween was flooded by the Susquehanna River in September after Tropical Storm Lee.

Proceeds from those events are used to equip the station and to buy Christmas gifts for area children.

Flooding also impacted most of the 25 volunteer firefighters whose homes were inundated.

For that reason the Plymouth Township Fire and Rescue Tilbury Station is one of five agencies and nonprofit organizations being featured in this year’s edition of The Times Leader’s Giving Guide.

There is widespread need throughout the area, but the hardship is unique in communities flooded in September. Each organization spotlighted in this week’s series either was flooded, strained its resources helping people in the inundated areas, or both. Readers are asked to consider contributing to one or more of these worthy causes this holiday season.

John Rinehimer, who has served as Tilbury fire chief since 1978, said he is determined not to allow these setbacks to interfere with the volunteers’ delivery of Christmas gifts. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be atop one of the station’s fire trucks on Dec. 24 making children and area residents believe again, he said.

Rinehimer said the Tilbury Station is fully staffed by volunteers; and, although it does receive some funding from Plymouth Township, the station relies on money from the fundraisers to operate.

The chief, who himself is rebuilding his flood-damaged home, said he will lead the effort to repair both the fire station and the spirits of those who have experienced effects of the flood.

“Some of these people just think, ‘We’ve had enough,’ ” said Rinehimer, sitting in his home on Poplar Street surrounded by building supplies. “They need a reason to move forward.”

Personal hardships, too

Of the 25 volunteers, 75 percent have experienced significant damage to their own homes. Nevertheless, many staffed the firehouse during the flood, serving hot meals and providing fellowship to others affected by the flood.

But “the morale of the firefighters is now also becoming a concern,” said volunteer firefighter Lee Beatty of Nanticoke.

He said that because of extensive firehouse damage, volunteers are not able to gather socially and provide support for each other in the face of adversity.

Beatty, who also served as a volunteer in New York City during the events of Sept. 11, 2001, compared the experiences of the victims of both tragedies. Beatty said although the events of 9/11 were certainly on a larger scale than recent area flooding, the experiences of the victims of the events were similar.

“Victims experience devastation and are in need of both emotional and financial assistance,” said Beatty, a native of New York.

Shawn Souder, Nanticoke, a volunteer at the firehouse, expressed concern for those who benefited from programs and activities that normally took place at the firehouse.

“For example, we have had to suspend our cadet program, which provided opportunity for young people 15 and older to come to the firehouse and get to know the firefighters and to be introduced to basic firefighting concepts,” Souder said.

Cadet training on hold

Souder also indicated the cadet program was an opportunity for the volunteers to instill values in young men. He said he hopes the program will be soon “up and running again” in order to provide that service to the community.

Gale Conrad, chairwoman of the Plymouth Township Board of Supervisors, which oversees the Tilbury firehouse, also said her heart goes out to residents of that area who are still working to repair their homes.

“These people have been working for a long time,” said Conrad, “and their homes and their lives are still not back to normal. They are tired.”

Conrad anticipates that by springtime, a spirit of hope will return to the area, as homes will be repaired and a feeling of normalcy returns. She lauded area residents for their concern for others during the flooding, remembering residents reached out to offer others such items as clothes and toys, despite their own loss.

Still, the financial needs of the station remain. The entire first floor still needs major repairs to be functional again. Volunteers want to fully serve their community and to be able to utilize the firehouse to host annual events and as a haven for the volunteers.

“It takes a special sense of service,” says Beatty, “to run into a fire when others are running out.”

It is with this sense of service the volunteers look forward to their firehouse again being complete and fully functional.

“The fire station is not going anywhere, no matter what happens,” said Rinehimer. “We will continue to serve both in the areas of fire and rescue, and as servants of our community.”

“This year especially,” said the chief, “we could really use some help.”

THE TIMES LEADER 2011 GIVING GUIDE

The Plymouth Township Fire and Rescue Tilbury Station is one of five agencies and nonprofit organizations affected by the flooding in September featured in this year’s Times Leader Giving Guide.

Donations can be sent to:

Plymouth Twp. Fire and Rescue Tilbury Station

11 E. Poplar St.

West Nanticoke, PA 18634