About Us
Chartered in 1947, the Upper Black Eddy Fire Company is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit company, formed to provide fire and rescue services to people in and around the Upper Black Eddy area.Service Area
The Upper Black Eddy Fire Company primary coverage area is 17 square miles of northeastern Bucks County, covering all of Bridgeton Township, as well as sections of Nockamixon and Tinicum Townships.
The area served is mostly rural and wooded, with single-family detached homes typically on lots of three acres and larger.
In addition to the residential properties, the coverage area also includes:
- Two campgrounds (Ringing Rocks and Colonial Woods)
- Two large auto salvage yards (Nicks Used Auto Parts & Miller's Auto Parts)
- An elementary school (The River Valley School)
- Several Inns and/or Bed and Breakfasts (Indian Rock Inn, Bridgeton House)
- A working quarry
- Several commercial properties
- A privately owned helipad
- A county park (Ringing Rocks Park)
- Several farms
For certain calls we also provide automatic mutual aid to Ottsvile (Bucks County Station 49), Erwinna (Bucks County Station 48), Reiglesville Boro (Bucks County Station 42).
We have responded to calls as far away as Yardley, PA and Perkasie PA.
In Hunterdon County, NJ, We also cover Milford Boro, Holland Township NJ, Frenchtown, NJ, parts of Alexandria Township,
Population Growth in Served Area
The area served is experiencing development pressures, the number of new homes and commercial structures built is increasing every year. The overall projected growth rate for Bucks County is 25% for 2000-2025. As a result, the population of the area is increasing, and with increased population comes increased demands on the fire service.
Membership & Recruiting
The number of volunteer firefighters is not growing. Attrition due to old age and members moving out of the area exceeds the rate at which the department is able to recruit, train and retain new members.
While the department has an admirable response rate at night (most evening calls have at least 15 members arriving on-scene) during the day, the number of available firefighters is occasionally too low to respond to a call. Several times a year, we are unable to respond to a call during the day due to a lack of daytime members. The need to recruit & retain new daytime firefighters is acute.
There are usually twenty five department members, of which about 15 respond regularly. The median age of the active members is approximately forty-one years old.
Incident Types
For the last three years, most common call types are:
1. Brush & Debris Fires
2. Motor Vehicle Accidents (Rescue/Extrication)
3. Special Service Calls (Flooding, Medical Assist)
4. Structural Fires
This includes calls to assist other stations.