PAST
PRESIDENT’S
NEWSLETTER
History of Fire Service Traditions
—
—
Bagpipes
The tradition of bagpipes played
at fire department and police
department funerals in the United
States goes back over one hundred fifty years. When the Irish
and Scottish immigrated to this
country, they brought many of
their traditions with them. One
of these was the Great Highland
Bagpipe, often played at Celtic
weddings, funerals and ceilis
(dances).
It wasn't until the great potato
famine and massive Irish immigration to the East Coast of the
United States that the tradition of
the bagpipes really took hold in
the fire department. In the
1800's, Irish immigrants faced
massive discrimination. Factories and shops had signs reading
"NINA" - No Irish Need Apply. The only jobs they could get
were the ones no one else wanted
When a courageous band of crusaders known as Knights of St.
John fought the Saracens for possession of the holy land, they
encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors. It
was a simple, but horrible device
of war. It wrought excruciating
pain and agonizing death upon
the brave fighters for the
cross. The Saracens weapon was
fire. As the crusaders advanced
on the walls of the city, they
were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha. When they became saturated with the highly
flammable liquid, the Saracens
hurled a flaming torch into their
midst. Hundreds of the knights
were burned alive; others risked
their lives to save their brothersin-arms from dying painful,
fiery deaths.
Thus, these men became our
first Fire Fighters and the first of
a long list of courageous Fire
Fighters. Their heroic efforts
were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each hero a
badge of honor, a cross similar
to the one fire fighters wear today. Since the Knights of St.
John lived for close to four centuries on a little island in the
Mediterranean Sea named
Malta, the cross came to be
known as the Maltese
Cross. The Maltese Cross is
your symbol of protection. It
means that the Fire Fighter who
wears this cross is willing to lay
down his life for you just as the
crusaders sacrificed their lives
for their fellow man so many
years ago. The Maltese Cross is
a Fire Fighter's badge of honor,
signifying that he works in courage...a ladder rung away from
death.
The Fireman's "Ringing of the
Bell" Tradition
The ceremonial ringing of the
bell in memory of those who
died in the line of duty is an age
old tradition of the Fire Services
that dates back over 150
years. The tradition reflects
respect and honor to those who
gave their lives to their duty. A
distinctive bell ringing marks
the end of an emergency and a
return to quarters. In memory
of all who died during the attacks on September 11, 2001
the bell is rung five times in
series of fives (5 x 5 x 5 x 5 x
5). Multiplied out this equals
3,125, a number very close to
the number of people who died
as result of the attacks.
The Dalmatian
The Dalmation was first used in
the fire service when most fire
companies were volunteer or
privately operated. There was
some competition for services. Some of the firefighters
were actually recruited not only
for their strength in fighting fire
but for their fighting abilities to
protect the company and its
equipment. Insurance companies paid the fire company that
put out the fire, so the one that
made it to the scene, hooked up
to a hydrant and completed the
task, got paid. The dogs
worked well at this task of protecting not only the horses, but
the equipment in the stations
and on the fire ground as well.
Early firefighters took tremendous pride in their companies.
They would turn out and parade
through the city at almost any
occasion. Great care was taken
in making your rig fancier than
the next one. Polished brass
brilliant paint jobs and gleaming leather were always maintained. It was only natural that
when word of this remarkable
spotted dog was heard, companies had to have one.
To be continued next month...
Vol u me VI ,
I s su e VII
November,
2015
Inside thi s issue:
—
News….
2
News….
3
Beware Holiday Scams...
December Birthdays and Anniversaries
4
=
Thanksgiving
The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their
treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorwayThanksgiving comes again
—
Vol ume VI, Iss ue VII
Page 2
MSFA PP Roger Powell has
moved:
News….
Roger N. Powell
Above: PP Robert Knippenburg and his brother Harold
Knippenburg at WWII Memorial in Washington DC
The History of Honor Flight
Attorney at Law
The inaugural Honor Flight
Tour took place in May of
2005. Six small planes flew
out of Springfield, Ohio taking twelve World War II veterans on a visit to the memorial in Washington, DC. In
August of 2005, an everexpanding waiting list of veterans led to the transition to
commercial airline carriers
with the goal of accommodating as many veterans as possible. Partnering with Honor
Air in Hendersonville, North
Carolina, they formed the
“Honor Flight Network.”
Today, they continue working aggressively to expand
their programs to other cities
across the nation.
1190 West Northern Parkway
After learning that PP Knippenburgs’ brother planned to
visit the WWII Memorial in
Honor Flight Network is a
October, plans were put into
non-profit organization creplace to surprise him by
ated solely to honor Amermeeting him at the Memorial.
ica’s veterans for all their
The plan worked and he was
sacrifices. Each year they
transport our heroes to Wash- surprised. Pictured below left
to right: Guardian Bob Sieington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top mers, Barbara Knippenburg,
priority is given to the senior Harold Knippenburg and PP
veterans – World War II sur- Robert Knippenburg. A
vivors, along with those other wonderful trip and visit that
veterans who may be termi- will be long remembered
nally ill.
Of all of the wars in recent
memory, it was World War II
that truly threatened our very
existence as a nation—and as
a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an
estimated 640 WWII veterans
die each day. Our time to
express our thanks to these
brave men and women is running out.
Suite 122
Baltimore, Md. 21210
Contact Numbers are:
410-464-0262
410-464-5057 (fax)
410-627 6338 (c)
rogerpwll5@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LAMSFA PP Sandi Lutz enjoyed
cruise from Baltimore to Key West.
Please continue to keep
MSFA PP Roger Steger and
his wife, Joy in you thoughts
and prayers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MSFA PP
Paul Sterling
is greeted by
MSFA Executive Committee
Chair Jim Seavey at the finish line of
NFFF 5K Memorial Run at
the IAFC VCOS Symposium in the Sun
in Clearwater,
Fla.
Actor Randolph Mantooth as
Johnny Gage from the TV
Show "Emergency -Squad 51"
was a featured speaker at Symposium in the Sunday.
Vol ume VI, Iss ue VII
Page 3
News...
Beware of Holiday Scams
Mobile devices offer a convenient way to holiday shop
and send season’s greetings,
but they can also open the
door for plenty of Holiday
Scams. If you find yourself
browsing, clicking, and buying online, keep yourself safe
by watching for and steering
clear of these holiday scams.
LA MSFA PP Ann Price Davis
Disney trip for climbing the LAMSFA chairs.
North Carolina State Firefighters Association at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Above: PP Dave Lewis’s visit to
Hendrick Motorsports
* Malicious apps. Avoid apps
that are intended to steal your
information.
*Dangerous e-Seasons greetings. Do not open e-cards
from people you do not
know.
*Phony gift cards. Do not
purchase gift cards from third
party websites. Buy directly
from official retailer.
Looks like the whole family enjoyed the Disney trip.
MSFA PP Paul Sterling on Fire Prevention
detail at local pre-school.
*Fake charities. Before making donations to a charity,
verify the website’s address
and watch for fake logos or
text with altered charity
names.
*Holiday smishing. Always
be wary of text messages
asking for account or password verification.
*Shipping notification
shams. Unless you have actually purchased something
from an online retailer and
have verified a shipping notification email’s validity, do
not click on any links provided within the email.
Trick or Treating at GiGi and Pop Pops—PP
Joe Robison and wife JoAnn
*Holiday text message
scams. Do not click on any
links in text messages that
offer to update or install an
app.
Use what talents you possess: the woods would be
very silent if no birds sang there except those that
sang best.
~ Henry Van Dyke
Robyn Sheldon-Hahn
Nancy Cox
Rosa Maher
Glema Balta
Roger Steger Sr.
December 9
December 10
December 14
December 18
December 30
Rosa & John Maher
December 1
Carl & Eileen Edelin
December 28
Robert E. Knippenburg
17608 Old Dan’s Rock Road, SW
Frostburg, Maryland 21532
Phone: 301-463-6114
Cell: 301-268-3792
E-mail: knip@msfa.org
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