The Reily Township Volunteer Fire Department in Butler County, founded in 1947, has made a lot of strides as a unit since the days of the Cold War, evidenced by the department recently being honored as the Ohio Volunteer Fire Department of the Year. The award had over 800 nominees.
“One way a department could win the award was through recent improvements made in recent years,” said Carol Schwab, one of the volunteers. “We have changed quite a bit in recent years.”
Since 1947, when the department was in an opera house and only featured one fire truck, Reily Township, which covers 36 square miles, raised money through block grants to make the department legitimate. Including building a second fire house in 2012, the department now features three trucks, including one for animal rescue, two frontline pumpers, two 2,100 gallon tankers, and three life squads.
Reily Township members stress that the department is 100 percent volunteer and that it doesn’t charge for anything. The only way the department raises any kind of money is through local, state, and federal grants, Schwab said.
“Grants are the only way we raise money, and we only raise enough to get by,” Schwab said. “We don’t want to charge Reily Township any more taxes nowadays.”
One area where the Reily Township Fire Department focused a lot of its energy is in providing relief for other fire departments in the area. During the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire in June, there were 11 fire departments on the scene, including the RTVFD. The Reily volunteers focused primarily on providing medical relief with the department’s eight emergency medical technicians.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done recently,” said Conrad, who’s been with the department for 37 years. “We’ve worked hard and been through a lot.”
One thing Schwab believes sets the RTVFD apart is family atmosphere. With around 50 houses in the town, the department is very close with everyone in the community involved, often throwing parties for everyone in town.
“When someone is in the department, the spouse and kids are involved, too,” Schwab said. “It’s not just one person going to work. Everyone helps.”
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