Friendship Hook & Ladder Fire Company

Today's "Hookie" is Ryan Bingaman. Ryan has served Friendship for just shy of 16 years. Since joining, he has held positions of Junior Firefighter, Interior Firefighter, 3rd Assistant Chief, 2nd Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, and last served 6 months as Fire Chief. Ryan works full-time as a career Firefighter/EMT with Township of Spring Fire & Rescue Services in Reading, PA. When asked, Ryan can clearly remember his very first call, which was a chimney fire. When asked about ...his feelings about Friendship, he simply states that he loves "all of the brotherhood and pride felt in the department," and also "the long tradition of the Hooks I helped to mold." Ryan is now serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as the Deputy Chief.

Today's "Hookie" is Ashley Neubauer. Ashley has served Friendship for 11 and a half years, and has been a Junior Firefighter, Interior Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, Lieutenant, and most recently, Captain. Ashley also is an Instructor through the PA State Fire Academy, the PA Department of Health, and the American Heart Association. She works full-time as a Paramedic and the Chief of Boyertown Ambulance. "My biggest reason for joining the fire department is and will always ...be to follow in my Dad's footsteps." Ashley's father, Charles, served as Friendship's Fire Chief for almost 30 years. "I can't begin to try to choose a single most memorable call. I think they are all memorable. What I can say is that I enjoy doing what I do to prove to society and to my colleagues that gender does not matter when it comes to firefighting and EMS. Women can definitely do the job." Ashley is serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as Assistant Chief of Personnel.

Today, our "Hookie" is Cheryl Summerfelt. Cheryl served Friendship for about a year and a half with our fire police. Cheryl is a very passionate and dedicated woman who is always very quick to help others. Cheryl simply states that she loved "coming to Friendship and finding a warm welcome by all." She also had a little family reunion here! "I found out our fire police lady Karen Fryer was my cousin! My mom and her mom are half-sisters! You never know who you find at the fire...house!" Cheryl is serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as part of the Fire Police team.

Our first "Hookie" is Justin Burns. Justin has served our Department since March of 2010, and has served us as a Junior Cadet, a Junior Firefighter, and most recently an Interior Firefighter. Justin is also a state-certified EMT. Justin's father, Mike Burns has been a firefighter at Friendship for decades, most recently as Chief Engineer, so we all knew Justin would follow right in his Dad's footsteps. "Growing up on the same block as the firehouse, I feel as though I was rai...sed by the fire company. On my 15th birthday, I was finally able to fulfill my life-long dream of being 'one of the guys.'" Ever since that day, all of my firefighting experiences have been the most memorable. From my first call to the first time I went into a burning building, these 5 years have been the best years of my life so far." Justin is now serving Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue as an Interior Firefighter.

Even though our Fire Department is no longer in service, the legacy will always live on! Throughout the next week, we will share some thoughts and memories from some of our "Hookies!" Stay tuned!