Fourth-Generation Fire Chief Bids Farewell: Lock Haven’s Hand-In-Hand Hose Company salutes retiring leader after decades of service
By Emily Wright
LOCK HAVEN, PA – A fourth-generation fire chief has announced his retirement from Hand-In-Hand Hose Company effective September 4. Since June 17, 1985 Fire Chief Robert (Bob) Neff has faithfully served the City of Lock Haven and surrounding areas.
The fire chief is the highest-ranking person in a fire department, responsible for everything from leading and overseeing their team to educating the community about fire safety and prevention. Neff’s son, Jake Neff, will be assuming his father’s role as fire chief. Fully prepared to follow in his father’s footsteps, Jake began to volunteer in a junior program for the fire company when he was only 14 years old. He’s already begun the process of getting acclimated as fire chief, and he reports that on the first day, he assisted with six calls to the station; making for a very busy day.
Neff’s family has a long history of fighting fires and assisting with other emergencies locally, in fact, his son Jake will be a fifth-generation firefighter. Neff’s great-great-grandfather to a few of his uncles have served the community at both Hand-In-Hand Hose and Hope Hose Companies and now his son will continue the legacy by leading one of the city’s essential emergency response teams.
Although he will be retiring from his fire chief position, Neff still plans to work at the fire station as an auxiliary driver, where his main responsibility will be driving the fire truck.
There are many aspects of firefighting that go unnoticed. According to Neff, the majority of the fire department’s personnel work on-call shifts, meaning they are always available when disaster strikes. Neff told The Record that it’s not unusual for a firefighter to receive a call at any given time; he and his son Jake recounted scenarios they’ve experienced such as sitting down for dinner and receiving a call three bites into their meal. Neff stated his feeling on receiving a call at an inconvenient time, “If you’re at home and you care, you’re gonna show up when a call comes in.”
Hand-In-Hand Hose Company averages a five-to-ten-minute response time, so when a call comes in, regardless of what they’re doing, they suit up and head out with intentions of arriving “as fast as we can get there” Neff said.
At Hand-In-Hand Hose Co., full-time firefighters are always on-call and they work anywhere from 53 to 75 hours every week. Part-time firefighters work about 40 hours per week. Neff reports that shifts range from nine hours long up to as many as 13 hours.
When asked what a day in the life of a fire chief is like, Neff said that he tells anyone who asks him this question, “When you think you’ve seen it all, just wait ‘til tomorrow”. The job is indeed unpredictable from day-to-day.
Since most employees and volunteers work on-call shifts, they do not live or stay at the station, however the City of Lock Haven requires at least one firefighter to be present at each of its three fire stations at all times. During their downtime, they do maintenance on equipment and do checks on the fire truck’s engine to ensure that when a call comes in, they’re fully prepared.
Like all other aspects of the job, downtime is unpredictable. Neff reported that in June of 1985, Hand In Hand Hose Company ran 170 calls. Moving forward to modern-day, Hand-In-Hand saw a total of 320 calls in 2021.
Neff contemplated what one of the most challenging aspects of being a fire chief are when asked. He claims that his biggest concern is not having enough help, “For me it’s the worry of whether enough people are going to come to help you do the job that you have to do. You can be the best firefighter, but if you don’t have enough firemen and volunteers to help, it’s not worth much of anything,” he said.
Both Bob and Jake report that in their opinion, the most difficult fires to put out are industrial fires and chimney fires. Jake explained that with industrial fires, the challenge is keeping the fire from spreading to any void spaces since the building is so large. Bob said that chimney fires are a challenge because “you’ve got to go there and determine whether the fire spread into the walls of the house or not.”
In terms of educational requirements, firefighters have to complete specific training. They must attend a course called “The Essentials of Firefighting”, which requires 220 hours to complete. On average, the career path offers a starting salary of roughly $45,000.00.
As Neff retires and his son steps into his former role as fire chief, The Record asked him if there is anything he’d like the public to know before he embarks on his next chapter of life: “If I could ask the public to do one thing it would be this: Slow down when you drive by us. Our firetrucks and our employees are getting hurt more and more often.”
(Editor’s note: As he moves closer to his official retirement date, The Record would like to thank Mr. Robert Neff for his hard work and dedication to serving our community for 37+ years; we wish him all the best).
