When Emma Scott asked her father to join the Centre Square Fire Company alongside her last fall, she wasn’t just rekindling a family tradition, writes Kellie Francello for The Reporter.
Bob Scott, 52, and Emma, 20, both signed up as volunteer firefighters with the Whitpain Township company in November 2024. For Bob, it marked a return to the service he first joined at 18, inspired by his own father’s six-decade commitment to the Flourtown Fire Company. For Emma, it was a way to continue the training she began while attending West Chester University.
Being able to hear the tone on your phone, and know your dad is running down the steps with you to make that call, is the best thing I could ask for,” Emma said.
Now back in her hometown, Emma thrives on Centre Square’s immersive, hands-on drills, from flowing water to operating saws. It’s the kind of training that paid off when she and her father responded to a chimney fire and worked together on the tower truck.
Center Square offers more than technical skills. “The biggest, most valuable skill I believe we teach at Centre Square is the respect for each other,” Bob said.
Learn more about the Scotts and the Centre Square Fire Company of Whitpain’s volunteer program in The Reporter.
