TheBurg

22 | theburgnews.com | 11.19 J ason Lloyd doesn't mince words when asked about the condition of a unique building he purchased in 2010. "Whatever the most horrible place you could think of, it was worse than that," he said. He is referring to the historic, red-brick Allison Hook & Ladder Building and, for Lloyd, a Harrisburg firefighter himself, restoring the circa-1909 building became both an obsession and a labor of love. "ere was never any grand plan," he said. "It was just to save the building." Fast-forward nine years, and, today, the landmark on the 300-block of S. 14th Street has been fully restored and is back in service of the Harrisburg Fire Bureau. e building remains privately owned, but four volunteers, constituting the revived Allison Hook and Ladder Co. No. 2, are now attached to it—though they actually respond to fires from the bureau's modern, fully-equipped station on N. 16th Street. "We want to help the community and put some firefighters back on the street," said Allison Co. member Steve Austin. Fire Bureau Chief Brian Enterline said that he was happy to see the volunteer company back and ready to return to the community. "ey have a strong link to Harrisburg fire history, and it made sense to bring them back on board," he said. too much hIstorY In the early 1900s, Allison Hook and Ladder Co. No. 2 was founded. At the time, it was common to have many stations, even in a small city like Harrisburg. Horses were used to pull fire engines, and communication was slow, so communities relied on firefighters located nearby. Allison Hook & Ladder No. 2 was formed to fill this need for the Allison Hill community. Around 1908, the lot on S. 14th Street was purchased and, within a year, the two-story brick station was constructed. e firehouse had a large number of volunteer firefighters and ran a two-piece hose and chemical wagon, as well as a ladder truck. Over the decades, the building was used for firefighter training and union meetings, in addition to serving as an active station. But, starting in the 1950s, Harrisburg's once- bustling stations began to fall into decline. e city once had 14 firehouses, many volunteer- based. But, increasingly, Harrisburg's volunteer ranks dissipated, and the force became almost fully professionalized. Eventually, the city's firehouses consolidated into just four and, today, there are only two working stations. Allison Hook and Ladder officially shut down in 1980. Since it was not of use to the Fire Bureau anymore, the building was sold back to the volunteer Allison Hook & Ladder Co. for $1. FRom the ashes A historic Allison Hill firehouse was condemned. en firefighter Jason Lloyd set his sights on it. bY mAddIe conLeY Jason Lloyd

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