Company honors longtime Tamaqua fire chief
Tom Hartz Jr. of Tamaqua was recently honored for his years of service as fire chief for the Citizens Fire Company. His fellow firefighters surprised him with a special plaque at the company’s end of year party. Hartz thanked each of the fire company members in attendance, telling them he couldn’t have done the job without their support. Firefighters included: first row, Jesse Nicholls, Chris Hartz, John Albert Jr., John Albert Sr., Tom Hartz, Ed Herring, Jason Reed, Dylan Hartz; second row, Mike Hubert, Jeff Hartz, Chris Heffelfinger, Austin Bennage, Josh Holmberg, Tim Phillips, Mike Hobbs, Matt Kane; and third row, Jeff Hartz Jr., Harry Heffelfinger, Ryan Oldt, Aaron McLaughlin and Jason Hartz. KATHY KUNKEL/TIMES NEWS
When Tom Hartz Jr. went to the Citizen’s Fire Company on Jan. 6, he expected to get a bit of a ribbing at the company’s end of year party, due to his retirement as fire chief.
Instead, the men and women of the company used the occasion to show Hartz how much he meant to them, honoring him with a special plaque, reminiscing about the good times, telling him how sorry they were to see him leave. There weren’t many dry eyes in the social room.
Hartz quickly pointed out he wasn’t leaving the company or the fire service, he just needed to step back from the positions of fire chief for the company and for the Borough of Tamaqua.
“I expect I will be a firefighter until the day I die,” he said. “It’s not something you can just turn off. There’s no switch. It’s in your blood.”
Hartz has been a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, following in the footsteps of his dad, Tom Hartz Sr.
For 24 of those years, he served as chief of the Citizen’s Fire Company. Six years ago, he was appointed as fire chief for the borough, overseeing operations for all four of Tamaqua’s volunteer fire companies.
As he looked around the room at the men and women with whom he served, Hartz told them, “It’s been an honor and privilege to serve with you. A chief is only as good as the rest of his team, something I learned from my father. Thank you for making me look good.”
