The Ladies Auxiliary of the Palmyra Fire Department raises the funds that help keep Palmyra’s volunteer fire department going.
The Ladies Auxiliary of the Palmyra Fire Department may serve on the periphery of Palmyra’s firefighting community, but that doesn’t make its work count any less. Ladies Auxiliary President Roberta Locke said the group’s work is an extension of the work Palmyra’s firefighters do.
Palmyra’s Fire Department operates entirely on a volunteer basis, and as such, funding for new equipment and other supplies is often in short supply. When it comes to fundraising, the men and women of the Independence Fire Company Station 801 know the Ladies Auxiliary will be there to lend support.
Twice a month, the ladies sell hoagies at the station to raise funds. On Saturday, May 6, the ladies will host a craft fair coinciding with the Palmyra Day Street Fair, which they hope will attract the day’s foot traffic to swing by their tables.
The ladies are still looking for vendors to sell handcrafted products at the Independence Fire Company Station that day. The cost to merchants looking to display their work is $35 for a table and two chairs, and the ladies are hoping to raise at least $800 for Palmyra’s Fire Department, according to Locke.
Fundraising isn’t the only way the ladies lend their support. When a fire sets a building ablaze, the ladies bring firefighters coffee and food while they work at the scene.
Claudia Naus said it’s easy to give a check to support local firefighters, but for her, giving her time and energy is what really matter.
Naus, a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Palmyra Fire Department, knows first-hand the impact firefighters can make. Nearly a year ago, her house in Cinnaminson caught fire a week before Christmas. Firefighters from both Palmyra and Cinnaminson responded to the scene quickly.
Everyone was already safely out of the house, but the fire ultimately decimated Naus’ home. Firefighters from both towns took the time to grab what personal items they could for the family, including some Christmas gifts and items that Naus’ 5-year-old granddaughter slept with in her bed.
Prior to the fire, Naus said she knew her local volunteers worked hard, but these men taking the time to rescue personal items truly exemplified the care they put into their work. For that reason, she felt compelled to give back to the men who risked themselves for her family. A friend was already a volunteer with Palmyra’s Ladies Auxiliary, so Naus decided to follow suit.
Locke said Palmyra’s entire firefighting community is like a family — both literally and figuratively. Many of the Ladies Auxiliary volunteers have husbands, children and brothers volunteering to fight fires in the community. She said her husband served as chief in the past, and her two sons volunteer with the department.
The Ladies Auxiliary is always looking for new members, especially students at the high school level looking to get involved early on, Locke said. She said the continuous goal is to foster a closer relationship between the community and the fire department.
Naus echoed Locke’s sentiment, saying she wished more people would get involved because until she saw the fire department’s work up close, she didn’t realize the level of care and attention that goes into running into a burning building.
“They do a very dangerous job, and it’s taken, sometimes, for granted and it shouldn’t be,” Naus said.
