Sipesville Volunteer Fire Company

    On the morning of Friday, April 28, the Jerome Volunteer Fire Department and the Somerset County Search and Rescue Team were activated for a search detail in Conemaugh Township. The initial report was that a 19 year old Mennonite male had walked off, possibly scouting an area to hunt turkey, and had not returned home for bible study with the rest of his family. The subject was described as being physically fit, with no significant medical conditions, and capable of walking 5-10 miles a day. An incident command post was established by Mick Jordan, Deputy Chief of the Jerome Volunteer Fire Department, at station 631. Volunteers from the Ideal, Conemaugh Township, Hollsopple, and Boswell fire departments were also summoned to the scene to assist in the search. As night fell on the searchers, 631 released all units and decided to regroup the next morning.
     Search teams reassembled bright and early and prepared to perform widespread grid searches of the areas surrounding the family's farm. Multiple alarms were struck throughout the day brining additional resources to assist with the search. In all, over 25 agencies were involved with the search. Over 100 Mennonite volunteers from the community, and some from as far away as Maryland and West Virginia also responded to assist in the search. Station 607 was activated on the second alarm of the morning at 08:29 hours, along with stations 616, 608, and 604. Three Sipesville Volunteers (Lottig, Madigan, and Forry) responded with Squad 607-5 and reported to the command post at station 631. The crew signed in and was briefed by the IC about the details of the search. After a sufficient number of volunteers had been collected the team was dispatched to the residence to perform a grid search of a field near the farm. Squad 5 led a convoy of fire apparatus into the scene and became part of Ground Team 3, under the command of search manager Jeff Palm. Trent Roberts, Middle Taylor VFD Assistant Chief, was designated as the team leader and plans were devised to search an area between Thomas Rd and Rt. 219. After sufficient personnel had arrived, the volunteers lined up to begin the search. At noon, just after getting settled into place to begin the grid search, all of the volunteers were called back to the command post. Rescuers, family members, and volunteers feared the worst as they gathered together back at the command post.
     631 IC advised that new information provided by a neighbor provided a new area to search for the subject. At this time the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG) was placed in charge of the large area grid search, which covered an area between Rt. 219 and the Quemahoning Dam. A parade of pickup trucks filled to capacity with volunteers, and nearly a dozen rescue vehicles, responded to the search area with newfound hope. Members from the Acosta and Shanksville fire departments joined the crew from Sipesville and packed Squad 607-5, once again leading the fire apparatus to the site. After searching for over 4 hours with no success, everyone regrouped back at the command post. Around 17:00 hours, 631 IC reported that the case was being turned over to the Pennsylvania State Police, and the room fell eerily quiet as Somerset County announced the release of all units over the radios. 631 IC thanked everyone for their cooperation and stressed that we should still not give up hope.
      Later that evening, at approximately 19:45 hours, the missing person was found along Rt. 985 in Jenner Township by a passing motorist. The subject had left to spend some time reading the bible in the peaceful solitude of the forest, and lost his sense of direction near Laurel Mountain. While in the woods, he slept beneath a cover of leaves to shield himself from the cold and ate lichen from rocks and a sun-dried sunfish caught with a clip from his suspenders, a piece of string, a stick and a scrap of handkerchief for bait. The subject was uninjured and was reunited with his grateful family later in the evening.
     All agencies involved with the search worked tremendously well together, and a better example of the benefits of the implementation of the incident command system would be hard to find. The Sipesville volunteers involved with the search were extremely impressed with the efforts of the Jerome fire department, community volunteers, and family members who provided meals for the searchers throughout the day.

Agencies involved in the search:
Jerome VFD - 631
Conemaugh Township VFD - 619
Ideal VFD - 610
Hollsopple VFD - 621
Boswell VFD (Water Rescue Team) - 605
Scalp Level Paint VFD - 616
Sipesville VFC - 607
Acosta VFD - 608
Stoystown VFD - 604
Somerset VFD - 601
Berlin VFC - 628
Shanksville VFC - 627
New Centerville and Rural VFC - 622
Ferndale VFD - 12 (Cambria County)
Lower Yoder VFD - 23 (Cambria County)
Middle Taylor Township VFD - 25 (Cambria County)
Westmont VFD - 28 (Cambria County)
Conemaugh Township EMS (Jerome) - 640-4
Somerset County Search and Rescue - Team 200
Westmoreland County Seach and Rescue - Team 211
Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group - AMRG (Allegheny County)
Bedford County Search and Rescue
Civil Air Patrol
Conemaugh Township Police
Pennsylvania State Police