NEW TRIPOLI, Pa. — Northwestern Lehigh’s firefighter community gathered Sunday at Ontelaunee Park to celebrate the region’s volunteer fire companies — and to honor two fallen firemen who died fighting a Schuylkill County house fire in 2022.
The inaugural Firefighter Appreciation Picnic featured food vendors, live music, corn hole, rock climbing and raffle contests.
It was held by the Northwestern Lehigh Firefighter Foundation, a nonprofit formed in 2023 after the deaths of New Tripoli volunteer firefighters Zachary Paris, 36, and Marvin Gruber, 59.
“You really only see your firefighters at parades and when you have an emergency, and that’s not the time necessarily that we need to be thanking them."Kylie Adams-Weiss, a founder and board member for Northwestern Lehigh Firefighter Foundation
“We wanted to do something to give back to our fire departments and our firefighter community,” said Kylie Adams-Weiss, a founder and board member for the foundation.
“You really only see your firefighters at parades and when you have an emergency, and that’s not the time necessarily that we need to be thanking them," said Adams-Weiss, whose husband is a firefighter in Palmerton.
"We need to be thanking them all along.”
Adams-Weiss and five other board members are fundraising to build a memorial at Ontelaunee Park to honor volunteer firefighters.
The picnic also served as an opportunity to fundraise for the project, which will cost about $160,000. It will take at least a year until the memorial is installed.
It will have a relief of firefighters in the center, along with a list of fallen local firefighters, the nonprofit’s mission and the fireman’s prayer.
“The idea is just to create a space of reflection,” Adams-Weiss said.
'We'll never forget them'
Northwestern Lehigh Firefighter Foundation also has plans to create a small, firefighter-themed waterpark in Ontelaunee Park.
It will take multiple years to fundraise for the Firefighter Splashpad, which likely will cost at least $300,000.
The nonprofit is prioritizing the memorial, board members said. They will work with local townships on both projects.
The donations from Sunday’s picnic also will go toward the four Northwestern Lehigh volunteer fire companies: Germansville, Lynnport, New Tripoli and Weisenberg.
There are about 100 volunteer firefighters across the four companies.
Most Lehigh Valley fire departments are composed of volunteers, meaning they aren’t paid, and Northwestern Lehigh fire chiefs said at Sunday’s picnic that it’s getting more and more difficult to recruit volunteers.
“Today, the fire department is taken for granted.”New Tripoli Fire Chief Gary Kuntz Jr.
“I think everybody’s leading a much busier life,” New Tripoli Fire Chief Gary Kuntz Jr. said.
“The kids are in sports, mom and dad are working. It just makes things very difficult to find time to come volunteer, get the training and the certification."
Germansville Fire Chief Jay Scheffler said more people would volunteer if they knew how good it feels to help people.
“Today, the fire department is taken for granted,” Kuntz added, noting his department and the Lynnport fire company primarily fundraise to cover costs because there’s no fire tax in Lynn Township.
Both Kuntz and Scheffler knew the New Tripoli firemen who died in 2022. They said Paris and Gruber both were dedicated to their community and families.
“We’ll never forget them in this community ever,” Kuntz said.
'He loved it'
The families of both fallen firefighters came to the picnic on Sunday, and said the community’s support has been important as they work through their grief.
“New Tripoli and even the surrounding communities have been so kind and caring and supported us,” said Gruber’s wife, Karen.
Jordan Gruber said her father was “the best dad ever.”
“He was really the best,” Karen Gruber added. “He was a very kind, compassionate man.”
Carol Paris said it was hard to come to Sunday's picnic, but she's grateful for the community's support.
Her son was “very caring” and “always wanted to do the right thing,” she said. He left behind two young daughters.
In addition to volunteering with the New Tripoli fire company as the assistant chief, Zachary Paris also worked full-time as a firefighter in Maryland.
Firefighting was his passion, his mother said.
“He loved it."
Both Marvin Gruber and Zachary Paris will be honored again in July when the Lehigh County part of Route 143 is renamed Heroes Highway in remembrance of them.
State Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s office will hold an unveiling ceremony for the new Heroes Highway sign, which is located on Route 143 across from Lehigh Valley Health Network’s New Tripoli-Northwestern Medical lab.
The unveiling ceremony will be 5:30 p.m. July 18.
