Undercliff Volunteer Fire Company in Shaler had a lot of firsts for area fire service.

George Missey explained them all at the Shaler Historical Society meeting last week.

Missey, 68, has been with Undercliff since he was 30. He joined back in 1972. He also joined Shaler Villa Volunteer Fire Company three years ago.

Even though he's been with the company a long time, Missey certainly wasn't one of the originals. Missey has records that show Undercliff in action as far back as 1909, even though members didn't register for a charter until 1923.

Bauerstown was working soon after in 1910. Cherry City opened its doors in 1919. Sharps Hill began in 1930. Elfinwild started in 1943. Shaler Villa was the last to open, in 1946.

While each company deserves recognition, Missey has been a member at Undercliff the longest, so he became something of a historian for the company.

When Undercliff first opened, the building was down near the Mt. Royal Inn in Etna. That's just a few miles down Mt. Royal Boulevard from where it sits today.

The company's first piece of equipment was a donated hose truck from the Etna Volunteer Fire Department. The members did some update work to make it their first hand-drawn water truck, though they eventually got horses to do the pulling.

Then, in 1923, the same year they got their charter, the members of the company got their first motorized truck.

In 1933, the members of Undercliff moved up the hill to their current spot. They purchased their first piece of property there from Anna Braun for $101.

As they grew, they found they needed to expand. In 1942 they bought a second piece of property for $1,000. In 1951 they bought a third piece for $2,000.

Early on in their existence, Undercliff members were also integral in starting the Shaler Township Volunteer Fireman's Relief Association. Undercliff, along with the other companies in the township, belongs to the organization, which exists to help anyone who gets injured in the line of duty.

Their current building on Mt. Royal Blvd. also boasts some firsts.

They were the first company in the area to have an air raid siren on their building. One of the sirens is for fires, the other is for Civil Defense. Even though there was ambulance service already in the area, Undercliff firefighters thought they could help. So they were the first fire company to purchase an ambulance, in 1956.

"It wasn't one of those box trucks or anything like that," Missey says. "It was one of those old Cadillacs."

In 1996, all the fire companies that owned ambulances donated them to Shaler Area EMS, which now runs the whole operation. To give an idea of how the price of equipment has gone up, Missey explained the various costs of trucks. In 1961, the company bought its first aerial truck for $39,000. In 1978, they sold their old one for the same price, and bought a new one for $150,000. In 2004, they sold their old one for $100,000, and bought a new one for $750,000.

Equipment cost is one of the reasons volunteer fire companies are struggling. The company buys all the equipment for firefighters. Boots, hats and turnout gear can cost as much as $1,600 per person. That doesn't even include the cost of air tanks, which can also run in the thousands.

Another problem they face is bringing in new members.

"Part of the problem is that there's a lot of time required," Missey says.

Hugh Prytherch, president of the historical society, says that firefighters deserve as much recognition as possible.

"You can never have too much admiration of firemen," Prytherch says. "They volunteer and put their lives at risk."