Bingo Night draws crowd to support Feasterville Fire Company

It was fun for all and for a good cause at the His and Hers Bingo night, held on Friday, May 8 at the Feasterville Fire Hall, 20 Irving Place in Feasterville.

The Feasterville Fire Company hosted and was the beneficiary of the event. 

Funds raised at the event will help the fire company. 

“We use the money for training, but mostly for equipment,” said Christopher Cummins, the fire chief. “The cost of equipment has doubled over the past decade but the money coming in has not.

“Right now, we are purchasing a new engine, which is already on order. To put it in perspective, the truck it’s replacing cost around $500,000 20 years ago and this new one, which is the same exact truck, is about $1.2 million dollars.”

This event is one of two bingo nights the fire company hosts.

“We do two a year,” Cummins said. “We have a big fund drive. The mailers just went out and we got money from that and we’re grateful.”  

Dan Miller, the head of fundraising, organized the event, which featured prizes for men and women. 

“We’ve done designer bag bingo and had a lot of success, but we thought if we had prizes that men would like, we’d attract more people to come out and play,” he said. “Women could come with their husbands and boyfriends and make a night of it. It seemed like a good way to get men more involved.”

Prizes included a power tool, air fryer, smokeless fire pit, coffee maker, luggage, headphones and more as well as designer bags. 

“We wanted to have something for everyone,” Miller said. 

The idea was successful. The Fink clan of Feasterville including Tom, Grace, daughter Megan, son Eric and his fiancée Tierra Tobin were there for an evening of family fun.

“I think it’s nice to have the whole family here,” Grace said. “I like that the money is going to the fire department. We live here, and obviously we want them to have what they need to do their jobs.”   

Danielle Quigley of Feasterville took her mother, Joann, as a Mother’s Day gift. 

“We’re having fun,” she said. “It’s a good night out and it’s good to support the fire department. They do so much for us. I love that they have Santa come on the fire truck every Christmas.”

Aside from the bingo prizes, there were door prizes and raffle baskets donated by local businesses.  

“The community was extremely generous,” said Chayse Bernari, a firefighter. “A lot of the gift baskets were from places the firefighters hang out at, so they all know us and it’s so great that they contributed so many nice things. 

“We love everything that engages with our community, so this night is something we really look forward to.”

Bernardi, age 20, started out as a junior firefighter at age 16. She joined the company on the same day as her father, Frank.  

“I love that it’s something we both do,” she said. 

The fire hall was filled almost to capacity.

“I love bingo and it’s such a fun night,” said Melissa Mullin of Bensalem.  

She was there with her friends from work, School Lane Charter School in Bensalem. 

“It gets people together and there are awesome prizes. Everyone gets so excited and this is such a lively bunch. It’s a mom’s night out for us and it’s for a great cause. What’s not to like about it?”

For Southampton’s Debbie Kiefer, it was a night of bingo fun.

“I’ve been looking for a place to play bingo, so I saw this and I live right around the corner and here I am,” she said. “A lot of bingo places closed so this was a good chance for me to play, and it makes me feel good to support the fire company, too.”

The night means a lot to the firefighters, who were out in force to help run the evening. 

“It’s about bringing the community out so they can see us and know us,” said Joe Offner, the assistant fire chief. “We’re here, but a lot of times folks don’t know we are unless they have to call 911, which we hope they never have to do.

“It’s also so nice to get this kind of support from the community. This is a nice way for us to raise funds so we can continue to serve this community.”   

The fire company is composed entirely of volunteers. 

“We are always recruiting new volunteers,” Cummins said. “A lot of the guys have been here for quite a while. I’m going on my 20th year and I’ve been the chief for five. We have two or three people who are graduating from fire school right now, which is really good. 

“We’re constantly trying to bring young people in. We’re involved with the co-op program at Bucks County Technical School where they can go to fire school during the day so we had one student coming in through that. It’s a brand new program at the tech school and they have 15 students enrolled. We’re lucky to have one of them.”     

Not everyone who volunteers needs to get on a truck. There are plenty of other positions for anyone who would like to donate their time and expertise.

“We have plenty of things for people to do that don’t involve putting out fires,” Cummins said. “We have a lot of administrative positions. We have people who handle finance, fundraising, trustees to help run the company, there’s a lot of things people can do to help out. We have residents of our township who help out, such as an electrician who comes out to do electrical work for us. 

“Really, if someone is interested in helping out, we have something for them to do.”

For more information about the Feasterville Fire Company, or to volunteer, visit Feastervillefire.org.