Alburtis Mayor Doubles as Fire Police Officer

Name:  Robert Mader

Age:  76

Lives:  Alburtis

Family:  Married 37 years, 5 step-children

Job:  Mader is currently the mayor of Alburtis.  He was previously employed at Kline’s Foundry in Alburtis for 15 years, then at Brown Printing in East Greenville for 12 years.

Fire company:  He was the fire chief of the seven years ago, and now serves as a fire police officer.

Training so far:  “I have over 340 hours of schooling and continue to attend classes every year in addition to the weekly training at the company.”

What's it like being a firefighter?  “It’s a good feeling to help people and to keep them safe. This is a volunteer department and I feel it’s my civic duty to be a firefighter/fire police [officer]. I’ve been with Alburtis for 37 years and was with a fire company in New Jersey for six years prior to that.”

How do your loved ones feel about you putting your life in danger?  “They don’t always like it, but have gotten used to it.”

Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience.  “I don’t really have any stories, but I remember some of the big ones—all in Macungie.  There was the Dries Building Supply fire, the Macungie Foundry and the Macungie Hotel fire.”

What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company?  “Come on out on a Tuesday night at 6:30.  We need the volunteers.”

Do you know a volunteer firefighter who Patch should profile? Contact mariella.savidge@patch.com