SUMNER – Bob Walder remembers waking up to the sound of air horns blowing in Mt. Vernon, N.Y., in the early 1940s and jumping out of bed to follow his dad on the latest fire call.

They would listen to the number of times the air horn sounded to know which section of town the fire alarm was sounding. “The town was sectioned off in zones and the number of horn blasts told us where to go,” Walder said.

Today, each department has a radio that gives tones for each town.

“In those days, we had no radios as we do today, and just had to listen to the horn blasts,” Walder said.

When Walder got out of the U.S. Marine Corps in March 1958, he joined the Mt. Vernon Volunteer Fire Department. “Dad served for 50 years and it was my goal to do the same,” Walder said.

When asked when the 50 years was actually up, he smiled and replied, “Today.” The date was March 31, 2008.

The department then was 85 percent volunteer and the rest paid. He said the drivers were paid. There were six engine companies with three ladder trucks.

It only took Walder four years to make deputy chief. He said they would get about 30 calls a day.

“There were 500 volunteers and you had to know someone to get into the department. It was like a fraternity,” he mused. “You had to be interviewed by the black ball process. If there was just one black ball in the box after the voting, you did not get in and would have to try again. You actually had to campaign like public officials do today. The department had all sorts of activities to keep the interest going, such as parties and fundraisers. We had a fife and drum band and marched in parades.”

Walder reflected on some of his most challenging moments as a fireman.

“I remember when a whole block of storefronts was going up in flames. Another time there was fire in an ammunitions store.

“Once a department store was burning and several of us went in with a rope tied around us because the smoke was so thick. We had to find the source of the fire. We didn’t have masks or self-contained breathing apparatus like we do now. We had a flexible vest with chemicals which purified the air which we could re-breathe.

“That particular time, the rope length gave out, but we were still holding onto the hose and kept going. We dropped the hose and it went right through the floor. We had found the source of the fire. We lay down and were able to crawl out. That was pretty scary. I ended up being taken to the hospital three times on that fire.

“Another time I was on a call when my dad fell off the roof. I had injured my wrist while inside the building and didn’t know he had fallen. We ended up in the ambulance at the same time.

“Another challenging fire was in a dry cleaning plant when drums filled with chemicals were flying 50 feet in the air,” he said

Some of the hardest fires involved people who died.

“There was a tragic house fire where we went up the stairs and got to a door where smoke was pulsing through,” Walder said. “Suddenly the door flew open and flames billowed out over us. The door landed on top of us, which saved us. When we searched, we found three children, all dead. It took me a long time to get over that fire,” he said as his voice choked up.

“Another time there was a car fire where five people burned up, and we couldn’t do a thing. These were the most tragic fires I ever had,” he said.

Walder said things were a lot different when he moved to Sumner in 1986.

“I have learned a lot about rural fires where there are no hydrants and so many state regulations,” Walder said. “It is harder to get volunteers because of the amount of state-required training, which working people have to attend. It does improve safety, but we never lost a fireman in Mt. Vernon even with less training and less state regulations.”

Walder plans to help his wife, Elizabeth, in the Sumner Fire Department auxiliary.

“My body just tells me I’m too old to fight fires anymore, but it has been a rewarding journey,” Walder said.