Firefighters Celebrating St. Patrick's Day With Pipes and Drums

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Orange County Fire Authority St. Patrick's Day Party

Every year in the beginning of March the Orange County Fire Authority's Pipes and Drums hosts a large St. Patrick's Day Celebration, inviting members of fire department pipes and drums bands from across the United States.  This year, the guests of honor were the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums, along with fire department pipers and drummers from Boston, Cleveland, and the Portland area.

The four day St. Patrick's Day Party includes golfing, surfing and trips to some of Southern California's beautiful attractions, and it culminates with a music-filled dinner party.

Matt Hartill, a Drum Major with the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums, says, "We met them of course at the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Colorado Springs, built a great relationship with them, and they invited us down.  We're just honored to be there."

History of Fire Service Pipes and Drums

Tim Barr, a forty-two year Pipe Major, who plays with the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Pipes and Drums explains the history of fire service bands, saying, "We're coming up on the 50th anniversary.  The very first fire service pipe band was that of the Emerald Society of the New York City Fire Department, and that band hit the street in 1962.  It was two years after the NYPD band started."

After that bands began forming throughout the Northeast, and then began to spread across the United States.  Barr observes, "And what we've seen in recent year is a real explosion in the number of these pipe bands.  A lot of firefighters, I think especially post-9/11, are looking for some tradition, looking for something to kind of reach out and get ahold of.  In the fire service, we always hear about what a sense of brotherhood or family we have, but when you get down to those firefighters that play in these pipe and drum bands, it becomes a very tight fraternity, very quickly."

Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums

Originally the Orange County Fire Authority Pipes and Drums' party was held on St. Patrick's Day but in recent years, it was moved to the beginning of March to accommodate the busy schedules of the participating bands on St. Patrick's Day.  According to Smokey Simpson, a Tenor Drummer with the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums, his group splits into two teams, each visiting eight bars in the Seattle area on the evening of St. Patrick's Day.  They play at each bar and then met together at the end of the night at a large Seattle bar, where they play their final set.

New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Orange County Fire Authority is privileged to be a part of the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Each year between 30 and 60 firefighters from the OCFA travel to New York City to march in the famous parade.  Battalion Chief Kirs Concepcion, a OCFA Piper, says, "OCFA is one of the few fire departments outside of New York that is very honored to have a spot in the parade."  Although the OCFA Pipes and Drums have not played in the parade as of yet, they are hoping to do so in the future, and are proud to march with their brothers and sister of the FDNY, whom they have developed a close relationship with over the years.

2010 St. Patrick's Party

At the 2010 OCFA St. Patrick's Party, members of the fire department and their families were entertained by a traditional Irish dance troupe, and were treated to music by the OCFA Pipes and Drums, who were accompanied by the Seattle Firefighters Pipes and Drums Band and players from Boston, Cleveland and Portland.  Marines from the nearby Camp Pendleton base also used the occasion to present the firefighters with a special table made from an amphibious assault vehicle, adorned with photographs featuring the Orange County Fire Authority.

The party was a great success, and as Battalion Chief Concepcion says, "It is a great moral booster for everybody and all of the families as far as OCFA is concerned."

Happy St. Patrick's Day from all of us at FDNNTV.com!

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