Crime & Safety
Meet Mark Wieder, Emmaus and Upper Milford Fire Police
Mark Wieder is the man often seen directing traffic when an accident or fire has occurred.
Name: Mark Wieder
Age: 21
Hometown: Emmaus
Tell us about your family: Mom (Robin), Dad (Dave), Step-mom (Marilou), two sisters (Sara and Andrea), and brother (Matt)
Fire company: and Vera Cruz
Title/Role/Position: Fire police at both departments
Describe your job with the fire department:
"The main responsibilities I have are protecting the scene and keeping cars and pedestrians away. The main responsibility would be protecting the firemen, police, and EMS so they can do their job properly without any interruption.
"When I arrive on scene, if possible I set out cones to close the street down. If it's busy and I don't have time to put the cones out, I start directing traffic which way to go or clear the scene of any onlookers that arrive before I do.
"We get irritated people at every call. They think we are out there just to detour them and ruin their day, which is not true. I'm there so the other emergency personnel can do their jobs properly and not have to worry about bystanders or cars driving by. We have more problems asking people to move back from the scene than we do with cars having to detour."
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"A recent example would be the . People were lined up on both sides of the sidewalk watching. There was a gas line broken with gas still in the car and we needed everyone to get back in case the fire started again or something worse happened."
What training have you received?
Basic Fire Police, Advanced Fire Police, Hazmat, Nims
How long have you been involved with the fire department?
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Wieder started in March 2009.
Do you work elsewhere? If so, what do you do?
"Yes, Enterprise Rent-a-Car. I clean cars and drive people around. I also umpire for the Upper/Lower Macungie Knee-hi League."
Tell us a story you'll never forget about your firefighting experience.
"I will never forget the first fire I was at - Country Cleaners on Chestnut Street. It was my first one, so the adrenaline rush was pretty high when I pulled up and saw it was an actual fire. In the beginning it was pure chaos getting everyone away from the scene."
What would you tell people interested in joining your fire company?
"Come on in! Volunteers are always needed and the guys are great to work with."