Dave Torrence vividly remembers his first fire call in 1974 with the Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Company — it was the night he joined the Tarentum department. “I got in bed and the whistle blew,” said Torrence, 72, a lifelong borough resident. “I just thought, ‘Here we go.’ ” Fellow
Tarentum native Bob Sims turned 18 in 1948 and was crestfallen to learn he couldn’t join his two older brothers on the front lines as firefighters. The charter for Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Company was full, said Sims, who at 93 easily recalls his disappointment. “I had to wait three