Abington Fire Services Administrator Retiring After 18 Years

ABINGTON, PA — A head fire department official in town is stepping down after nearly two decades of service.

David Schramm, who served as Abington Township Fire Department Fire Services Administrator for 18 years, has retired from his post.

The fire department announced Schramm’s retirement in an August 2021 newsletter.

“He’s really been the driving force in making us one fire department with common guidelines and common operations, not just five fire companies that all happen to be in Abington Township. I think that’s a huge accomplishment,” Thomas McAneney, who will replace Schramm, stated in the newsletter. “I will be continuing the work he has done to keep the ball moving forward so we remain a strong volunteer department into the future.”

Schramm is a former Weldon Fire Company chief who still remains an active volunteer despite his retirement from his administrative position.

According to the newsletter, Schramm began his Abington Township Fire Department administrative career back in 2004, which was the year he retired from the Abington School District from his position as a junior high school assistant principal.

One of his first goals in his administrative position was to lead the fire department through an accreditation process, what the department says was a “huge undertaking.” The department was eventually accredited in 2014.

Schramm also “drew upon his experience as a fire chief and firefighter when instituting a free annual firefighter physical program, investing in the Firefighter Training Facility, establishing a successful grant writing initiative, and creating a robust volunteer recruitment and retention program,” the newsletter states.

Being that he formerly worked in the local schools, Schramm also worked to strengthen the relationship between the fire department and the Abington School District, promoting, among other things, the junior firefighter program and the high school’s junior firefighter club.

McAneney, his replacement as fire services administrator, is a volunteer firefighter and currently deputy chief at the Edge Hill Fire Company, according to the newsletter. In the past, he has served as the Emergency Management Coordinator for Abington Township and Penn State’s Abington campus, and he also previously worked as a Montgomery County assistant district attorney.

“It is rare to find one person with experience in law enforcement, emergency management and fire suppression,” Schramm stated in the newsletter of McAneney. “Our township is very fortunate to have him in his new role, and I am thrilled to have someone so capable serving our fire companies.”

There are five volunteer fire companies serving different parts of Abington Township: Abington Fire Co., McKinley Fire Co., Weldon Fire Rescue, Edge Hill Fire Co. and Roslyn Fire Co.