GDS Donates Duck Ponds to Local Volunteer Fire Departments

Duck pond containment unit

Supporting local first responders in our area has always been a focus point for us. Our industry works very closely with these folks to ensure we have support in the event of an incident. Today we’d like to highlight four Volunteer Fire Departments in Susquehanna County that received a donation of duck ponds.

Last month, local Volunteer Fire Departments Hop Bottom, Factoryville, Nicholson and Clifford responded to an incident for GDS. They witnessed GDS Night Shift Trucking Foreman Robert Bennie using a popup containment unit, also called a duck pond.  

The Fire Departments were very impressed by how quick and easy it was to deploy these units. They mentioned this to Robert and explained how they typically have to use inflatable plastic pools for incidences like these. This is a time-consuming and inefficient process for them. 

Firefighters with duck pond unit

After hearing this, Robert took action. He went to Chad Gorman, Operations Manager at GDS, to see how they could help these fire departments. GDS began using the duck ponds a few years ago and consider them an essential tool on all the trucks in case of emergency. Knowing the value of duck ponds, Chad arranged for GDS to donate six units to each department at the incident. “The local fire departments have supported our industry for years and we’re always happy when we can give back to them,” said Chad. 

A few weeks ago, Chad and Robert Bennie joined Trucking Supervisor Robert Wagner and Assistant Trucking Foreman Robert Piccoletti to make the official duck pond donation to members of the Hop Bottom, Factoryville, Nicholson and Clifford Fire Departments. “We greatly appreciate the help,” said Nicholson Fire Chief Glenn Ball. “We didn’t have anything like this before and it definitely made our jobs easier and more efficient.”  

“These duck ponds are nice units,” said Hop Bottom Fire Chief Pete Mecca. “They don’t take up any storage space on the truck. They’re durable yet lightweight, easy to clean and have multiple uses. We plan to keep them on our fire and rescue trucks and can even use them for rehab projects to hold ice and water bottles.” 

Hop Bottom Fire Department went on to say, “We are all very thankful for the donation they made to our companies and the community as a whole. Thank you all for the ongoing support.”  

Natalie Clarke

Natalie was born and raised just outside Pittsburgh, PA. She attended Carlow University and earned a BA in Corporate Communications and Mass Media. After graduating, she landed a job in the telecommunications field where she spent seven years leading their digital marketing initiatives. Today, Natalie is the External Affairs Coordinator for Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation where she manages the internal and external communications activities. She enjoys merging traditional and digital marketing tactics to create impactful messages that spread Cabot’s mission throughout the community.

Related Posts