Versatile pair must relocate, leaving void at Longwood company
Adam and Janell Cressman are urging area residents to join the Longwood Fire Company, where they found romance as well as fulfillment.
The Longwood Fire Company is regretfully bidding farewell to a power couple that met on the job and will be relocating to Bucks County, officials said.
Early next year, the company will have to replace a board member, two firefighters, and an emergency medical technician – four key positions filled by two people: Adam and Janell Cressman.
Adam Cressman, a native of Springtown in Bucks County, came to the area a dozen years ago to work as a gardener at Longwood Gardens. Janell Cressman, born and raised in Minnesota, had lived in Washington state and Alabama before moving to Kennett Square to be near her family, a fire company news release said.
“My step-father secured a job here and I wanted to be close to my parents, and I found a job in physical therapy,” Janell Cressman said. “I remember seeing the red fire tree lights at the holidays, and a patient told me I should make a visit. I did and was given an application to join and filled it out.”
The person who handed her the application back in 2008? Adam Cressman. His family was involved with volunteer firefighting in Bucks County, where his stepfather was fire chief. “I lived in a community-minded small town. We all helped each other. I was trained there, and when I moved to Longwood, it was natural to offer my skills here.”
Although Janell Cressman had no prior firefighting experience, she was trained at Longwood. The couple soon began dating after married in October 2012. They will be moving next month, the result of Adam Cressman’s securing a job as operations manager of a small, high-end landscape company in Bucks County. His wife, who is graduating from nursing school and working at Chester County Hospital, will be looking for a nursing job in the Lehigh Valley, the release said.
“We’ll miss the people at Longwood and the community,” Adam Cressman said. “We’re a team here, and everyone is here to help. There is a high standard of professionalism. We train hard.” Janell Cressman added, “There is less stress when you are prepared. The better you train, the better you perform.”
The Cressmans said they wanted to encourage area residents to volunteer at Longwood Fire Company. “You don’t have to be a firefighter. We need administration, facilities, record-keeping help, and just about every other skill,” said Adam Cressman. “You can contribute; it doesn’t matter what your age or skill level is.”
Not surprisingly, the couple said Adam Cressman’s hometown fire company is already soliciting them to become members.
Longwood Fire Company has served the communities of Kennett, East Marlborough, Pennsbury and Pocopson Townships since 1921. Longwood Fire Company provides fire and rescue and emergency medical services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information see www.longwoodfireco.com.
