Carl A. Hornung, 96, former Union Fire Association chief and member of firefighting family

Carl A. Hornung, 96, of Bala Cynwyd, a firefighter and the second of a three-generation family whose lives have been steeped in soot, sweat, and the call of the fire alarm, died Tuesday, Feb. 20, of advanced age at home.

For Mr. Hornung, responding to fires was not just a public service – he enjoyed the camaraderie of his colleagues.

"His greatest enjoyment was working side-by-side with his fellow firefighters whom he called good friends," his family said. "He was definitely about doing things with other people, not on his own."

The pattern was set in 1918 when Mr. Hornung's father, William L. Hornung, joined the Union Fire Association on Montgomery Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. In 1928, he became the fire chief and held the job until he died of a stroke in 1943 at age 56.

Mr. Hornung's father mentored him in the ways of the firehouse, and in 1943, at 21, Mr. Hornung joined the fire association, fighting blazes, driving the fire engines, and mopping up at the station, just as his father had done.

In 1958, at age 36, Mr. Hornung became the association's chief fire officer. He kept the job for 30 years because he loved it.

When he stepped down in 1988, Lower Merion Township honored him at a board of commissioners meeting. Sixty volunteer firefighters showed up to pay their respects to him and another retiring chief.

"He always said he could never do it without the cooperation of the men," said his son, Jim.

But Mr. Hornung was not yet done. He sat on the fire association's board of directors from 1988 until his death. "He came to the last meeting in January," his son said.

After Mr. Hornung stepped down, there were three chiefs in eight years. In 1996, though, Jim Hornung became chief, and the third generation of his family to accept the job.

One of Mr. Hornung's tasks was to release information about what had happened at each blaze. His accounts of fires, such as one at the Township Cleaner's Co. plant two days before Christmas 1958, were business-like.

"Fire Chief Carl Hornung said the fire started in the basement and spread upward, causing damage to the first floor," the Inquirer reported. "He said a clerk discovered the fire and in the excitement sounded a burglar alarm. This was heard by the police in a red car who summoned firefighters. Firemen fought the blaze for two hours in the 24-degree weather."

Born in Bala Cynwyd, Mr. Hornung attended Lower Merion High School. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1942 during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of electrician's mate, second class.

In 1944, he married Jeanette Schwartz. They had six children.

After the war, he returned home and took over his family's electrical contracting business in Bala Cynwyd which dated to 1911. His father had started out riding from job to job on a bicycle with a cart attached.

"My dad, Carl A. Hornung, grew up working with his dad where he learned to be an electrician," said Mr. Hornung's son, William C. Hornung. "I suppose it was only natural that I would follow in their footsteps. By the age of five, I was helping them at work and running to fires with my dad. In all those years of working with them, I learned there is nothing than can't be done. There is always a way to accomplish any task."

When not working or fighting fires, Mr. Hornung was a community volunteer. He was a 32nd degree mason, and had recently received his 70-year Masonic service pin from Lodge Cassia Mt. Horeb #273, Ardmore.

He served as lodge trustee until 2017. To honor his volunteerism, the lodge created and gave him the Carl Hornung Service Award in 2017. Mr. Hornung was named 2003 Citizen of the Year by the Bala Cynwyd Neighborhood Club.

He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, St. John's Episcopal Church, and the American Legion.

Mr. Hornung's wife died in 1997. Besides his sons, Jim and William C., he is survived by daughters Chick Hornung, Susan Davit, Linda Ferguson, and Patti Reilly; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Four brothers and two sisters died earlier.

A visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, with a Masonic service at 6, both at the Chadwick & McKinney Funeral Home, 30 E. Athens Ave., Ardmore. A funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 404 Levering Mill Rd., Bala Cynwyd. Interment will follow in Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.

Memorial donations may be made to the Cassia Mt. Horeb Lodge #273 F&AM, P.O. Box 444, Ardmore, Pa. 19003, or St. John's Episcopal Church at the address above.