Volunteer Fire Department

It's the season for Christmas gardens, throughout the metropolitan area and in other parts of the state.In times past, nearly every fire station had some sort of Christmas garden display for children young and old. But with the high level of fire-alarm responses and the lack of community support, the tradition of Christmas gardens in firehouses has nearly vanished.There are, however, at least six firehouse Christmas gardens around Maryland this year.*The Baltimore City Fire Department Christmas Garden will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow through Jan. 6 at the Engine 45 Fire House, Cross Country Boulevard and Glen Avenue, Mount Washington.

As American as the flag, as rural as a tractor-pull and as traditional as Thanksgiving dinner, the Lisbon Volunteer Fire Department's monthly pancake breakfast could be a Norman Rockwell painting that has come to life.Young families and retired couples sit elbow to elbow at plastic-covered oblong tables that crowd the hall. Tom "Jimmy Dean" Johnson and his father, Charlie, cook sausage on charcoal grills outside as laughter spills from the kitchen. Middle-aged women in their Sunday best chatter happily as they make their way down the buffet piled with bacon, eggs, cooked apples, gravy and pancakes.

THE WEST Friendship volunteer firefighters were just finishing lunch last Thursday when the call came over the radio -- several large bales of hay were on fire just off Folly Quarter Road. Chris Stanton, Pieter Lucas and "Tiny" Tim Spicer, all volunteer firefighters at the West Friendship station, sprang into action. A tower of smoke climbed into the sky above the University of Maryland Research Farm. Fortunately, only hay was burning -- the fire was not a threat to people, property or the cattle raised there.

A new 22,000-square-foot fire station in Clarksville opens today, though an adjacent ballroom and conference center that will seat 500 is threatening to overshadow Howard County's second-largest firehouse.The elegant brick building housing the Ten Oaks Ballroom and Fifth District Volunteer Fire Station at Routes 108 and 32 took two years to build and cost $4.3 million -- much of it financed by county bonds.The complex, intended to be one of the premier wedding and special-occasion facilities in the county, will be dedicated at 6 p.m. today.

Grab your Valentine sweetheart and head out to the dance floor this weekend -- no matter where you are in the county, there's bound to besomething nearby.The American Heart Association has its 1992 Heart Ball with the theme "King of Hearts" at 7:30 p.m. at Wakefield Valley Golf and Conference Center, Westminster.Information: 857-3405.*The Pleasant Valley Community FireCo. presents Lucifer at its Valentine Dance 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at the fire hall, 2030 S. Pleasant Valley Road.Tickets are $10 per person.

The Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association re-elected all five executive officers for the first time in its history at its annual convention on May 19. Re-elected were: Richard Green Sr., president, Gamber & Community Volunteer Fire Company; Mark Bilger, first vice president, Hampstead Volunteer Fire Department; Doug Alexander, second vice president, Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company; Dennis Brothers, treasurer, Gamber; and Ralph Dull,...

He was a detective and a department store manager. A deli operator and a race-car driver. An agent for jockeys, a pool hall entrepreneur and a fire chief.And there were other professions that Marvin W. Goldberg performed -- each with equal zest and sincerity.Perhaps Mr. Goldberg, 73, who died Monday of heart failure at his Cockeysville home, will be best remembered as proprietor of the old Goldberg's Department Store on York Road in Cockeysville.Or, will his tenure -- albeit short -- as chief of the Cockeysville Volunteer Fire Department stand out most?

When you see those bright lights, hear the loud screams coming from rides and savor that unmistakable aroma of cotton candy, french fries and hot dogs, you know it must be carnival season in Anne Arundel County.Many volunteer fire companies -- Odenton, Riviera Beach and Woodland Beach, for example -- already have had carnivals, while Deale and Earleigh Heights hold theirs this month. And an 88-year-old institution -- the Big Glen Burnie Carnival -- returns at the end of the month.The Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Department carnival opens today and runs through Saturday.

The 13 members of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department feel their 52-year-old organization has not outlived its usefulness, despite its steadily declining membership.Since 1942, dozens of Elkridge women joined the auxiliary to share an interest in the volunteer fire department with their husbands, fathers and brothers. The organization enjoyed its heyday in the 1940s when it boasted 59 members.As recently as 1981, the auxiliary had 36 members. But not anymore."We haven't had that kind of numbers in quite a few years," said Bonnie Poligardo, a six-year member.

Screenings offered at medical van Upper Chesapeake HealthLink's medical van will be in Upper Chesapeake Medical Center's parking lot M, MacPhail and Tollgate roads, from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Free blood pressure, sleep disorder and body fat analysis screenings will be offered. Also available: cholesterol screenings for $10; osteoporosis screenings for $15; and cardiac risk assessments for $20 (cash or check only). Information: 800-515-0044. Ultrasound labs are accredited The echocardiography laboratories at Harford Memorial Hospital and Upper Chesapeake Medical Center have been granted accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories.