It is 4 a.m. Sunday morning and the fire whistles sound in your town. Most people would look out their windows and go back to bed.
Not 95-year-old Mike Knies of Lansford. As a longtime and active volunteer with the Lansford Fire Police, he responds to most incidents where firefighters are dispatched.
Knies, a Lieutenant with Carbon County Fire Police and Captain with Lansford’s Fire Police, has been involved with volunteer fire police services for over 35 years.
He graduated from St. Ann’s High School in 1939 and served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. His first involvement with firefighting was when he served as a firefighter on an aircraft carrier. That is where he recalled putting out his first fire.
His father, John Knies, was known for having the Blacksmith Shop on the 800 block of Patterson Street.
He also filled-in a position as site fireman at his job at Parish Steel, in Reading; of which he worked 28 years in the technical field.
Knies joined the Lansford Fire Company in 1971 and has volunteered there ever since.
In 2012, he lost his wife, Julia E. Sims-Knies, of 64 years to cancer.
In addition, Knies currently serves as the Vice President of the No. 9 Mine and Museum in Lansford, where he has been active about 15 years.
So next time you see someone in a reflective vest diverting traffic during a vehicle accident or fire, show your respect… it could be 95-year-old Mike Knies.