Danelle England-Dansicker, Division Chief (Ret.), Baltimore County Fire Department

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The Baltimore County Fire Department and the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company are mourning the loss of Danelle England-Dansicker, a firefighter who made history in each organization. Chief England-Dansicker died Tuesday at the age of 52 from complications of an auto-immune disease.

Danelle England-Dansicker came from a family with long ties to the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company, including her uncles, father, grandfather and brother. According to the fire company’s website, as a teenager in 1976, after lobbying to get the bylaws changed, she became the first woman to join Pikesville VFC.

A short time later she was the first woman hired as a career firefighter in Baltimore County. There were many more firsts for Danelle England-Dansicker, all the way to her promotion to division chief, a post she held until her retirement in 2005.

There is much more information and many memories of Chief England-Dansicker at the Pikesville VFC website.

On a personal note, Chief England-Dansicker’s husband was a close childhood friend of mine. Sam Dansicker and I were in the same class through all of elementary school. He is a former captain at Pikesville. While I probably haven’t seen Sam since I rode with Pikesville for a night or two in the 70s, shortly after Danelle became a member, my thoughts are with Sam and his family.

Here are the arrangements from Pikesville VFC’s website:

Funeral services for Chief England-Dansicker will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Charles Boromeo Catholic Church in Pikesville on Saturday, April 25 with interment to follow at Druid Ridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Saint Charles Boromeo Catholic Church, 101 Church Lane in Pikesville.