Fox Chapel council nixes participation in regional fire department study

Fox Chapel officials have declined to participate in a regional fire department study with other Fox Chapel Area School District communities.

The study, which could involve Sharpsburg, Aspinwall, O’Hara Township, Blawnox and Fox Chapel fire departments, would examine memberships, resources, training and other related factors.

It would be done through the state Department of Community and Economic Development at no cost to the participating towns and not bind them to any possible recommended mergers.

Township officials reached out to Fox Chapel officials earlier this year about joining the effort. Fox Chapel Council voted 6-1 on March 21 not to participate. Councilwoman Mandy Steele dissented.

‘Our Fox Chapel Fire Chief (Dee Humes) has created a thriving, well-trained department in a time when we see many fire departments struggling, so I’m not convinced that merging makes sense for us at this time,” Steele said. “However, I do feel that participating in a regionalization study with our neighbors could yield information that would be useful in our long-term planning, specifically with regard to our current comprehensive plan with O’Hara, which is essentially a 10-year plan for the two communities.”

Council president Andrew Bennett said the study would be a precursor to a merger of departments, and such a move is not necessary at this time.

“I don’t see it being a benefit to us to get into regionalization,” Bennett said. “There might be other learnings that we could glean from it, and this is really about combining municipalities.”

He and other council members came to that conclusion following a discussion with fire department secretary Lt. Mike Pohl prior to the vote.

“These studies are generally done when there is a clear and identifiable problem in the community that needs to be resolved,” Pohl said. “Whether it’s a lack of manpower, a force that’s not well-trained, water supply issues, finance issues, fire coverage issues of some type. In Fox Chapel borough right now, we do not believe that we have any of significant problems in terms of fire protection.”

Pohl said the department has 29 active and well-trained members, as well as a strong rating from New Jersey-based Insurance Services Office Inc., which reflects fire protection services within a community based on an evaluation of its ability to combat structure fires. Results from that evaluation can affect homeowners’ insurance rates.

Pohl said Fox Chapel is in the top 40% of about 48,750 communities evaluated. The borough department was last evaluated in 2016.

“Our primary responsibility is to provide fire protection service for Fox Chapel borough,” he said. “We’re very well capable of doing that.”

Pohl also noted the department provides mutual aid to the neighboring communities and has been a a primary responder with Blawnox to parts of O’Hara after the township banned Guyasuta Volunteer Fire Department from answering calls in 2011.

Municipalities across the state have struggled with finding and keeping volunteer firefighters.

There were about 300,000 volunteer firefighters across the state in the 1970s. Numbers are down to about 38,000, according to a report released in November 2018 by the state House of Representatives.

O’Hara Councilman George Stewart said late March 23 that he believes the other municipalities in the area will join in the study and is holding out hope Fox Chapel will reconsider.

“When you have a little bump in the road, you just don’t turn tail and complain about it,” he said. “It’s not a horrible thing either way. They said they don’t want to do it now. Maybe they maintain that position, maybe they won’t. It would be nice if they were (involved). The process is ongoing. It will benefit all the different boroughs and municipalities.”