Gill Hall VFC's still undecided in Jefferson Hills

After a marathon Jefferson Hills council meeting Monday night, the issue of Gill Hall Volunteer Fire Co. still isn’t decided.

After much debate, questions about who has the authority to reinstate the fire department and the departure of several council members, officials deadlocked 2-2 on whether to fully reinstate the department and have it placed back on Allegheny County’s call list to be dispatched to fires.

The only thing council did agree upon: to continue the meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The 72-year-old, 20-member department was dropped by the borough in January 2019 but the decertification vote didn’t dissolve the department, which owns its fire hall, truck and other equipment.

Gill Hall was reinstated as a borough fire company on a probationary basis in April, but was not placed back on Allegheny County dispatch run cards.

Run cards include information for dispatchers so they know what departments to call out during an emergency.

But Gill Hall members declined an offer from the borough to be dispatched as part of Jefferson Hills Fire Rescue — a new department created with the combination of the borough’s two other fire departments, Jefferson 885 and Floreffe — leaving Gill Hall in limbo.

Recently, however, Mayor Janice Cmar sent a letter to Allegheny County officials to have Gill Hall placed back on its own run card.

County dispatch could send Gill Hall back out on calls as of Friday, according to correspondence obtained by the Tribune-Review between the mayor, Councilman Keith Reynolds and county officials.

Cmar and Reynolds made the announcement of that potential breakthrough at Monday night’s council meeting.

Allegheny County Spokeswoman Amie Downs said the county just needed Jefferson Hills council to approve the move.

That’s where efforts hit a snag, with other council members, including President Karen Bucy, questioning the legality of the mayor’s actions.

Solicitor J. Deron Gabriel said Cmar’s presumed power to have the county put Gill Hall back on dispatch is not expressly covered in the borough code.

Bucy also questioned why the mayor did not inform council of her letter before hand.

“I’m here for public safety,” Cmar replied. “You’re here for legislation.”

Reynolds said the mayor took action because Gill Hall residents deserve their own fire protection, and was concerned about response time from the other fire stations to the neighborhood.

Resident Claire Germello was among several meeting attendees who spoke in favor of Gill Hall being put back in service.

She also questioned the response time from the other fire departments to the Gill Hall area, and said her neighborhood would be better served by its own station.

“It’s for the best of the community” Germello said. “We all want the best for our community.”

The other speakers also recommended council allocate one third of the foreign fire insurance fund to Gill Hall.

Councilwoman Melissa Steffey said she has lost confidence in Gill Hall, specifically its department heads.

“Sometimes you have to not change the playbook, but maybe fire the coach,” Steffey said. “I think you need to find other leadership.”

The discussion went on for several hours with Bucy suggesting Gill Hall operate under JHFR’s run card as 180-3 during its probationary period and reevaluate the department at a later date.

But that irked Gill Hall head trustee Tony Latorre, who said his firefighters do not need to be evaluated.

“We don’t need babysitting,” he said. “These guys know how to fight fires.”

Council took a five minute break after more than three hours of discussion. During the break, three council members left, leaving the vote on Gill Hall to deadlock at 2-2.