Feud among fire departments flares during Memorial Day blaze in Springdale Township

Seven fire departments and about 50 firefighters responded to a blaze that destroyed a home in Springdale Township on Memorial Day, but Springdale Volunteer Fire Department members, who were close enough to watch smoke rise from the fire, were not among them.

According to Dan Copeland, a borough council member and Springdale fire captain, his department was not dispatched to the scene, despite their proximity.

That’s because of an ongoing conflict between Springdale VFD and Allegheny Valley Volunteer Fire Company, which covers Springdale Township, Copeland said.

Each fire department maintains a “run card,” which tells Allegheny County dispatchers which departments to send to scenes depending on severity. For scenes in Allegheny Valley’s area, Springdale is listed for dispatch only for second-alarm fires.

Since the blaze on the 200 block of Melzena Street never reached that status, Springdale fire crews weren’t called to the scene. But Verona and Rural Ridge fire departments, both more than six miles from the scene, responded because of their first-alarm status.

Springdale crews — which were located near Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School for a holiday event at the time — could have rushed directly to the scene, Copeland said.

Allegheny County 911 Dispatch received the first call for the fire at 10:24 a.m. The first unit on scene arrived at about 10:35 a.m. — about 10 minutes after the first report.

“You would have had water on the fire a lot sooner,” had Springdale been called, Copeland said.

He said Springdale crews tried to inform county dispatchers of their location in an attempt to be sent to the scene in a process known as “bidding.” Copeland said dispatchers did not respond to the bid, which is standard procedure.

Though Allegheny County Emergency Services spokesperson Kasey Reigner said bidding is discouraged because it “adds unnecessary radio traffic and confusion at the time of the incident,” the practice is not forbidden.

Operating guidelines from the county that went into effect in April state departments should not ask to be added to calls except for extremely rare circumstances and the county is not responsible for acknowledging “unnecessary radio transmissions.”

“This is a municipal matter at the municipal level between the involved departments,” Reigner said in a statement. 

Both Copeland and Allegheny Valley Assistant Chief Josh Wilford acknowledged long-running personal disputes between leadership in the two departments with Wilford citing “baggage on both sides.”

Wilford said his department placed Springdale at second-alarm status because Springdale crews are “completely unsafe” on scene. He also noted that Springdale lists Allegheny Valley under second-alarm status for its run cards.

Allegheny Valley, Wilford said, had experienced issues with chain-of-command at scenes with Springdale crews, who he said sometimes did not follow orders.

Copeland denied that Springdale crews operate unsafely, but said he would not advise his department’s firefighters to follow orders he felt were “unsafe.”

Allegheny Valley is indeed listed under second-alarm status on Springdale run cards, Copeland said. But he said Springdale operates using a different strategy.

Rather than alerting several area departments during the first-alarm stage, like Allegheny Valley does, Copeland said Springdale only alerts crews from East Deer and a “rapid intervention” crew from Arnold during the first stage.

If crews confirm a “working fire,” Copeland said Springdale would then raise the event to second-alarm, which would bring out Allegheny Valley and others.

After Monday’s fire, both Copeland and Wilford said they believe the two departments could sit down to discuss ways to improve operations and their strained relationships.

“Something needs to give before something catastrophic happens,” Copeland said.

In a statement, Allegheny Valley Chief Jay Zangrille said he was aware of community concerns. He said “thoughtful and ongoing discussions” continue with neighboring departments.

“We continuously evaluate the needs of our mutual aid partners and make necessary adjustments to maintain this focus and we are fortunate to have many close partners that provide this support within just minutes when the need arises,” he said.

When or how those discussions might occur remains unclear, but Springdale Township Commissioner Tim Basilone said he’s concerned in the meantime.

Basilone, who lives less than a half mile from scene of Monday’s fire, said he is still trying to gather the facts, but he felt public safety is not the place for feuding.

“We can’t have a divided community when it comes to health and safety,” he said.