Vandergrift’s two fire departments are stuck at their stations until the borough reinstates workers’ compensation coverage for the volunteers, according to a statement from Mayor Lenny Collini.
The statement said borough officials noticed a lapse in coverage late Friday and couldn’t resolve the issue over the weekend.
Coverage is expected to resume sometime this week, though the mayor did not provide an exact time frame in the statement.
In the meantime, he said, the departments have coordinated with nearby fire companies to provide coverage for the borough.
Parks Township VFD President Stacy John said her department is among those servicing the borough.
A Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said his agency was not sending any calls to the Vandergrift departments, instead pinging nearby emergency responders to manage incidents. The dispatcher said the responding agencies would depend on a call’s origin within Vandergrift.
Though volunteer firefighters are not employed by Vandergrift, Pennsylvania law still requires that municipalities provide workers’ compensation coverage for local first responders.
The mayor’s statement did not address how the lapse had occurred or whether it affected borough employees.
A Vandergrift police officer, who declined to give his name, told TribLive the workers’ compensation lapse has not affected police and the department is operating normally.
Collini did not immediately respond to a TribLive request for comment. Neither did Vandergrift Council President Tom Holmes. Councilwoman Marilee Kessler declined to comment.
Attempts to reach the two fire departments were unsuccessful.
The lapse has drawn criticism and suspicion from residents on social media, including Facebook’s “Vandergrift PA Completely Uncensored” page.
