Four Hempfield fire departments are taking additional steps toward dissolving their charters and moving under township management.

The township’s Carbon and Hempfield No. 2 fire departments passed declarations of intent to dissolve in June.

If approved by the Hempfield supervisors during the board’s meeting Monday, the departments will have taken the first official step toward becoming “nonchartered” fire stations.

Becoming nonchartered means Hempfield will manage the station and pay all of its expenses while volunteer firefighters continue to respond to calls.

Grapeville is one step ahead of Carbon and Hempfield No. 2. Supervisors will vote Monday on approving an acquisition agreement with the fire department — the second to last step in the nonchartered process.

“We appreciate your faith in the township for getting this far along in the process,” said township Supervisor Bill Bretz. “We’ll be voting on that on Monday, but I appreciate your desire to ensure that we have volunteer coverage in your area.”

Midway-St. Clair next month will complete the final step, formally dissolving its charter through a Common Pleas Court hearing under Judge Harry Smail Jr. on Aug. 22.

The station will join North Hempfield as the only nonchartered stations among the township’s 10 fire departments.

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When a station dissolves its charter, its assets — including volunteers and properties — will be transferred to the township, said Township Manager Aaron Siko.

Volunteer operations at each of the stations will continue as usual, he said.

“There won’t be any changes as far as service to the township,” Siko said. “The volunteers within those stations will be continuing to respond from those stations.”

Hempfield renewed its push in recent years to invite more stations to become nonchartered. But township officials have been advocating for this setup for nearly a decade, said Supervisor Doug Weimer.

“It’s exciting to see everyone coming into the fold and becoming part of the family,” he said. “We have been working on this for nearly a decade and going in this direction. And now it’s really coming to the point where everyone realizes that to save the service and to provide the safety to the community, this is what needs to be done.”

Nearly all of the township’s fire stations have expressed some level of interest in being managed by the township, except for Bovard and West Point — the latter of which merged earlier this year with the shuttered High Park Volunteer Fire Department.

Fort Allen’s declaration of intent was approved by the township in February. Adamsburg and Hannastown have expressed preliminary interest in becoming nonchartered but no official steps have been taken.

Siko credited the increased interest in the nonchartered setup to the volunteer firefighters’ trust in the township.

“We can’t do this without the volunteers,” he said. “And certainly the model that we have set up is to support the volunteer fire service, first and foremost, and to supplement that service during its times of need.”

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