Hempfield fire stations face 'growing pains' as township supervisors enforce service agreements

A Hempfield fire station might be forced to pay debt on one of its vehicles if it doesn’t agree to follow a plan laid out by township supervisors at the start of the year.

Members of the High Park Volunteer Fire Department are asking the township to pay nearly $62,000 in debt while the station maintains ownership of the vehicle, stating they will be unable to take on the debt because they can’t raise money because of a damaged fire hall.

In a March 2 letter sent to the supervisors, members of the department said, “We are kindly asking the township to overtake both payments of our truck with the condition of the truck staying as property of High Park Volunteer Fire Department. With these large payments being taken care of, we will be able to better serve our community.

“Not only can we continue serving the community by answering alarms, but we can also continue dedicating our time solely to training versus fundraising.”

But service agreements signed earlier this year by all 12 of the township’s fire stations state that departments wanting the township to pay debts on vehicles must hand over the titles, Manager Jason Winters said. Winters noted ownership of the vehicles gives supervisors a stake in something paid for with taxpayer dollars.

If a station does not want to hand over ownership of the vehicle, they are responsible for the debt. A six-month grace period is allotted to the stations where the township pays debts while station officials decide which direction they want to take.

But the township supervisors this month directed staff to follow the service agreement as it originally was written.

“It’s my recommendation we send a letter back to High Park that says, ‘You have a six-month grace period; we’ll honor that six-month grace period. If you have no intent to turn over the truck to us, the reimbursements for these truck payments will cease at the end of six months,’” Supervisor Tom Logan said.

Township Supervisor George Reese, who has been a member of the Carbon Volunteer Fire Department for almost 40 years, said the option is a way to help stations that are facing high expectations in terms of training and response to calls.

“It’s becoming difficult,” Reese said. “It’s something that we all agreed was necessary to take over their debt to help them out and to maintain that fleet. … Making sure everything is in good, operating, safe condition. … It’s too much for firemen to handle anymore.”

High Park President David Blatnick declined to comment on the ongoing dialogue between the station and township. Fire Chief John Howell did not return calls for comment.

Two other stations, Carbon and Fort Allen submitted letters of intent stating they would hand over ownership of vehicles the township was paying debt on. Supervisors accepted the letters this month, which started the process of transferring ownership.

“They take over all payments of the vehicles, they’re responsible for all maintenance for the vehicles — inspection, tires, fuel, insurance, everything,” Fort Allen Fire Chief Neil Kush said. “So, at this point, anything that goes wrong with the vehicle, it’s their problem. If you don’t turn it over to them, all that (maintenance) stuff becomes your responsibility.”

Hempfield Township Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic referred to the High Park situation as “growing pains” as supervisors start to implement items laid out in the service agreements.