Guy Frank Rubei, 58, said Wednesday he is part of a group organizing a Westmoreland County Volunteer Fire Police Department.
“I haven't done anything wrong,” Rubei said.
But state police said Rubei is not a member of any local fire department and has not been authorized to act as a fire policeman. Locally, fire police are usually members of a volunteer fire department given limited police powers to direct traffic, control crowds and support firefighters in other ways.
Police said Rubei was operating a “privately owned vehicle resembling a fire police department vehicle” with emergency lights activated in the West Point and Wendover areas of Hempfield on Oct. 31. Rubei told troopers he was “patrolling the neighborhood for Halloween, promoting his company and handing out candy,” according to reports.
On Jan. 6, Rubei was in the same vehicle when a responding trooper found him at the scene of a disabled vehicle on a ramp connecting Route 119 to Route 30 east in Southwest Greensburg, records show.
Rubei said he happened upon the disabled vehicle while taking his son to work.
The white GMC pickup truck sat parked in Rubei's driveway Wednesday, adorned with red decals reading “emergency” and “fire police.” The truck has an emergency light bar on the hood, a siren and a dashboard camera.
“This truck is just a display truck for the department; that's all it is,” said Rubei, adding that his group has listed itself with the state as a corporation and has applied for nonprofit status, although records show that status has not been granted.
A preliminary hearing is set for March 3.
Renatta Signorini is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-837-5374 or[email protected].
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