Pennsylvania Fire Company Suspended Again

POTTSVILLE, Penn.-- For the second time in two years, Pottsville Fire Chief Todd March has suspended Greenwood Hill Fire Company.

The company's trained firefighters have been failing to respond to at least 20 percent of its fire calls this year, March said on Monday, adding that recent "internal problems" at the company led to a drop in membership.

"And the ones who were responding to most of the calls quit. You can't depend on them. That's what it comes down to," March said.

However, Daniel R. Maidenford, who has been company president for two years, insisted the company's remaining 13 active members have been making their quota.

"I'd like to work something out with the city," Maidenford said Monday.

March said the company is on "indefinite suspension." So if Maidenford's logs are correct, March could reinstate the volunteer fire company located at Wolfe Street and Ridge Avenue as early as next week.

But if March decides not to reinstate the 61-year-old company, he said, "it won't affect any fire service on the east end of Pottsville."

In May 2006, March suspended the company for six months after its firefighters arrived poorly prepared to extinguish a fire on East Norwegian Street.

"It was a big safety issue. The people weren't trained to the minimum the trustees were requiring," March said.

While the company's personnel has improved since then, March said, he had to suspend the company again on Nov. 20 for two reasons.

Between January and November, its active members had the opportunity to respond to 70 to 80 calls and they only properly responded to six, March said.

In order to be an active fire company in the city, "you have to have four firefighters trained with their minimum requirements. That includes Essentials of Firefighters and Hazardous Materials. And all four have to respond to 20 percent of the calls. And that's not a lot of calls," March said, paraphrasing the bylaws of the city's Board of Fire Trustees.

Mount Carbon Mayor Jeffrey J. Dunkel, who served as one of the company's assistant chief engineers for the past two years, said the company was making its quota.

"Greenwood Hill holds one of the lowest call volumes in the city, about 90 to 110 calls a year. You need to meet about 20 calls to meet that criteria. I can say we made over 70 percent of the calls. In the last two years, we did our best to make every call we could. We made the majority. It improved from the previous years drastically," Dunkel said.

"Our truck's been off the floor for almost every call that there's been this year," Maidenford said.

The trucks were getting out, March said, but a total of four trained firefighters representing Greenwood Hill weren't always along for the ride.

"Their figures can't be that far off from what we have. I know what their people are responding to. So hopefully their figures are going to match up pretty close. If they're way off, then there's something wrong somewhere," March said.

Meanwhile, a contingent of Greenwood Hill's trained firefighters recently resigned.

"Four of their most active members resigned from the company on Nov. 13. Now they don't have enough qualified people," March said. When asked why these firefighters resigned, March said, "it's internal problems. That's what I was told."

That was the night the company held its election of officers, according to Maidenford.

"Some of our members at election time didn't make offices, so they resigned because they didn't get elected to the offices they were running for," Maidenford said.

Neither March nor Maidenford would identify the volunteers who resigned.

But Dunkel and Jayson "Bud" Glauda, who was a captain for one year, said they were among them.

"At the last meeting, myself and three other members resigned our positions due to some internal problems going on. And there are two resignations pending," Dunkel said.

Asked to elaborate, Dunkel would only say, "There are just some things that went on we didn't agree with. And we all just decided it would be better off moving on."

"It's a bad situation," Glauda said.

One of the issues involved the company's two trucks, both of which are out of service, Glauda said.

Maidenford said its 1990 E-1 pumper has been out of service since early November.

"It's on its last legs and we don't have the funds to have it repaired," Glauda said.

And Maidenford said the company's 1976 model brush truck has needed new parts since July.

"My job is to protect and serve the community. That's the oath I took. And with our truck in dire need, and with us losing members, I felt that we cannot fulfill our obligation," Glauda said.

Greenwood Hill, one of the city's eight fire companies, currently has about 200 members, but only 13 active members, according to Maidenford.

Copyright 2007 by The Republican & Herald.

Republished with permission of The Republican & Herald.