Pa. Cities Consider Benefits of Regional Fire Crews

Dec. 04--Firefighters from Hazleton City and neighboring West Hazleton Borough are evaluating whether the communities could benefit from taking a regional approach to providing services.

Representatives from both fire companies met on three occasions in recent weeks to discuss their respective needs and the potential for developing a closer working relationship that could lead to cost savings.

"We're exploring each other's needs, what resources each department has to offer one another and how we can better utilize those resources," said West Hazleton fire Chief Dennis Ganc.

Ganc suggested the departments could save money by conducting joint training programs while West Hazleton Mayor Frank Schmidt said he believes a cooperative venture could result in an arrangement similar to suburban mutual aid.

"We have some equipment (city crews) need and they have some equipment we can use," Schmidt said. "We can cover each other for the fires. Maybe each fire company can save money. I think it's worth looking into."

City Fire Chief Donald Leshko said talks are in preliminary stages and stem from recommendations from Pennsylvania Economy League, which recently completed a strategic financial review for the city and has been working with the borough to shed its financially-distressed status under Act 47.

"We have some great ideas we're looking at," Leshko said. "We're just weighing and looking at all the options. Talks have been great. Where it will go, I don't know."

Hazleton Mayor Joseph Yannuzzi said the talks are intended to evaluate "cooperative efforts" among the fire departments, but he stopped short of characterizing the any such agreement as mutual aid.

"West Hazleton has been very cooperative and we're very interested in helping," the mayor said. "We want to see how we can best work this out. We haven't really went that deep into it yet."

Schmidt said the borough has for years benefitted from a mutual aid initiative with other municipalities -- but said Hazleton hasn't typically responded to calls in the borough because of its unionized segment of firefighters.

"We never did that before because they are unionized," he said. "The way it sounds, I think we will, eventually."

In its evaluation of city finances, PEL recommended the city "begin discussions with the Borough of West Hazleton to identify any potential to initiate combined fire service delivery."

"Such an effort is likely to result in reduced capital expenditures and cost savings in staffing and responses to calls for service," PEL's report states.

Unionized city firefighters were represented during the talks and Leshko, both deputy city fire chiefs and officials on behalf of Hazleton's five fire companies attended, Leshko said.

Both Leshko and Ganc called the meetings "productive" and "positive," with Leshko saying an obvious goal is to ensure "citizens are protected."

West Hazleton has six to eight eligible part-time drivers on paid duty who cover two shifts for five days per week, Ganc said. Volunteers staff remaining shifts.

The borough's fire department consists of 45 to 47 members, with a regularly active crew of about 20 to 25, Ganc said.

Hazleton, meanwhile, has 21 paid firefighters and an estimated 40 active volunteers, Leshko said recently.

"We're sitting at an even table with open minds," Leshko said. "We'll stay positive and go from there."

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Copyright 2012 - Standard-Speaker, Hazleton, Pa.