WTFX
Reprinted with Permission

The chief of a local fire company may be in hot water for allegedly refusing to supply water to another fire company battling a blaze.


A source tells Fox 29 police are investigating the chief for refusing to hook up a fire company to a hose to help put out a fire.

Vincent Troisi is chief of the Union Fire Company in Bensalem and he told Fox 29
on the phone Tuesday that he's under orders not to talk while an investigation is happening.

Troisi would not say what he's being investigated for.

But a source tells Fox 29 that Troisi is being investigated for refusing to supply water to a paid fire company that arrived first on the scene of a ware house fire.

The source says instead Troisi supplied the water to the volunteer fire company that was the second to get there.

The incident happened a week ago on State Road.

The source says the incident stems from a dispute between volunteer fire firefighters and the townships paid firefighters, who were reportedly hired with money taken from funds the volunteer companies get from the township to run on their own.

The volunteer fire companies get about $160,000 to operate on.

The source says some of that money was taken away to supplement salaries and benefits for the paid crews the township hired.

Our source also says there's bad blood between the two because some of the volunteers had applied for the paid jobs and did not get them.

President of the union fire company also would not talk to Fox 29.

He directed us to the director of public safety for the township, who heads the Bensalem township police department.

We are waiting to hear from him to get more on what this investigation is about.

Meantime, Troisi is still on the job while this investigation takes place.