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Referendum Vote Causes Pennsylvania Departments to Alter Mutual Aid
TRISH HARTMAN
WNEP
Reprinted with Permission
SCRANTON, Pa. - There has been some fallout from Tuesday's vote in Dunmore. Voters there said no to a referendum that would have allowed the borough to raise taxes to fund the fire department.
Now other fire departments are responding to the vote and the Dunmore fire chief said in a dangerous way.
In the wake of this week's landslide "No" note in Dunmore, Scranton's Fire Department is now backing off.
While Scranton's fire chief said they will still help Dunmore in case of a fire, Scranton firefighters won't respond to a call until they know it's actually a fire.
It's a decision that has Dunmore's chief worried.
Scranton Fire Chief Tom Davis made a trip to Dunmore's fire department this week.
He told Dunmore's chief Scranton will not respond to automatic fire alarms, only confirmed structure fires.
Davis said the decision comes after Dunmore voters struck down a referendum to raise taxes to fund Dunmore's fire department.
He said the burden should not fall on Scranton taxpayers.
"We will go on any structure fire that we have and they need our help, we're going to assist them but we're not going to go up there on non-fire calls," Davis added.
Earlier this year, to save money, Dunmore's fire department went from five firefighters and three trucks in service per shift to three or four firefighters and two trucks in service.
That's when Scranton started responding to automatic alarms to help Dunmore.
Dunmore's fire chief said the first few minutes of a fire are the most crucial and firefighters would like to work with council to come up with a better solution now that the Scranton Fire Department is no longer responding to first alarm fires.
Dunmore council members said Scranton's fire crews were responding to mostly false alarms anyway.
They also said Dunmore has the advantage of having a paid fire department, not volunteer so those fire fighters are always at the station, ready to go.
Still, some Dunmore business owners are concerned.
"Dunmore only has a limited number of trucks and firefighters and if the fire chief says that's unsafe, they should go with his opinion," said Celeste Gotron of The Green Leaf Organics.
As for how to find more funding for Dunmore's fire department because the tax was voted down, council members said they still have to meet and talk about a solution.
Dunmore's next council meeting is Monday night at 7 p.m.
Copyright © 2010, WNEP-TV
WNEP
Reprinted with Permission
SCRANTON, Pa. - There has been some fallout from Tuesday's vote in Dunmore. Voters there said no to a referendum that would have allowed the borough to raise taxes to fund the fire department.
In the wake of this week's landslide "No" note in Dunmore, Scranton's Fire Department is now backing off.
While Scranton's fire chief said they will still help Dunmore in case of a fire, Scranton firefighters won't respond to a call until they know it's actually a fire.
It's a decision that has Dunmore's chief worried.
Scranton Fire Chief Tom Davis made a trip to Dunmore's fire department this week.
He told Dunmore's chief Scranton will not respond to automatic fire alarms, only confirmed structure fires.
Davis said the decision comes after Dunmore voters struck down a referendum to raise taxes to fund Dunmore's fire department.
He said the burden should not fall on Scranton taxpayers.
"We will go on any structure fire that we have and they need our help, we're going to assist them but we're not going to go up there on non-fire calls," Davis added.
Earlier this year, to save money, Dunmore's fire department went from five firefighters and three trucks in service per shift to three or four firefighters and two trucks in service.
That's when Scranton started responding to automatic alarms to help Dunmore.
Dunmore's fire chief said the first few minutes of a fire are the most crucial and firefighters would like to work with council to come up with a better solution now that the Scranton Fire Department is no longer responding to first alarm fires.
Dunmore council members said Scranton's fire crews were responding to mostly false alarms anyway.
They also said Dunmore has the advantage of having a paid fire department, not volunteer so those fire fighters are always at the station, ready to go.
Still, some Dunmore business owners are concerned.
"Dunmore only has a limited number of trucks and firefighters and if the fire chief says that's unsafe, they should go with his opinion," said Celeste Gotron of The Green Leaf Organics.
As for how to find more funding for Dunmore's fire department because the tax was voted down, council members said they still have to meet and talk about a solution.
Dunmore's next council meeting is Monday night at 7 p.m.
Copyright © 2010, WNEP-TV
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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I agree with the decision by the Scranton Fire Chief, it shouldn't be another dept's, or community's for that matter, responsibility to provide services to another place for free. I can understand MA, but when voters refuse to fund their own fire protection, it isn't some other taxpayers responsibilty to sacrifice their services for the other community.
Not long ago there was an article in one of the fire service publications about the "doing more with less" and how the fire service tries to do so, meanwhile when police are faced with such issues, reduce services. Well that is essentially what happened here, there is no need to respond automatic aid to an area that doesn't care to fund their own services.
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Permalink Reply by Vic Silverfish on
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Classic American approach - insist on benefits, but refuse to pay for them. I can appreciate Scranton's chief on this one, but this is a tragedy waiting to happen.
That said - the town council is playing silly buggers. They can't meet their budget. Something has to go. In a town, that means schools, parks, police, firefighters...all very local things that everyone wants. They chose to propose a new tax targeted specifically to the fire department, rather than a) cut services - which is roundly unpopular or b) raise general taxes - equally unpopular. Making these unpopular decisions is what we (in theory) elect them to do. tossing it back to the electorate in the form of a referendum shirks that responsibility, and now it's a matter of time before someone (civilian or firefighter) gets killed because of it.
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Vic,
The issue with referendums is getting, unfortunately, too common in many states because of constraits placed by states, municipalities etc. In this case, the issue stems from the probable concept that another dept will cover for them automatically has backfired. When budgets do get tight, the fire service, in general, has strived to do all the same services with less, vs reducing services when the money is reduced. The issue can be a Catch 22 though because more calls justifies a reason for increased budget and can factor into grants etc as well. Law enforcentment, when facing similar budgets, tend to look at reducing services, which tend to receive a more immediate impact than the fire service.
Face it, when the neighbor's house burns, rarely does one think about the fire safety in their own home. When the neighbor's house is robbed and property taken/damaged, people want more security, more police etc. Most people just don't use the fire service resources in the same amount as police, so fire service cuts may take longer to notice. In this case the Scranton Chief's decision helps to emphasize the consequences of a failed referendum here.
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