Report firmly endorses West Middlesex-Shenango fire department consolidation

Apr. 23—A report just completed by the state says it flat out: The Shenango Township Volunteer Fire Department and West Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department should consolidate.

"The analysis, conclusions, and recommendations contained in this report offers the West Middlesex and Shenango community an opportunity to build upon the legacy of the fire protections while striving to improve it for the future with a single fire company," the report, completed by the state Department of Community and Economic Development said.

The report was accepted and publicly released at Shenango Township's regular Thursday night meeting. The report has several mistakes that will be corrected, such as the number of supervisors the township has and its township classification.

West Middlesex Borough Council accepted the report at its regular Tuesday night meeting. But West Middlesex refused to make the report public, saying its acceptance was conditioned on, among other things, that Shenango Township had to accept it.

But it wasn't a quiet acceptance.

Tom Hubert, president of the supervisors, said it was "uncontainable" that currently if there's a medical emergency at West Middlesex School District that the Shenango fire department doesn't get called to help.

Since school campus in West Middlesex, the West Middlesex department determines which first responders gets the call. Hermitage often gets the first or second call because they have a full-time staff around the clock, Hubert acknowledged.

"But our department has the trained people to get there before Hermitage," he said in a phone interview Friday. "They (West Middlesex Fire Department) hate me for saying this."

Still, Hubert is eager in combining the two fire departments to create better service for all.

"Let's get everyone — the township supervisors, West Middlesex council and both fire departments — in the same room and publicly talk about this," he said.

Eric Lucich, president of West Middlesex council and a member of both fire departments, said in a brief Friday phone interview that he spoke to the West Middlesex fire department about Hubert's concerns.

West Middlesex doesn't have paid, full-time emergency response teams to handle these situations around the clock and neither does Shenango Township, Lucich said.

"Sharon, Hermitage and Farrell all have paid staff who can get there quickly," he said.

The report said Mercer County's 911 dispatch center could help resolve this issue.

But Frank Jannetti, Mercer County public safety director, said no way.

Jannetti was adamant that 911 doesn't get involved in creating fire or medical response lists.

"Our 911 center has nothing to say about that," he said. "We have nothing to say about what a fire chief decides."

Fire chiefs determine which first responders should be called based on the emergency. A house fire could create one set of responders while someone entrapped in a car creates a different group, Jannetti said..

"It's the fire chief who decide what they want," Jannetti said.

Over the past two years, talks on combining the two fire departments have been an emotional roller-coaster. Discussions ground to a halt amid finger pointing by both departments that the other wasn't acting in good faith.

The report gave four ways to combine the departments: consolidate, merge, create an association or create a regional format. The report favors consolidation — and so does Lucich.

A consolidation would create one, single fire department, Lucich said.

"It's almost a new entity where everyone gets a fresh start," he said. "It's a completely new, fresh plate where we can agree on whole new operations and procedures."

With the report in hand and as council president, Lucich said he wants to talk with West Middlesex fire department members.

"This is information gathering to see what our fire department's hopes and dreams are for the future," he said. "They've always shown a willingness to talk about this."

Shenango Township supervisors also unanimously approved beginning talks with West Middlesex council on combining the two departments. Lucich said borough council also will vote on the issue but didn't have an immediate timetable.