苏·格莱特（Sue Gleiter）
pennlive.com
（MCT）
A neighboring municipality’s volunteer fire department will take over emergency services in Paxtang Borough effective Aug. 1.
罗马帝国tang council members on June 21 accepted a proposal by Swatara Township Fire Rescue to operate its fire services, rejecting a bid by the City of Harrisburg.
Under the agreement, Paxtang will pay $25,000 a year for the services through Dec. 31, 2028.
The borough said the decision was driven by a lack of volunteers at Paxtang’s only fire station on Derry Street. It wasn’t clear why Paxtang council members chose Swatara over Harrisburg City.
- PA Fire Departments Facing Volunteer Emergency
- IA Volunteer Fire Departments Struggle to Find, Keep Firefighters
- 专注于志愿消防员保留的工作满意度
Last week, Paxtang borough manager Keldeen Stambaugh said by law the borough is charged with providing fire service to residences and businesses. With the declining trend of volunteer firefighters, she added, it means officials need to take responsibility and examine other options.
帕克斯坦消防局队长马特·莱蒙（Matt Lemmon）表示，该部门与大约六名活跃的消防员一起运作，每年响应340至350次电话，从车祸到火灾。斯托说，在这些电话中，约有60个在行政区。
On Wednesday, Swatara Township announced on Facebook its fire department looks forward to adding members of the Paxtang Fire Company, who are not currently members of Swatara Township Fire Rescue, to their ranks.
Lemmon expressed disappointment with the decision and said because of low morale Paxtang’s firefighters will likely not join Swatara’s department.
“As far as fire company is concerned, we just got stabbed in the back,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate and it’s very unfortunate for the borough residents.”
The borough and its public safety committee spent 18 months researching and discussing options. The issue spurred debate among some of the borough’s 1,650 residents who started a请愿书支持与哈里斯堡市的合同。
Residents say Swatara Township’s volunteer department is further away and response times would be slower than Harrisburg Fire Department, which has paid firefighters. They also expressed concern that Swatara Township would close Paxtang’s fire house.
Rebecca Frankenfield, of Paxtang, who started the petition, told PennLive Swatara’s response times are not even close to what the city with a staffed fire department and Swatara Township has discussed at meetings the need for paid fire truck drivers.
Information about the fate of the firehouse and equipment is unknown. Stambaugh said more details about the transition will be announced by the public safety committee in the near future.
She said Harrisburg’s bid was for $25,000 annually with the term ending Dec. 31, 2024.
Paxtang招募志愿人员紧急服务工人的麻烦与其他地方的消防公司一致。根据国家志愿者消防委员会和州社区和经济发展部的数据，在宾夕法尼亚州，整个宾夕法尼亚州的志愿消防员数量一直从1975年的360,000人减少到2021年的约30,000。
READ MORE:
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visitpennlive.com。分发Tribune Content Agency，LLC。
