Newtown Fire Association

Station 45
14 Liberty Street, Newtown, PA
18940 Tel (215) 968-3731
Station 55
55 Municipal Drive, Newtown, PA
18940 Tel (215) 860-5503

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2016

Response to Newtown Townships Proposal to End 127 Year Relationship With
the Volunteer Newtown Fire Association
To Be Read at the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors Meeting

Good evening Ladies and Gentleman of the Board.

My name is William Fabian. I'm here representing the volunteer members of the Newtown Fire Association. We
notified the chairman of the board that the Newtown Fire Association wanted to present a statement to the Board,
and also to the residents of Newtown in response to the presentation made by Township Manager Kurt Ferguson on
Monday Oct 17th 2016 regarding the fire service that protects the residents and businesses of Newtown.
It's unfortunate that the manager felt it necessary to make a public announcement without first notifying those
primarily involved and those that have been the backbone of the fire service here in Newtown since 1889. The
Newtown Fire Association has been supporting, protecting and serving the residents of Newtown for over 127 years.
We recently signed an agreement that will continue our partnership through December 31, 2017; therefore this new
fire service proposal comes as a surprise to us as well as the surrounding volunteer fire companies that the manager
referenced in his address.
Many residents may not be aware that the members of the Newtown Fire Association are 100% volunteer. These
volunteers of the Newtown Fire Association are also your neighbors, your friends and fellow residents of the great
town we call home - Newtown. Our members consist of contractors, pharmaceutical researchers, business owners,
mechanics, truck drivers, HVAC technicians, a physical therapist, accountants, students, and members currently
working in various public safety positions - the list goes on and on. The point here is we come from all walks of life
and most importantly we are also residents and tax payers of Newtown. The on-going training of our members
allows for certification levels which reduce your tax and insurance cost, and the obvious benefit of having a volunteer
force results in significant cost savings to taxpayers.
Newtown Fire Associations coverage includes day, evenings, nights, weekends and holidays, protecting Newtown
24/7, 365 days per year. We all take pride in what we do, maintain professionalism, maintain a training program
and maintain our safety certifications in the fire service. Each one of us does not do it for the money because its
volunteer, we do it to give back to the same community that we reside in. Perhaps thats difficult for some to
comprehend doing something to help thy neighbor while getting nothing in return, but its what each and every
Newtown Fire Association member is providing. The volunteers are content to be the unseen heroes that are able to
answer the call when summoned. Instead of a pat on the back, we were intentionally blindsided by the tax payer
appointed Township Manager with plans to eliminate the current Newtown Fire Association, and instead enact
costly and duplicative measures that the taxpayers will ultimately be responsible for.
In our 127 years of fire protection, Newtown has changed considerably! From protecting mostly rural farm land to
one of the fastest growing communities in Bucks County and the state of Pennsylvania. The call volume began to tax

the local businessmen who allowed their employees to respond to fire calls as volunteers. In December of 1995 the
Fire Chief of the Newtown Fire Association made a proposal to the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the
Manager of Newtown Township to begin working toward a career system to supplement the volunteers of Newtown
Fire Association during hours of critical shortages in manpower. The Board of Supervisors was extremely receptive
to the proposal and fully understood the magnitude of the problem. Working side by side with a previous Township
Manager, the Board of Supervisors, the Fire Marshal and the Newtown Fire Association created the Newtown
Township Emergency Services Department, which went into operation on May 2, 1996 as an official township
department. In 1997 Newtown Township, Newtown Emergency Services Department and the Newtown Fire
Association were recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for their progressive and innovative solution to
a serious problem.
Newtown Fire Association owns two fire stations one at 14 Liberty Street in the Borough and one at 55 Municipal
Dr. at the Newtown Township Municipal complex. Newtown Fire Association also supplies one ladder, one rescue
engine, two engines, and a utility vehicle. The Newtown Fire Association is responsible for the maintenance and
management of such equipment and facilities. The facilities and the equipment are used by both Newtown Fire
Association and Newtown Emergency Services Department (NESD). A 2011 study that the township themselves
commissioned noted that the facilities and apparatus we had in place were at the acceptable levels.
NESD, in 2016, had budgeted expenses of $1,061,273. It included $869,768 of salaries and benefits for the eight
firefighters. The Fire Chiefs salary and benefits were $129,211. Newtown is the only municipality in Bucks County
with a paid Chief and Mr. Ferguson has proposed a second management position of Deputy Chief to be hired. The
Newtown Fire Association already has a Chief and Deputy Chief that volunteer their services.
This total amount the Township already spends on their paid fire department exceeds $1 million dollars and covers
only 60 hours per week. In contrast, the volunteer Newtown Fire Association is provided a mere $170,000 from the
township and provides coverage in Newtown 24/7, 365 day a year. Newtown Fire Association pays for all apparatus
and facilities currently used by BOTH departments, in addition to utility costs, truck fuel, maintenance, breathing
apparatus, and radios for both departments, all of which is quite costly.
Throughout time apparatus has been vigorously maintained, two stations have been maintained, budgets have been
balanced, property and lives have been saved. Newtown Fire Association has always been on the forefront of
thinking outside the box creating a model many communities are emulating today. The Newtown Fire Association
has, and will continue to be open to new ideas, joint collaboration and changes made in the best interest of the
residents of Newtown.
We have encouraged for years Mr. Ferguson and the paid Fire chief to research the utilization of the Bucks County
Community College fire science majors as volunteers, and have not heard anything further. The Newtown Fire
Association would welcome any assistance whether it be from fellow citizens or from the community college.
As the volunteer fire service is a growing concern throughout the nation, the members of the Newtown Fire
Association are continuously open for discussions to review how best to operate together to continuously protect the
residents while maintaining cost. It would be a shame to eradicate such a long and successful history of a volunteer
organization such as the Newtown Fire Association.
Why Mr. Ferguson focuses on building a new facility, buying a single used apparatus, hiring a paid Deputy Chief, and
finding new members is puzzling; we already have 127 years of experience, appropriate apparatus, and adequate
facilities and trained volunteer members ready to assist when called upon.
I recommend the Board, as well as the residents of Newtown question what Mr. Ferguson is proposing, and if his
proposal is in the best interest to the tax paying residents and business owners of Newtown.
In closing, the volunteer members of the Newtown Fire Association will continue to operate in the same professional
manner that it has shown throughout the 127 years of existence. As with the development of Newtown Emergency
services back in 1996, all parties need to work together to outline a plan to the good of Newtown. A plan together is
greater than a plan apart!

Contacts:
Zachary Dunkelberger
Public Information Officer
zach@newtownfire.com

Will Fabian
President
will@newtownfire.com

Matt Gerhard
Chief
matt@newtownfire.com

About Newtown Fire Association

Founded in 1889, the Newtown Fire Association (NFA) was established for the purpose of extinguishing fires and
protecting lives and property. Since that time, the NFA has been compromised of dedicated, high trained volunteers who
respond at a moments notice to emergencies, 24 hours a day, and seven days a week. The NFA maintains a firehouse on
Liberty Street in Newtown Borough, and a firehouse on Municipal Drive in Newtown Township. There is a Ladder truck,
Rescue truck, and Utility vehicle based at the Borough location, and two Engines based at the Township station. All of the
members of the NFA are volunteers, including the Chief, President, officers and firefighters. The NFA covers Newtown
Township and Newtown Borough, and assists neighboring fire companies at more serious incidents under Mutual Aid
agreements.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Newtown Township was the fastest growing town in Pennsylvania, which brought
increasing demands on the volunteer firefighters, who hold full time jobs during the day. In 1996, the Township established
the Newtown Emergency Services Department (NESD) to partner with the NFA handle routine fire calls during working
hours and oversee fire inspections. The NFA allows the NESD use of their independently owned firetrucks and fire stations,
and a majority of NFAs equipment. The NFA is responsible for the purchase, maintenance and ownership of all fire trucks
and the firehouses. The NFA and NESD work hand in hand to provide exceptional fire and rescue protection services to
Newtown Township and Borough.
The NFA is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization