By Melody Asper
The Evening Sun
READING, Pa. — Reading Township officials have unanimously approved allowing each of the three fire departments that service the municipality to have a key to the township’s fuel pumps located at the municipal lot.
At a recent township meeting, Lake Meade Fire and Rescue Chief Tom Kittinger asked the supervisors to supply a key to his department so fuel could be obtained after regular hours.
Reading Township has always provided free fuel for all three volunteer fire companies — Hampton, East Berlin’s Liberty, and Lake Meade Fire and Rescue, said Supervisor Donnie Kauffman. But in recent years, the fuel tank at the municipal lot had to be unlocked for the companies by a township employee or the police officer on duty.
The supervisors said that, at one time, almost all the members of the fire companies had keys to the tanks, but a few people were thought to take advantage of the situation and pump fuel for personal use.
“This started many years ago when there were 40 keys floating around and we never knew who was getting the fuel,” said Kauffman. “So we took ‘em all back and just kept it locked.”
Kittinger responded that it is important to keep all of the fire trucks filled with fuel so that they will be ready to go at a moment’s notice.
The present policy of needing a township employee or police officer to unlock the tank often leads to the fire equipment begin returned to the base without fuel when an emergency happens at night, said Kittinger, as no one can be reached to unlock Reading’s fuel tanks.
After further discussion, the supervisors approved allowing one fuel tank key to be given to the fire chief of each of the three departments. To receive the key the fire chief must provide the township with a letter, on a company letterhead, acknowledging receipt of the key and responsibility for it.
Representatives from all three fire companies were present at the meeting and agreed to the stipulation.
The supervisors said they would have given each company a key sooner, but did not realize that there was a problem with the current situation.
“The issue is that you guys do so much for us we must put our trust in you,” said chairman Supervisor Bob Zangueneh. “We appreciate everything you do for our community.”
In related business, township officials received the 2009 end of year report on how much fuel was provided to each of the three fire companies.
According to that report, Reading Township’s total fuel costs for each fire company were: Hampton, $1,716; Lake Meade, $1,988; and East Berlin (Liberty), $3,646.
Reading Township bids for gasoline and diesel fuel, said township secretary/treasurer Marcia Weaver, with the average cost for 2009 at $2.02 per gallon for diesel and $1.65 per gallon for gasoline.
Costs for fuel for East Berlin’s Liberty Fire Co. actually cost well over $5,000 for 2009, said Weaver, with East Berlin Borough also contributing $1,000 and Washington Township contributing $700 toward fuel for that company.
Each of the three fire companies also serves several other townships, said Weaver, but Reading does not receive any fuel-cost reimbursement from any of the other municipalities.
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