The Citizens’ Voice
MOUNTAIN TOP, Pa. — Independence Fire & Rescue Company No. 1 is no longer in service, but problems continue for its members.
The treasurer and former president of the Rice Township fire company, Joseph Powers, 42, was charged Wednesday with arson and reckless burning.
Wilkes-Barre’s police and fire departments responded July 19 to a fire at 87 Holland St. around 11 p.m., according to an affidavit filed by city police. Witnesses told police they saw a man coming out of the residence, who left in a Dodge van.
While police were still on scene, Powers returned and was identified as the suspect.
In a written statement to police, he said he was using a blowtorch while working at the residence. He said he was positive he had turned the torch off before leaving. He told police he only returned to the scene because he forgot to lock up the residence.
An investigation revealed the fire had four separate points of origin and were incendiary at all four points.
Powers, of 1811 Henry Drive, Rice Township, was charged Wednesday and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, unable to post $100,000 straight cash bail set by Magisterial District Judge Martin Kane. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Rick Cronauer.
Attempts to reach members of Independence Fire & Rescue on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Rice Township Police Chief Bob Frank Jr. said although Powers is currently treasurer, the fire company, formerly the Rice Township Fire Department, is not active and does not respond to calls. Township supervisors decertified and defunded it in June 2013 amid efforts to improve service and a struggle to find volunteers.
Its former executive secretary pleaded guilty in September to stealing from the fire company. As part of her plea, Gina Tombasco agreed to pay $30,863.95 in restitution. Tombasco, 31, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, while two other charges were dismissed. She was charged in December 2013, months after the department was stripped by the township of its annual subsidy and lost its certification to cover calls in the municipality.
Former treasurer Donald Bly turned himself in to police in March 2013 on accusations he embezzled from the department, but avoided criminal charges after agreeing to pay restitution and court costs and entering a program for first-time, nonviolent offenders in September 2013.
The township last year hired the Wright Township Fire Department to provide fire and emergency protection after a merger between the two departments fell through.
Township supervisors voted 2-1 in August to pay the fire company’s $5,319 insurance bill. Supervisors Marcia Thomas and Mark Taney voted in favor of making the payment while Miller Stella Jr. opposed the action. Taney said he seconded the vote to give the fire company “a chance to pay of its debts and reorganize.”
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