By Kelly Monitz
The Standard-Speaker
HAZLETON, Pa. — Sugarloaf Township Fire Company and Ambulance needs the community’s help.
The fire company conducts two fund drives a year, but only 30 percent of the township’s residents contribute, said Fire Chief Duane Hildebrand.
“It’s not a lot,” he said.
A drive, which supports the ambulance, began in February, and the drive to fund the operation of the fire company will begin soon, he said.
The company hopes more people will step up and support their volunteer firefighters, who operate on less than $100,000 a year.
Company members believe donations are low because people mistakenly believe the township has a paid department, he said.
Only a quarter of the company’s operating budget comes from tax dollars, Hildebrand said. The rest comes from fund drives, fundraisers and state grants, he said.
The fund drive raises just over $25,000, Hildebrand said. If more people contributed, they might be able to update equipment and apparatus, he said.
“We paid off the engine and the rescue truck last year, and we still don’t have enough to start shopping,” Hildebrand said.
Its 1996 engine cost $230,000 new; today, the same vehicle would cost $400,000, he said. And the 1996 is the company’s newest engine, he said.
The company is still paying on its new building, an ambulance and a tanker truck — in addition to the day-to-day operation, which includes fuel, heat and electricity.
Plus, they’re required to replace certain gear and equipment, such as air packs and bunker gear, after a certain number of years, he said. The air packs have a life of 17 years and the company’s complement of 37 have reached the end of their life, he said.
“You’re looking at the cost of a house in the Meadows,” said Rescue Capt. Joshua Legg.
The cost for the air packs tops out at more than $200,000, Hildebrand said.
“Just for something to keep us alive going into someone’s house,” he said.
The company would risk closure if they continued to use the packs and someone got hurt with the liability involved, Hildebrand said.
If the fire company shuttered its doors, the township would still be responsible for providing fire protection — either with a paid department or contracting with another company, he said. Hildebrand told township supervisors that a paid department would cost at least $1 million a year.
The fire company appreciates the support it receives from the township — just as it appreciates those people who contribute what they can, he said. Hildebrand said many of its supporters are older residents on fixed incomes.
Some people don’t understand why they need to contribute twice, but they’re separate drives, he said. The ambulance supports itself, as does the fire company.
Recently, a woman criticized the fire company because they didn’t have certain equipment on a call, Legg said, but she didn’t understand that they’re a volunteer company with limited resources.
“If they don’t donate to us, we can’t buy the fancy detectors,” Hildebrand said. “We can’t help you, unless you help us.”
Residents should have received information on the ambulance fund drive earlier this year, and the fire company drive will begin soon.
___
(c)2014 the Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, Pa.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services