By Jim Dino
The Standard Speaker
MCADOO, Pa. — The consolidation of the former Keystone Fire Company and Tresckow Fire Company into the McAdoo Fire Company Inc. is now complete.
Monday night, the Banks Township supervisors made it official — for the township — as they unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the new, consolidated fire company as the entity that will provide fire protection to the township.
McAdoo Fire Company will remain the parent organization for the consolidated company until its new name, KMT Emergency Services, is legally adopted.
Bob Leshko, chief of the McAdoo Fire Company, said 9-1-1 calls will now go to Schuylkill County to summon the company to fires in the township.
“All fire dispatches have been converted to Schuylkill County,” Leshko said. “Ambulance calls will still go through to Carbon County, but will be dispatched through the Schuylkill County Communications Center.”
Township Supervisor Joe Clark also noted some “reconfiguration” of 9-1-1 calls from residents in the Skipper’s Island section of the township, adjacent to McAdoo, and for township residents of Spring Mountain, who have a Weatherly address.
The consolidation began last summer when McAdoo and Keystone merged in June. Inclusion of Banks Township took longer because the social club attached to the Tresckow Fire Company had to be split off into its own organization, which is now known as the Tresckow Hosey.
The fire trucks of the three companies will remain in the buildings they have been housed in by the old fire companies.
Plans to build a new, central fire station for the new, consolidated company will have to wait until the fire company can afford it, Leshko said.
“When looking at building one consolidated building, the cost is really astronomical, more than what we expected it to be,” he said. “There’s probably going to be other priorities of things to replace, like vehicles. We’re contemplating the possibility of adding onto the Keystone station, but as of right now, all of the buildings are going to be kept.”
Officers of the new company already have sold the engine that belonged to the Keystone Fire Company to a dealer in Canada who had a buyer for it. Leshko said having the engine was “triplication,” as the new company had three engines, one too many.
The main advantage the new company provides is manpower. Now volunteers from the three former companies can respond to fires in McAdoo borough and Banks and Kline townships.
“There are some guys from Tresckow who ran with (were members of) McAdoo,” Leshko said. “Instead of coming to McAdoo, we’re telling them to come to Tresckow to get this apparatus. It will be a totally consolidated response.”
The new fire company did driver training last weekend, so that all of the volunteers — regardless of what company they belonged to previously — can drive all of the fire trucks of the three former companies.
The new company is starting an inventory of equipment. Money made from the sale of surplus items will be used to help purchase needed equipment.
“There are items we have multiple copies of, that we will be putting up for sale,” Leshko said. “There’s an air compressor here in Tresckow. There are also some air packs and hose. Those funds will go into possible building expansion and equipment.”
Members of the new company will be meeting soon to devise a five- and 10-year plan for the new company, the chief said.
Leshko also asked the Banks supervisors to write a letter appointing the new company to designate ambulance providers for township residents. The McAdoo Fire Company ambulance had been the primary ambulance service for the township, except in the Coxeville section of the township, which is served by American Patient Transport Systems.
“The way things are set up in Carbon County there’s probably a few (ambulance services) that are closer, secondary to McAdoo and to APTS,” Leshko said. “Speaking with Gary Williams (the Carbon County emergency management coordinator), he is in full agreement, but he needs (the supervisors’) permission to allow me to make that change.”
The supervisors recognized the chief of the former Tresckow Fire Company, Joe Geusic, for his years of service. Geusic will be an assistant chief with the new company and is continuing as emergency management coordinator for the township.
“These guys are unsung heroes,” Clark said. “They spend countless hours, and get called in the middle of the night and they are there. You never have to fear there won’t be coverage. I would never do it. They deserve a lot of credit for doing it. The people of Banks Township should be extremely grateful, Joe, for your years of service to the fire company. We appreciate your services. Good luck and health to you.”
Geusic said he is looking forward to his new role.
“It’s something we had to do,” he said of the consolidation. “Manpower is way down. With all of the training and fundraising, it’s hard to get new people.
“It’s nice, because now we have more people and more apparatus. That’s extremely helpful. And I’ve known these guys for the entire 25 years I’ve been a firefighter. There are some logistical changes, but everything has been very smooth so far.”
The new company has to keep the McAdoo Fire Company name for now, Leshko said, because it has a 501(c)3 nonprofit designation and a Medicare license.
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