The Bald Eagle Fire Company has begun a campaign, Operation Community Rescue, to raise money for a new truck. The name was chosen because the new truck will be a fire and rescue truck.
\nThe need for a new truck came when Pennsylvania state laws changed, requiring that all firefighters ride inside an enclosement, prohibiting anyone from riding on the back of the trucks.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s really a safety issue,\u201d explained Scott Illig, Bald Eagle Fire Chief.
\nThe truck the fire company is using right now is 20 years old and can only carry a driver and one passenger in the cab. The company has had to use both fire trucks along with the brush truck and quick responder vehicle just to get enough people and equipment to a scene. Plus, when I-99 opens up the state will have more restrictions on the vehicles in order to use the interstate to respond to emergencies.
\nThe company needs to raise $80,000 for a deposit, so that an order can be placed. The total cost of the truck will be $400,000. That seems like a steep price but Paul Morrison explained that is for a truck with the minimum requirements, just to be considered a fire rescue truck. It\u2019s nothing fancy.
\nThe company sent out letters in December to area businesses but didn\u2019t get the response that it had hoped for.
\nWith the recent problems surrounding the possible closing of the Port Matilda Fire Company, Bald Eagle residents have an important decision on their hands.
\nFederal Carbide was the first business to donate. Representatives recently presented a check to the fire company.
\nMorrison also explained that come October, the truck will no longer be certified as a Class A pumper because the pump doesn\u2019t meet standards for this area. It doesn\u2019t pump as much water as is required.
\nThe truck could be sent away to have everything rebuilt. Technically, the company can continue using the truck, however the insurance company will no longer recognize the fire company as having a Class A pumper. Either way, this still won\u2019t satisfy the problem of not being able to carry more than two firefighters to a scene.
\n\u201cIf we don\u2019t upgrade or get another truck, the people in the area can expect fire insurance to double or even triple what it costs now,\u201d said Morrison. \u201cWe are really hoping that people have been meaning to make a donation and just haven\u2019t gotten to it.\u201d
\nThe fire company was started in 1972 by Pete Spanelli in mid September, with an average of 12 people at the first meetings.
\nIn May, 1980 the company moved to its current location.
\nRight now there are 14 active firemen who have been trained, been to school, can fight fires, go into a burning building for rescue and respond to accidents.
\n\u201cWe also have eight quick responders and a certified quick responders vehicles for any type of medical emergency in our area. We have people that are state trained and certified to take care of whatever the needs are,\u201d said Morrison.
\nLast year the company received 168 calls and according to Morrison, that number seems to be increasing each year.
\n\u201cIt would be a shame, for all the time and energy and hours spent training, then to lose it all.,\u201d said Morrison. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize how important our service is until they have a fire or accident.
\n\u201cWe respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many get up in the middle of the night then have to get up and go to work in the morning.
\n\u201cSome of these guys own their own businesses. They may be out a whole day and not have made a penny.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not complaining. We do this because we feel it\u2019s a service that needs done. But without community support we can\u2019t do it.\u201d
\nAccording to Morrison, people don\u2019t realize the fire hall really belongs to the community.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re just the caretakers that keep it open,\u201d he explained. \u201cPeople feel the township gives us money to keep it open but they don\u2019t realize that each year we get about enough money from the supervisors to pay the bills for a month-and-a-half.\u201d
\nRight now the company raises money through bingo, dinners, flower sales and gun shows just to keep the doors open and the lights on.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping that we\u2019re going to get the support, get a better response from the community.\u201d
\nThe company has been applying for every grant it can, however Morrison explained the only grant that would provide enough money to buy a truck is federal.
\n \u201cThere are so many companies statewide that are applying for the same money that our odds would be about the same as hitting the lottery,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWe have got a couple small grants but are really depending on the community to step up. If everyone would just give something it would all add up. If you feel you can only give $10 it\u2019s still going to help.\u201d
\nThe company is also accepting pledges from the community. For example, an individual can pledge to give $1,000. However, they don\u2019t have to pay the whole amount up front, they can pay it over a period of time.
\n\u201cAt least if we have the money pledged we can see how much we have,\u201d said Morrison.
\nThe other truck owned by the company is 10 years old. It contains only a partially enclosed space to carry passengers but the company will still be able to take it out on the road for the time being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Bald Eagle Fire Company has begun a campaign, Operation Community Rescue, to raise money for a new truck. The name was chosen because the new truck will be a fire and rescue truck. The need for a new truck came when Pennsylvania state laws changed, requiring that all firefighters ride inside an enclosement, prohibiting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}