Controversy Erupts Over Mail Truck Fire Video

Doylestown Fire Company No. 1 has responded to criticism that surfaced after a video of a postal truck fire was shared by The Intelligencer.

On Monday, a postal truck caught fire on Route 611 and The Intelligencer captured video footage of emergency officials extinguishing it.

A writer with www.statter911.com, a fire and EMS news website, saw the video and quickly criticized local firefighters in a post titled Must see: Police lead the attack on mail truck fire in Pennsylvania.

But the local fire company says it’s not what it looks like.

In a statement posted to the website, Doylestown Fire Company says two of the three who appeared to be policemen in the video were actually firefighters. They were in uniform because they were on their way to work as public servants at a facility in the area, the fire company said.

Here is the full reaction statement from Doylestown Fire Company No. 1:

Recently, video has circulated of a small fire in a postal vehicle in Doylestown Township, where it appears that three police officers are extinguishing a fire. In reality, two of the three are Doylestown firefighters, who were on their way to work as public servants at a facility in the area. The third is indeed a Doylestown Township police officer who was there to lend a hand, who is also a well-trained volunteer firefighter. Serving the public is what they do. The fire was small and contained to the engine compartment. A second, better staffed engine company arrived as the fire was extinguished.

As an all-volunteer organization, we occasionally are called and have fewer members than we’d like respond, or are delayed in response to their stations. Our members are trained to extinguish fires and mitigate emergencies as quickly and safely as possible. That was the goal of the members in the video and is every day we serve. What we wear for our jobs may be different, but at our core, when called, we are firefighters. In this incident, no one was injured, the fire was extinguished, and our members went to work like any other day.

Weekdays are the toughest times for most volunteer fire companies. Members no longer work at businesses that can allow them to respond to calls or don’t work close enough to respond safely. We’re always looking for individuals to join and help us keep the Doylestown community safe.