Newportville Fire Company Closing After 99 Years

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA — The Newportville Fire Company No. 1 will be closing after nearly 100 years.

The Bristol Township Council voted 5-2 on Thursday night to eliminate the fire company from the emergency services rotation due to operational issues.

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"From everyone at Newportville Fire Company #1, we simply want to say thank you," the fire company said. "The amount of support we have received from our community over the last several weeks has been overwhelming. Tonight's decision does not change the gratitude we have for this community, nor does it erase the nearly century-long relationship between Newportville Fire Company and the people we have been honored to serve."

Township officials had said that — as outlined in a July 10 legal correspondence — they have spent years working with the fire company to address "significant operational, governance, and compliance concerns."

Officials said they have concluded that those improvements have not happened, and that recent audits and findings have confirmed the issues remain unresolved.

"This is the hardest vote I've ever had to make in my 16 years sitting up here," said Councilman Joe Glasson, who is also volunteer firefighter with Levittown Fire Co. No. 2 for 48 years.

The council approved an ordinance for the fire company's elimination, but said that fire protection services would continue uninterrupted, with the remaining volunteer fire companies filling the void.

The move to close Newportville reduces the township's fire service from five companies to four.

The vote came Thursday night after about two hours of public comment where residents criticized the council's decision to reduce public fire safety by eliminating the fire company.

When the closure takes place was not clear, but the fire company said they will continue to answer the call for service for as long as possible.

"For 99 years, generations of Newportville firefighters have answered the call for this community. And we want you to know that we will continue to be here until the very end — showing up, answering calls, helping our neighbors, and doing what Newportville has always done: Serve," the fire company said in a statement. "Whatever the days ahead may bring, we will never forget the people who stood beside us when it mattered most. We truly appreciate every single one of you."