5 Firefighters Join Career Ranks At Newtown Fire Rescue

NEWTOWN, PA — Five new firefighters have joined the career staff at Newtown Fire Rescue, bringing its full-time complement up to 12.

On Thursday, they were officially sworn in by District Judge Mick Petrucci during a ceremony at District Court in Newtown.

Taking the oath of office were firefighters Lucas Rosenthal, Dan Burk, Tyler Starkey, Meg Cox, and Ethan Tecker. In addition, Joe Martindell and Steve Katz were sworn in as career lieutenants.

Four of the new positions are being paid for by a $1.5 million SAFER grant awarded to Newtown Township in 2023 by the federal government. The grant is funding their salaries for the next three years. One position is replacing a firefighter who left the department.

The four additional firefighters expand the township's full-time staff to 12 career firefighters enabling it to have two six-person platoons. They will cover the township and the borough seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. "ensuring swift response to emergencies," said Chief Glenn Forsyth.

The career staff will be supplemented by the company’s volunteer firefighters who remain on call 24/7. They provide the primary response outside the daytime hours.

Each career firefighter has been assigned to a platoon and will work a fixed two-week rotating schedule. B Platoon began serving Newtown Township and Newtown Borough on Thursday while A Platoon will pull the first-ever weekend shift.

Meet the Firefighters

Lucas Rosenthal comes to Newtown from Bristol Township Fire Rescue where he started last year as a firefighter. Lucas currently lives in Doylestown. He also works part-time with the Lambertville Fire Department and has been a volunteer firefighter for the past six years with the Midway Volunteer Fire Company.

Lucas graduated from the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology for Public Safety, earned an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science from Bucks County Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Science and Emergency Management from Purdue University.

Lucas is newly engaged to his fiancé, Evelyn. They have been together for 2 years now and met during Newtown’s previous round of testing.

When Lucas isn’t working, he enjoys spending time with his fiancé and his friends. Lucas also has a 10-year-old white Labrador Retriever named Wally.

Lucas Rosenthal.

Dan Burk comes to Newtown with 16 years of experience in the fire service as a volunteer, career firefighter and EMT. He most recently was employed with Trenton Mercer Airport as a captain running one of their shifts of firefighters.

Burk has been a volunteer firefighter with Falls Township Fire Company since 2008 and worked at Jefferson Bucks ER for 12 years. He is a graduate of Pennsbury High School and attends Bucks County Community College where he is enrolled in the fire science program.

Firefighter Dan Burk.

Tyler Starkey, of Pipersville, is an entrepreneur owning his own contracting company and started his fire service career with Midway Fire Company in 2009. He is currently a volunteer firefighter with Delaware Valley Fire Company.

Tyler is married with two young children. He graduated from the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from West Chester in criminal justice.

Tyler has technical certifications and training in wildland firefighting as well as water rescue. He enjoys the outdoors, spending time with his young children, and working on renovating his home.

Firefighter Tyler Starkey.

Meg Cox has six years in the fire service and has worked at Lower Southampton for the past four years attaining the position of assistant fire marshal. Cox lives in Conshohocken Borough and volunteers with the Nottingham Fire Department. She started her fire service career after obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in forensic science with a certificate in fire investigation from the University of New Haven in Connecticut.

Along with her response roles, she is a nationally certified fire investigator and also acted as the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator.

Cox is an avid reader and enjoys the beach and pool. She’s a fan of the Flyers, Chicago Cubs, and Taylor Swift. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Firefighter Meg Cox.

Ethan Tecker is a resident of Wrightstown Township and current Deputy Fire Chief of the Lingohocken Fire Company. Ethan started his fire service career with them in 2017 and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Temple University. Ethan currently works at R&S Equipment in Wrightstown as a heavy equipment mechanic bringing his mechanical expertise to Newtown Fire.

Ethan lives on his family's horse farm with his fiancé, Katie, who is a local veterinarian. In his free time, Ethan is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys spending time taking care of his farm.

Firefighter Ethan Tecker.