Full-time Firefighter Hires Considered In Warminster

WARMINSTER, PA —The ongoing dispute involving the township and its two fire companies over daytime coverage may be reaching a resolution.

Warminster Township supervisors are expected to authorize the township's administration to proceed with the creation of a Firefighter/Fire Inspector position to staff three new full-time employees.

"We're planning to hire three full-time firefighters," Supervisors Chairman Kenneth Hayes told Patch.

Hayes hinted that a resolution may be forthcoming at the supervisors' meeting in April.

"We're working with our fire departments to try and resolve some day coverage shortages," Hayes said at that time. "We're close to getting everything hammered out. We hope to have a nice announcement next month and hope our fire chiefs will be there."

Over the past few years, township officials and its two fire companies —the Warminster Fire Department and the Hartsville Fire Company —have disagreed about why the township does not have daytime fire coverage.

The two fire companies held town hall meetings at the beginning of the year to state their case to residents that fire officials tried to seek funding for full-time firefighters. The fire companies have criticized the township for failing to provide adequate daytime coverage.

The fire department has argued that Warminster received a $1.8 million SAFER grant two years ago to pay for five full-time firefighters for three years but the township never enacted it.

Hayes cited the township's lower tax base and the fact that a reassessment hasn't been done in the township for 50 years.

Hayes said Hartsville and the Warminster Fire Department both receive $500,000 each year for their operations in the municipal budget.

The firefighter/fire inspector position is listed on the consent agenda for the supervisors' meeting.