Jan 31, 2020 3 min read

South Strabane Township supervisors decided Tuesday to move forward with a strategic planning study for the township’s fire services.

“This will help us understand and explore fire service in the township and what it’s going to look like in the future,” township manager Brandon Stanick said.

Regionally, statewide and even nationally, fire departments have faced multiple challenges like recruitment and retention of volunteers, increased costs for equipment and heightened training expectations. South Strabane is no exception, Stanick said.

“Fire departments have always been the pillars of the community, and we just want to make sure that pillar is still standing at the end of the day,” he said.

The township has a combination department made up of volunteers and career staff firefighters. The department is staffed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday with the volunteers expected to take overnight and weekend calls. The township has nine paid firefighters, including Chief Scott Reese.

“Sometimes the growing part of the township presents some challenges to the township,” Reese said. “When growth and development starts happening in your township you need to have growth and development, too. We need to be moving in that direction.”

Last summer, Reese and Stanick attended a workshop offered by Jerry Ozog, executive director of the nonprofit Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute.

“When Chief Reese and I left that seminar we were rather impressed,” Stanick said during the township’s meeting.

They asked Ozog to conduct the strategic planning study in South Strabane, including both the township’s staff and the volunteer company.

“We thought this would be a great opportunity to bring in a neutral party, to go over some things, and to make sure that we can move forward hand-in-hand,” Stanick said.

The township had budgeted $27,000 for the study, and Ozog’s proposal listed an estimated cost of $15,000. The study is estimated to be completed by July 30.

Stanick said the study “deliverables” includes identifying any issues and establishing methods of decision-making between the volunteer fire company and the township. The study could also help develop a “unified governance and organizational structure” of the township’s fire service, according to the scope of the project which Ozog provided.

A main point in the study is to assess “the environment” and make any changes that would “ensure response to community emergencies.”

“It’s a little more of a comprehensive look at our system,” Reese said. “We want a neutral party to take a look at this and make suggestions. Jerry has a lot of background in the fire service, and he understands the challenges we’re faced with, not just here but nationally.”

In his scope of the project, Ozog plans to have a steering committee comprised of volunteers, fire personnel and township representatives. With Ozog facilitating, the committee will engage in “open and honest” conversations.

“Difficult topics will be discussed and future success is dependent on identifying concerns and putting all issues on the table,” his scope of the project states.

The volunteer company is expected to vote next week on whether it will participate.

If approved by the volunteers, Paul Winter, the president of the volunteer company, hopes the study will help the fire department better its overall service to the community.

“I’ve researched Ozog and learned that he’s got a lot of experience,” Winter said. “We just want to work in a better environment.”