Oct 7, 2014 3 min read

East Washington’s mayor wants to renegotiate or even terminate the borough’s 10-year contract for fire protection services with Washington, and a borough councilwoman is asking for detailed report of what the fire department “has done for us” recently.

Mayor Michael Gomber suggested during Monday night’s council meeting the borough reopen talks with Washington over the contract to see if it can get a “lower price” or reach out to other neighboring communities for the services.

Gomber added he would prefer to “pay on a per-response basis” or contract with South Strabane’s mostly volunteer department for services.

That was met with a stiff pushback from council members and one resident who said they are satisfied with Washington’s fire department and have no reason to make changes.

“It’s not what they do here,” Councilman Bob Dickson said. “It’s what they do when you need them.”

The borough and city agreed to the decade-long contract beginning in 2012 for Washington’s full-time fire department to provide services in East Washington. The borough is paying the city $59,300 this year, which pays the equivalent annual salary for one firefighter, with annual increases of $1,400 until the contract expires after 2021. Washington budgeted $1.5 million this year for its fire department, which includes a chief and 21 full-time firefighters.

Councilwoman Tamara Chacko said she wants a detailed report from the fire department on how many times Washington firefighters respond to calls in the borough. She also wants to know what other communities pay for similar contracts.

“We do not get anything from them presently for what they have done for us in this borough,” Chacko said. “I personally have never seen a fire truck in this borough except maybe on Halloween. How much do they actually do here?”

The request for a report baffled Washington fire Chief Linn Brookman, who said he provided Gomber this summer with a full list of emergency calls in the borough over the past decade. Brookman said Gomber appeared to be pleased with the information, and the mayor did not reveal during Monday’s council meeting that he previously requested and received a full report from the department.

Although the council agreed that reports would be helpful for the borough to review, most of the members and at least one resident took exception to the veiled suggestions to change fire departments.

“You’d better ask the residents to see if they would want a change out of that contract,” borough resident Reca Panian said. “I love that the department can get to my house in how many minutes?”

It would be nearly impossible for East Washington to terminate or renegotiate its contract with Washington since it states the only legal grounds for any changes would be if there were a major shakeup within the city’s fire department.

“If and only if there is a substantial change in the configuration of the presently existing Washington Fire Department, either party hereto may cancel this Agreement after giving six months written notice of the intent to cancel,” the contract states.

Washington Mayor Brenda Davis said the city would have no problems providing regular reports to East Washington, and she questioned why some in the borough are now raising concerns about the service.

“We’ll accommodate whatever they’re asking for,” Davis said. “Considering we have a very updated fire department with all of the newest equipment, we would provide excellent service when the need would arise.”