Oct 10, 2014 3 min read

Recent comments questioning East Washington’s contract with the Washington fire department – essentially questioning what the fire department had done for East Washington lately – drove rapid backlash online.

East Washington Councilwoman Tamara Chacko asked for a detailed report of the calls first responders have made in the borough, and Mayor Michael Gomber suggested negotiating a lower price or asking other neighboring fire departments to provide the service instead.

The borough is paying the city $59,300 this year, which pays the equivalent annual salary for one firefighter.

Washington resident Michael McCormick wrote on the “Observer-Reporter” Facebook page, asking, “Would you cancel your homeowners’ insurance just because nothing catastrophic had occurred in recent memory?”

Burgettstown resident Jodi Cummins also defended the department.

“Remember these are the people that run into your burning house to try and save the structure and/or your lives,” she wrote. “The fire departments are just as valuable as police and any other public safety departments!”

East Washington resident Dana Hammond said officials are concerned about the wrong things.

“There are more drugs in this area than there are in the local hospital, my street is filled with the same potholes that have been there for years, the list could go on and on with actual issues …,” she wrote.

Firefighter Jessica Hilderbrand posted the “Observer-Reporter” article on her Facebook page, saying, “Seriously? Mister Mayor, what has the fire service ‘done for us?’ Well let me tell you … they SAVED a young child, SAVED a family from losing their entire home, SAVED a family from being trapped in their car, SAVED a father who was suffering from a heart attack … Obviously YOU have never been in the NEED of your local fire service or this would not be in question.”

She said the department is not only underappreciated, but also underpaid.