Small Pa. departments unite to earn more grant money

By Margaret Smykla
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PORT VUE, Pa. — Port Vue, Liberty, and Lincoln may be small in size, but their fire chiefs are hoping a united front will make them a force to be reckoned with — especially when it comes to obtaining grant money.

The goal is not a merger, but a "working association," said Lincoln fire department attorney Leslie Michel.

"This type of association is needed because of the way FEMA grants are being structured now on population and on service. To qualify, you need a bigger footprint," he said.

That was the focus of a 90-minute meeting of the three Mon Valley towns' volunteer fire chiefs and some firefighters last week at the Liberty fire hall.

While no decision was made, the consensus, said Nick Vay, Lincoln mayor and former fire chief, "is we're all going to come under a big umbrella."

"It is the way the world is going, financial-wise," said Tim Wilson, fire chief of Port Vue.

"It is progress for all three boroughs," he said.

Mr. Michel said additional meetings on the topic will be held in the coming weeks. A hope is that the Elizabeth Borough and Elizabeth Township fire departments will also attend, he said.

Besides grant considerations, forming an association will help with the prioritization of equipment.

"We will have a list of the equipment and will know that at certain fires we need to have more of one department's equipment than another," Mr. Michel said.

"We have had fires where everyone showed up with a pumper, but what we really needed was a tanker that provides the water. And Lincoln is the only one of us that has tankers — two of them," he said.

An association will also keep the boroughs a step ahead of potential county and state interference, said Mr. Michel, referring to the support of Gov. Ed Rendell and county Executive Dan Onorato for consolidating municipalities to reduce local government costs.

The timing of an association could not be better for another reason, Mr. Michel said.

"We're getting into fire season. We want to do this sooner than later," he said.

Copyright 2009 P.G. Publishing Co.