Bristol Fire Companies Form Association To Work Closer Together

Bristol Borough’s volunteer fire companies are moving forward with plans to work closer together and likely even merge in the coming years.

On Thursday morning, Bristol Fire Company, America Hose, Hook and Ladder Fire Company, Goodwill Hose Company, and Bristol Consolidated Volunteer Fire Company came together to announce they were forming the new Bristol Borough Fire Association, which will be led by longtime volunteer firefighter Steve Reeves and made up of members of the town’s four fire companies.

The association won’t run the fire companies, but it will coordinate and communicate between the companies. The association will have committees to look at facilities, apparatus, operations, and manpower.

With changes in the fire service and a shrinking pool of members, the 1.7-square-mile borough has looked at combining fire companies and revamping the fire service in town.

A 2021 fire study from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development recommended the borough revamp its fire code to be more up to date, create an association of the four fire companies with the ultimate goal of merging, and look at bringing all the fire companies into one station in a central location in town.

At a 2019 special meeting, representatives from the fire companies and borough acknowledged something needed to happen to change the way the fire service operates.

Reeves noted Thursday’s announcement of the association is an “early stage” in following the state’s recommendations.

“For the past two years, the members took the initiative to develop an organization that will  coordinate emergency response for the residents and businesses of Bristol Borough and our neighboring communities,” Reeves said. “Over the past  30 years, there has been a decline in volunteer firefighters and EMS providers, not just locally, but  statewide. This new association is the first step in our plan to address those and many other challenges facings today’s fire and emergency services.” 

A consultant working with the borough’s fire service said there are more than 40 active volunteer members that responded to more than 500 calls for service in a year.

While the borough’s four fire companies operate separately and have their own leadership, the borough has an overall fire chief, Herb Slack. The borough’s chief oversees fireground operations and also serves as a fire marshal, but the town calls in the county fire marshal’s office for more complex investigations.

Slack said he supports the creation of the association.

“As the Bristol Borough fire chief, I fully support the efforts of the Fire Service Restructuring Committee formed by the four borough fire companies,” he said.

He added: “This new level of cooperation which led to  the formation of the association is the mechanism that will move the borough fire service forward to meet current standards and create a more cost-effective and efficient organization.”  

Mayor Joe Saxton, who oversees emergency services, has been part of the discussions over the years.

“I am so proud of the time and effort that the volunteer  firefighters put in to make the association happen. Borough officials and I look forward to working  with the association in the future,” he said.

In February, Saxton told council more would be revealed at the April meeting. He noted ordinances will have to be updated and amended.

The state officials who wrote the 2021 report noted several of the issues raised in a 1971 fire study of the borough “remain as issues to be resolved.”

Until the past year or so, the borough had five volunteer fire companies, although only four in operation. The fifth company existed on paper and had become a contentious issue when it came to funding over the years and has been merged into the America Hose, Hook, and Ladder Fire Company.

The borough’s fire service dates back more than 100 years. There were six fire companies – one for each ward – and then a consolidation in the 1920s. In the 1940s, several fire companies sprung up in the borough. Over the years, the borough has had paid firefighters to supplement volunteers, but the borough has been an all-volunteer service for at least 30 years.

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