Bristol Fire Service Looks At One Centralized Station

In a few years, Bristol Borough could have a single central fire station.

At present, the borough’s four active fire companies have four stations – one at the borough hall on Pond Street, one at Wood and Market streets, one at Swain and Mifflin streets, and one on Farragut Avenue.

At a presentation before Bristol Borough Council last week, the Bristol Borough Fire Association, which is made up of the Bristol Fire Company, America Hose, Hook and Ladder Fire Company, Goodwill Hose Company, and Bristol Consolidated Volunteer Fire Company, voiced support for a new central station.

Steve Reeves, a longtime borough firefighter and company chief, said the all-volunteer association is looking to improve staffing, develop a strategic plan for all fire companies, look at consolidation within five years, become fiscally responsible, create a plan to be sustainable in regards to staff, and develop a training standard. One of the key goals is to build a central station to house apparatus.

Reeves said the association needs council to formally recognize the organization, get direction on what to do, make sure everyone is on the same page, set up an account for apparatus replacement, and invest in the service, including helping fund a new, central fire station.

No location for a new station has been selected, as the process is in the very early stages, but the facility will need to be central, modern, and able to hold various pieces of equipment.

The borough government and association plans to meet to get on the same page on the plan for the future.

“We’re at a crossroads,” Reeves said.

The majority of borough firefighters want it to move forward, but some members aren’t fully on board yet and want to see how council will invest in process.

Bristol Borough Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said the process needs to move ahead quickly amid a declining number of volunteers.

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. The report recommended the 1.9-mile borough be served by two engines, one ladder, and one rescue truck.

Reeves said the borough fire companies, if they combine, will have to look at having the right apparatus to serve the riverfront town.

The combination of fire companies – both organizationally and logistically – is designed to strengthen the town’s response to emergencies and make sure there are enough crews to handle incidents.

“We do have response issues. At times, fire trucks do not get out. At other times when they do get out, they are understaffed,” Reeves said, noting a similar situation is happening statewide.

Officials noted surrounding towns have been working to revamp their fire services and even centralize operations.

While the Bristol 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 municipality calls in the county fire marshal’s office for more complex investigations.

The move to merge has been talked about for years, but a real push started in 2019 and continues to today.

Reeves said the Bristol Borough Fire Association holding monthly meetings, opening bank account, and setting up committees.

Mayor Joe Saxton, who wasn’t at the meeting but provided a statement, thanked the fire companies for working together.

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