Belle Valley Volunteer Fire Department launched their “Save Our Station” public awareness campaign Tuesday night during their annual National Night Out event.
Dave Nientimp, president of Belle Valley Volunteer Fire Department explained that leaders have many concerns right now about the future of the fire department, following Millcreek Township’s decision to have the Millcreek Fire Department be the one paid department to cover the township.
They argue that during a Board of Supervisors meeting on January 24, 2023, then-supervisor Dan Ouellet said:
“The Millcreek Township Fire Department will not replace the volunteer fire departments, but rather that it will supplement the emergency services that the volunteer fire departments provide.”
Belle Valley volunteer firefighters now believe that original intent has changed.
“The way we understood it, it was supposed to be a 9-to-5 department to supplement the volunteer departments and immediately once it started it was a 24/7 fully paid fire department so that is where the difference lies with us,” Nientimp said.
The Belle Valley volunteer firefighters also told us that they have concerns about an agreement that the department refused to sign, which would have required them to hand over all assets, including the station, trucks, and equipment to Millcreek Township.
“We do support the Millcreek Fire Department, we just feel as though that they have gotten away from the original mission,” Nientimp said.
Erie News Now reached out to Millcreek Township Supervisors for comment on the matter, but they told us that they are, “currently unable to speak due to the ongoing negotiations.”