NORRISTOWN — A comprehensive overview of Norristown Fire Department operations has put the first responder agency on display.
Scott Little, a public safety consultant with the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, unveiled a report delving deeper into operations and issued a number of recommendations for officials to consider during a recent Norristown Municipal Council meeting.
“We have a great story. We have a lot of successes. We still have a lot more work to do,” Norristown Fire Chief Tom O’Donnell told The Times Herald.
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The Norristown Fire Department has 29 full time career firefighters and 14 volunteers working to extinguish the flames of fires that might pop up across the 3.5-square-mile municipality.
“We provide the best fire service in the region, and that’s what I’m most proud about,” O’Donnell said. “We have a lot of dedicated employees that work for us that come to work every day and service the community.”
While a letter of intent to conduct the study was executed in December 2024, O’Donell said, state representatives compiled their findings over the course of summer 2025.
“There’s a lot of analysis. There’s a lot of site visits and learning what we do, and there’s a lot of us providing supporting documentation that they require,” O’Donnell said, referring to budgets and existing departmental policies.
Additional areas examined included equipment, facilities, funding sources, incident types, response times, staffing, standard operating procedures, and training. There were 2,121 training sessions conducted in 2025, which more than tripled from the 572 performed in 2020.
O’Donnell said his biggest takeaways from the state-issued report were that the department requires “a single facility and more labor. But we’re getting there.”
He also acknowledged the nearly one dozen recommendations that offer a roadmap and “pathway of some of the other things we need to consider in order to make our department even better.”
Population demographics from 2024 revealed 36,075 residents in Norristown, according to the report. There were 1,501 calls for service recorded last year, which averaged roughly 4.1 per day, with a response time of around 4 minutes, 21 seconds.
“How do we make our product better for when the residents call 911? That’s the ultimate goal. The goal is always how do we put our best foot forward?” O’Donnell said.
Examining figures over a six-year period, the report highlighted 2020 with the lowest number of calls at 1,272, while dispatches peaked in 2024 with 1,552 calls. The state report spotlighted the “dense, urban” and “compact residential” municipality with “older housing stock” as key risks for fighting fires.
“With rapid growth from successful economic development and housing stock increase, proactive and sustainable investments in fire and emergency services will be required to meet the service demands,” the report states.
Smoke can be seen billowing from the Fire Chief’s Memorial Band Shell in the early morning hours of Aug. 28, 2024 amid a two-alarm fire Elmwood Park in Norristown. (Courtesy of Norristown Fire Department)
Norristown firefighters are on the scene Wednesday morning, around 9 a.m., working to put out hotspots. (Times Herald Photo)
A Norristown Fire Department truck is parked on Jan. 8, 2025 along DeKalb Street in Norristown in front of the Faith Tabernacle House of Prayer where a fire broke out. (Rachel Ravina – MediaNews Group)
Norristown Fire Department and firefighters from Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties battle a stubborn blaze at Faith Tabernacle House of Prayer, located on DeKalb Street in Norristown, between Marshall and Airy streets. (Photo courtesy of Norristown Fire Department)
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Smoke can be seen billowing from the Fire Chief’s Memorial Band Shell in the early morning hours of Aug. 28, 2024 amid a two-alarm fire Elmwood Park in Norristown. (Courtesy of Norristown Fire Department)
Inspecting fire department infrastructure, with some of the firehouses constructed in the 1800s, state officials maintained the “use of fire stations that were not designed for modern firefighting operations” as calls to consolidate to a single station were renewed.
“Certainly, if it’s up to me, I’d have that firehouse built, and it would be occupied already, but I’m not the person that makes those land procurement decisions,” O’Donnell said last year.
Montgomery Hose Fire Company is located at Pine and Freedley streets, Norristown. (File photo)
Three stations are currently located throughout the municipality: Montgomery Hose Fire Company – Station B, 201 W. Freedley St.; Fairmount Engine Company No 2 – Station D, 401 W. Main St.; and Hancock Fire Company – Station E, 820 W. Airy St. Administrative offices are located at 235 E. Airy St.
Little stressed that a “one fire station response model” would “enhance operational management and efficiencies.” He added that the “potential for [a] fire station build is a high priority.”
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O’Donnell has long been a proponent for consolidation. While the idea has been on his mind for years, he hasn’t been able to make it happen quite yet.
“That hasn’t changed for me,” O’Donnell said. “I believe we can provide the same services to our residents with less fire stations.”
Former Municipal Administrator Leonard Lightner and Norristown council members had been in talks with Montgomery County Chief Operating Officer Lee Soltysiak about finding suitable land for a singular fire station. While Lightner has since resigned, O’Donnell said work on a feasibility study remains ongoing. It’s unclear when the study will be available for review.
“In order for us to consider any fire station we need to know where … a fire station would fit,” O’Donnell said, noting the study includes consultations on fire, public works and recreation facilities. “I’m excited to see what their finished product looks like.”
The Norristown Fire Department’s 2025 budget was listed at nearly $6.23 million last year, including $165,326 received in aid from the state. The budget has grown by about $1 million over the past six years, with $5.24 million recorded in 2020, according to the report.
In addition to the hyperlocal approach the report takes, officials signaled larger implications for the changing landscape of public service as fire departments across the state continue to see a decline in volunteers.
“Not just changes in our department but just changes in how the fire service delivers its services to residents,” O’Donnell said. “We don’t have the resources from a volunteer standpoint that we once had. None of us do. We always have to look at … what services do we provide the residents and how do we do them … with less resources?”
Between 20,000 and 25,000 volunteers offer their services to 2,800 fire companies throughout Pennsylvania as Little underscored how “relationships really matter within the industry.” The report identified between four and 10 Norristown firefighters as a “typical initial response” compared to the “benchmark” of 17 firefighters responding in nine minutes, highlighting ongoing “reliance on mutual aid.” O’Donnell acknowledged that “it’s how we accomplish our deficit of not having enough people.”
“When I started in 1989 in this fire department, we didn’t rely as much back then as we do today on receiving help from outside of Norristown,” O’Donnell said. “We had enough resources internally that we would be able to … handle our own fires without any reliance on outside help from other communities. Today, we receive help from outside of our community sometimes on a daily basis.”
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The Norristown Fire Department has existing agreements with fire companies in Bridgeport, Conshohocken, as well as East Norriton, Lower Providence, Plymouth, Upper Merion, and West Norriton townships.
Along with a single fire station and staffing, other strategic recommendations included creating a standalone fire marshal and administrative assistant positions, bolstering a reserve unit, fostering relationships with area fire companies, lessening response times, and replacing aged infrastructure.
“The fire department benefits from proactive leadership that strongly supports its dedicated staff,” the report states. “The commitment and initiative of its personnel drive the department’s success and the ongoing efforts toward continuous improvement have established it as a recognized leader in Pennsylvania’s fire service.”