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The Jackson family with Mayor Ed Brown and Fire Chief Nick Martin. (COURTESY OF UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP)<\/p>\nTwo hot topics animated the Upper Darby Council meeting this week, but first fire officials honored three young people for their life-saving efforts.<\/p>\n
Fire Chief Nick Martin presented a community recognition award to siblings Haseem Jackson, Jiannah and Hasiyah Crawford-Jackson for their actions saving their sister Genesis from a house fire in June.<\/p>\n
Martin said that on June 3, a smoke alarm alerted the family to a fire in an upstairs bedroom. Jiannah heard the alarm and saw smoke from the front bedroom and called her sister Hasiyah who alerted her brother Haseem.<\/p>\n
The Jackson family with Mayor Ed Brown and Fire Chief Nick Martin. (COURTESY OF UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP)<\/p>\n
Haseem ran upstairs and found smoke filling the hallway and without hesitation went into the smoky room and removed his sister from the bed and took her to safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jackson family\u2019s quick thinking, decisive actions, teamwork and extraordinary bravery prevented serious injury and potential tragedy,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
The fire station<\/p>\n
During public comment, former mayor and current chairman of the board of Primos Secane Westbrook Park Fire Company Tom Micozzie spoke about the threat of the township taking the volunteer fire station<\/a> by eminent domain.<\/p>\n Micozzie, who has over 50 years as a firefighter at the station, asked why eminent domain was put on the table when the fire company was working cooperatively with Chief Administrative Officer Crandall Jones, Mayor Ed Brown and Councilman Jonathan McMahon.<\/p>\n Micozzie reviewed a March oversight meeting by Council Vice President Noah Fields that focused on allocations of firefighter finances. At that meeting, the union president was listed as a interested volunteer.<\/p>\n The following morning, the fire company was issued a change in how invoices should be submitted to the township, which he said was not a problem. He acknowledged there are inconsistencies with fire company bylaws that are being worked on to make the organization a 501(c4) nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n Micozzie said conversations with the CAO and the administration had gone well, and in addition he had met Martin and had a cordial conversation with him.<\/p>\n He said that at that time a framework was agreed upon, and he defended the fire company\u2019s being accountable to the township.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was never a time any firehouse was not providing the township with accountability of finances,\u201d Micozzie\u00a0 said. \u201cTo put our firehouse for eminent domain with no conversation with anyone from Council \u2026 this is totally unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n Fields spoke on the topic during the old business portion of the meeting.<\/p>\n He noted that over the past 20 years the township has been spending approximately $850,000 per year for each of the five volunteer fire companies, totaling $22 million since 2000 and the fire protection system relies on the five volunteer stations.<\/p>\n The township is in a position that they neither own or lease those stations.<\/p>\n He said that when Upper Darby Fire Company No. 1 on West Chester Pike was placed on the market<\/a>, it changed the conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot wait until another fire station is put on the market before deciding what our long-term policy should be,\u201d Fields said. \u201cThat is the work ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n McMahon, whose district included Primos, said council will be in good faith negotiations and thanked Micozzie for his service.<\/p>\n State Road development<\/p>\n