The McKees Rocks county council revoked the McKees Rocks Volunteer Fire Department’s recognition by a vote of 7-0 during a board meeting Tuesday night, according to the council’s president. “We couldn’t come to an agreement, and we tried and tried, and they told us they didn’t have enough firefighters. They had to join in,” Council President Archie Brinza said. “We found out we had Preston (Volunteer Fire Department), (which had) 16 people. We went to them and named them our number one.” Brinza said the main reason for the vote was because MCC McKees Rocks didn’t answer any shots on the phone. since early January. Attorney for MCC McKees Rocks, Kim Houser, spoke with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Wednesday about why the department is not answering fire calls. “(It) was only right because (the county) wanted them to sign a one-year contract for $8,000,” Houser said. Houser added that among the proposed contracts that offered significant budget cuts, the county designated Preston VFD as the lead firefighting company. in December, and McKees Rocks VFD knew of a possible disbandment, the firefighters did not want to risk taking the call. “Over the years, we’ve paid insurance (Preston VFD), so for years now, we’ve paid two insurances for two fire companies. It’s not about the money,” Brinza said. “It’s about the fact that we couldn’t come to an agreement. They didn’t want to change things. They didn’t have enough people and forced us to do a merge, and why did we force a merge when we had a fire company here. The borough said they locked the building down to make sure anything they may have purchased stays in case the Preston Volunteer Fire Department might need it. On Friday, “they let us in (to the department), this is our building. We did two surveys of all the equipment because we bought some, (McKees Rocks VFD) bought some. I don’t want to fight over equipment. We hear things are going missing. So we’re securing the area so we can control where things are and have a firm grip on who gets what,” Brinza said. Lawyers for VFD McKees Rocks said his department is now looking into potential mergers. At this point, it’s unclear what exactly will happened to a firehouse. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 made several attempts to reach the chief of the McKees Rocks VFD fire department for comment but received no response.
The McKees Rocks county council revoked the McKees Rocks Volunteer Fire Department’s recognition by a vote of 7-0 during a board meeting Tuesday night, according to the council’s president.
“We couldn’t come to an agreement, and we tried and tried, and they told us they didn’t have enough firefighters. They had to join in,” Council President Archie Brinza said. “We found out we had Preston (Volunteer Fire Department), (which had) 16 people. We went to them and named them our number one.”
Brinza said the main reason for the vote was because PKS McKees Rocks had not answered fire calls since early January.
McKees Rocks VFD attorney Kim Houser spoke with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Wednesday about why the department is not answering fire calls.
“(It) was only right because (the region) wanted them to sign a one-year contract for $8,000,” Houser said.
Houser added that among the proposed contracts offering significant budget cuts, the borough appointed Preston VFD to be the primary firefighting company in December, and McKees Rocks VFD was aware of the possibility of disbanding, firefighters did not want to risk taking the call.
“Over the years, we’ve paid insurance (Preston PKS), so for years now, we’ve paid two insurances for two fire companies. It’s not about the money,” Brinza said. “It’s about the fact that we can’t come to an agreement. They don’t want to change things. They don’t have enough people and are forcing us to do a merge, and why are we forcing a merge when we have a fire company here.”
Houser also told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that McKees Rocks firefighters are now barred from entering the department.
The Borough said they locked the building to ensure anything they may have purchased remains in case the Preston Volunteer Fire Department might need it.
On Friday, “they let us in (to the department), this is our building. We did two surveys for all the equipment because we bought some, (McKees Rocks VFD) bought some. I don’t want to fight over the equipment. We hear stuff going to disappear. So we’re securing the area so we can control where everything is and have a tight grip on who gets what,” Brinza said.
Attorney for VFD McKees Rocks said his department is now looking into a potential merger.
At this point, it’s unclear what exactly will happen to the firehouse.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 made several attempts to reach the McKees Rocks VFD fire chief for comment but received no response.
