East Franklin, Applewold to join forces

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Feb. 06--Two Armstrong County fire departments will join forces primarily to cut insurance costs, but officials say a spinoff benefit of the merger could be increased numbers of volunteers.

West Hills Emergency Services will be the name of the new agency when departments in East Franklin Township and the borough of Applewold are combined.

"Applewold and East Franklin run calls together consistently -- we're sister stations -- wherever they go, we go," said Mark Feeney, president of Applewold Borough Council and chief of the East Franklin Fire Department. "And the time has come to consolidate so we can save everybody some money."

East Franklin's 23-member department offers fire and ambulance services. Applewold's eight-man department only fights fires. Each of Applewold's firefighters are members of the East Franklin department.

"We're duplicating insurance costs, because if you're a member of two fire departments, each department has to pay for a separate accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy," Feeney said. "Insurance is so expensive."

Feeney estimates the consolidation would save about $14,000 in insurance costs annually.

Barry Peters, chairman of the East Franklin Board of Supervisors, said the consolidation is a win for both communities.

"We don't expect to lessen our contributions, and we're just going to make sure we're all working together," Peters said. "We're going to keep supporting the department each year."

Applewold does not have an annual contribution it makes to its department but plans to contribute $7,000 per year toward the consolidated department, Feeney said. The East Franklin government budgets $20,000 a year for its fire services.

East Franklin's three-bay station on East Brady Road, which will serve as the West Hills Emergency Services' headquarters, is about two miles north of Applewold's one-truck garage on Ridge Avenue. The Applewold building will be used to store a truck and equipment. An East Franklin satellite station in Cowansville will continue operations.

"We'll have our trucks at the substations and ready to go, packed with hose and equipment, so if they're the first on the scene, we can start fighting a fire," Feeney said.

Jim Feeney, chief of the Applewold Volunteer Fire Department and brother of Mark, believes the consolidation could attract volunteers with a name that makes it more identifiable to people in communities within the coverage area but outside the township or borough. West Hills encompasses the communities of West Kittanning, Worthington, North Buffalo and Rayburn, in addition to Applewold and East Franklin.

If more volunteers are drawn to the new department -- easing the workload for all the firefighters -- that could further make the job more attractive to people who might not have considered joining the force, Jim Feeney said.

Even though the plan is not finalized -- the merger is expected to get state approval by June -- the two departments began reaping the rewards of consolidation.

Neither department had members in its junior firefighting program, which offers training for ages 14 to 17, in the past decade. Since moving ahead with the consolidation, Mark Feeney said two teens joined the Applewold junior firefighter program so they can become members of West Hills Emergency Services.

But cost-saving and a more-efficient operation are still the primary targets behind the plan, which has been in development for about two years.

"The biggest thing is, we're not going to be duplicating anything, whether it's paying for insurance or even filling out paperwork, or establishing a chain of command when both departments respond to an emergency," Mark Feeney said.

"This is going to be a real positive thing for both East Franklin and Applewold, and once we're done, I wouldn't be surprised if more small departments go this route."

Brad Pedersen is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-543-1303, ext. 1337, or bpedersen@tribweb.com.

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