Coplay looks to Whitehall for fire help

By Kirk Beldon Jackson

The Morning Call

July 04, 2008

Whitehall Township and Coplay Borough officials have agreed to discuss the township taking over firefighting in the borough.

''The township would be willing to sit down and discuss with Borough Council the need for fire protection from Whitehall Township,'' said Whitehall Township Executive Edward Hozza Jr., adding that he and Borough Council President Beverly Miller have not set a time.

Miller said she is waiting for Hozza to get back to her with a date.

Coplay officials said they have been looking outside the borough for fire protection in the wake of rising costs linked to a conflict between the borough and the Coplay Fire Company, a social organization which owns the building housing borough fire operations.

In February, Lehigh County Judge J. Brian Johnson ruled against a suit that the borough, claiming to be legal trustee of the building, filed against the company. Johnson determined that the borough, which had been paying $3,000 a year, would have to pay $1,300 a month in rent as well as $27,800 in back rent.

''The borough doesn't feel we need to be paying rent on a building,'' Councilwoman Charlene Piskula said.

But Coplay Fire Chief Dave Buskaritz said using an outside department could increase response times.

''Now you have someone who's further away, it takes a few more minutes to get there,'' he said. ''Although [Whitehall's] not that far, it's just the idea. A minute or two could make the difference, you know.''

Last month, borough and Northampton officials met to discuss providing fire protection to Coplay.

''I'm hoping they can hold it together and do their own,'' said Northampton Borough Manager Gene Zarayko on Thursday. ''But logically it would seem that Whitehall is a better fit than us, because it's a Lehigh County community.''

Zarayko also noted that a bridge connecting Northampton with Coplay is scheduled to close for extensive repairs in a year or two. That would increase response times by forcing Northampton firefighters to take a longer route across the Cementon Bridge through Whitehall to get to Coplay, he said.

Hozza said the township has been providing daytime fire protection to the borough for over a year, with Coplay firefighters taking over at night.

That statement prompted a sharp response from Buskaritz.

''I want you to put this in bold, the station responds with us on certain calls only,'' he said. ''They don't respond in place of us, they respond with us.''

Buskaritz said Whitehall helped his department with fires to apartments, homes and ''structures of all sorts'' while Coplay firefighters alone handled problems such as spills and brushfires.

Officials from both municipalities recalled that the borough approached the township about fire protection last year.

Whitehall Fire Chief Robert Benner said the negotiations, which occurred under Hozza's predecessor, Daniel McNeill, fizzled over liability concerns. Taking on Coplay would make the township liable for a larger area, as well as increased administrative costs, he explained.

Still, Benner said he doesn't have a problem with his department providing the protection, which would come from the Hokendauqua and Cementon stations.

''If the people at the top work it out we can work it out on our level,'' he said.

kirk.jackson@mcall.com 610-820-6527

Copyright © 2008 The Morning Call, All Rights Reserved.