At 5:00 p.m. today the Borough of Conshohocken released a second statement regarding its decision to remove the borough-owned fire trucks from the Washington Fire Company on Friday, July 5th. The statement focuses on answering the question that has arisen on whether the move resulted in a decrease in the level of fire protection in the Borough.

Pictured above is the equipment that was removed from the trucks at the Washington Fire Company.

The full statement is below:

The Borough of Conshohocken has received questions and concerns regarding Public Safety as it pertains to Washington Fire Company. The decision to place Washington Fire Company out of service with Montgomery County was not made without first making certain that Borough residents, businesses and visitors would continue to receive the same level and quality of fire service protection. The Borough’s Fire Chief worked diligently through this process to ensure that the Borough had a fully operational Fire Department at all times. He is confident that the services and apparatus in place are more than sufficient to handle any emergency situation in the Borough.

Please note that the only tangible change as it relates to responding to emergencies in our Borough is that the same equipment and individuals that previously responded to fire calls from two different fire stations located 9 blocks away from each other are now being dispatched from one central location, Fire Company #2. This central location provides the Borough with an emergency response that is never farther than a 9 block radius.

Fire Company #2 is a fully equipped Fire Company which now houses the Borough’s Ladder Truck. On July 5th, equipment owned by Washington Fire Company was removed from Borough trucks previously stored there, and immediately replaced by equipment owned by Fire Company #2. In other words, during this entire process, the Borough always had a full complement of fire apparatus ready to be deployed to effectively and safely handle any type of emergency.

Additionally, all Worker’s Compensation coverages were maintained for all volunteer firefighters in Conshohocken regardless of station affiliation to ensure they were protected when responding to an emergency situation. The Fire Chief notified all volunteers firefighters that they could respond to fire calls from Fire Company #2.

To reiterate, the Borough has always had a fully functioning Fire Department. Even during this process, there were four paid firefighters on location to handle calls if necessary. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our residents, businesses and visitors for their patience and support. We would also like to thank our mutual aid partners. We understand that change is difficult. We understand that this process has been difficult for Washington Fire Company. We also understand that this process was difficult for Conshohocken Fire Company #2 but they have been fully cooperative throughout the entire process and we appreciate that immensely.

The safety of our Borough is paramount. As we continue to diligently work through this process, rest assured that our men and women that sacrifice their lives to protect others still have the equipment and resources available to them so they can do their jobs and we thank them for their service.

More to come.