South Williamsport residents can breathe easier if they need fire suppression, response to vehicle accidents or quick response service.

That’s because a resolution authorizing an “Intergovernmental Fire Services Agreement” between South Williamsport Borough and South Williamsport Volunteer Fire Department and the City of Williamsport and Williamsport Bureau of Fire was approved Thursday by City Council.

“We will provide service to their box, and tactical alarms and on a limited basis for quick response service calls,” city Bureau of Fire Chief Sam Aungst said.

“We will treat those like we do the city East End and West End,” he said.

Unlike the agreement the city has with Old Lycoming Township the city will have two firefighters stationed only daytime hours in South Williamsport, not manned 24-7 as in the township.

There are other benefits without any expected losses to the city coverage or financial losses.

Public Financial Management (PFM), a Philadelphia consultant assisting the city on ways to shrink a projected budget deficit of $3 million on up to $5.1 million if nothing is done to correct the current course, and encouraged regionalization of various public safety departments, Mayor Derek Slaughter and city solicitor Nicholas Grimes reviewed the proposal.

Southside is ready to go

With City Council’s action last evening, South Williamsport borough and the Williamsport Bureau of Fire are one step closer to a fire and emergency rescue services alliance providing the residents and business owners of the borough with first response capability 24-hours-a-day, seven-days a week, said Steven W. Cappelli, South Williamsport borough manager and its public safety director. It’s another step in that critical direction.

“This alliance will replace the 40-hours per week coverage we have contracted for through the Susquehanna Mutual Aid Regional Team (SMART) the past three years,” Cappelli said.

“Realizing the South Williamsport Fire Department is unable to provide dependable coverage outside of the 40-hours per week SMART is on station, the most practical solution was to pursue full-time coverage with the region’s finest career department – the Williamsport Bureau of Fire,” said Cappelli, a former city mayor and state House of Representatives member.

“The negotiated monthly contract rate with the city is only $2,500 more than we are currently paying SMART,” he said. “This should ensure that for the life of the five-year contract, the borough will not need to increase its fire tax.”

Borough Council is set to ratify the contract Monday evening with implementation of coverage beginning on Saturday, Nov. 15, according to Cappelli.

South Williamsport Fire Department will be a signatory to the new agreement with Williamsport Bureau of Fire. The borough’s agreement with Loyalsock Township/SMART dissolves Nov. 15.

As such, South Williamsport Fire Department, effective Nov. 15, is no longer bound by the SMART agreement.

South Williamsport Fire Department had no role in the negotiations between the borough and Williamsport Bureau of Fire, he said.

Assured safety and response

“As the borough’s public safety director, I can be rest assured that when our residents need fire and rescue services, those first responders will be only minutes away every hour of every day. “That’s peace of mind every citizen should expect and deserves,” Cappelli said.

In his presentation to council, Aungst was joined by city Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Smith. Aungst said he was proud to present the agreement with the South Williamsport borough and its fire department to provide assistance and fire rescue and quick response services to the borough neighborhoods across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River from the city.

This agreement is a long time coming and several hundred hours were spent by the city fire administration, city administration (namely finance), South Williamsport borough and SWFD, Aungst remarked.

“We will be providing responses to box alarms, basically all of their calls, very similar to the way East End is treated, or the West End,” Aungst said. “They would get a full response to box alarms, tactical alarms, still alarms, vehicle accidents, rescue assignments, hazardous materials

Additionally, South Williamsport will get some very limited assistance with emergency management, because they are able to take care of that themselves, he said. Their volunteer services take care of that, he added.

“We will assist them with limited fire prevention and their day cares with schools, as well as other community events” Aungst said.

The benefits include:

— Pre-planning and a knocks-box program, or a system for rapid entry. “We will work with them on a knocks-box program … they already participate in that,” he said. “They have their system and we have ours and we will be working together on that.”

— WBF will do extinguisher training, safety discussions for organizations. In terms of juvenile fire setter, the bureau is working on getting the program back up and running. Fire inspector Stephen Yonkin recently attended the National Fire Academy for juvenile fire setting.

— “We will also be performing fire investigation, origin and cause investigations for the borough, collaborate with other agencies, and other insurance companies, perform courtroom testimony in the event that it would go to the court.

— Limited incident reporting, strategic planning and needs assessments, grants, and various policies and insurance rating matters such as ISO rating.

— Fostering a working relationship with borough police and the borough’s third-party codes officials.

— Organizational representation and Project Lifesaver, which can help to save lives by locating individuals who may wander away from their homes.

There is no loss of service for the city residents who are taxpayers and support their paid department in this agreement. That is because the bureau has three platoons that have eight personnel and one platoon that has nine personnel. Should there be eight personnel working, with no one off on vacation, no one is off sick, or using comp time, or training, the bureau will place (hire) one additional person to make nine and send two individuals over to South Williamsport to staff that department’s truck.

“We would not hire any additional personnel,” Aungst said. “This is with the current complement of personnel,” he said.

Councilman Eric Beiter said he was hopeful, due the limitations, costs and time it takes for volunteers to be certified, and fully staff their departments, that this alliance will serve as a potential model for the state and nearby municipalities thinking about regionalization.