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Gill Hall Volunteer Fire Co. in Jefferson Hills remains off dispatch as council once again declined to formally recognize the department.
Motions to recertify Gill Hall and rescind a resolution naming Jefferson Hills Fire Rescue the sole borough company failed by a 2-5 vote Monday night.
However, officials did agree to give Gill Hall a lifeline in the form of fire tax funds.
Council unanimously approved distributing $290,000 with $20,000 going to each company and the rest allocated for equipment-related expenses.
It is unclear if the remaining money will ultimately go to JHFR, which is still paying off a fire truck.
JHFR is the merged company of Jefferson 885 and Floreffe volunteer fire companies.
Councilman Keith Reynolds and Councilwoman Nicole Ruscitto were in favor of Gill Hall’s return. President Karen Bucy, Vice President Dave Montgomery and council members Vickie Ielase, Francis Sockman and Melissa Steffey dissented.
Bucy said she does not plan to vote on recertifying Gill Hall until its members all have firefighter one certification and all fire companies have access to each other’s stations.
“I feel that the residents deserve to have all the fire fighter members present their competency certificates,” Bucy said.
Reynolds, who has been advocating at every meeting since the decertification to bring back Gill Hall, said not enough progress has been made on the issue.
“I’m still disappointed,” he said. “As I’ve contended many a times, it’s about adequate fire protection for those residents. Some people want to make claims that Floreffe and 885 can give fire protection. If you talk to the residents, they do not want a fire truck coming from the other side of the borough in an emergency situation. We have not supplied for our community adequate fire protection.
“The $20,000 puts a Band-Aid on the problem and gives them a little bit of funding to stick around for a while, but it is not a long-term solution for the problem.”
The virtual council meeting took place via Zoom and was broadcast on the borough’s Facebook page.
There were multiple times during the session where people could barely hear what borough officials said. Many people watching on Facebook commented frequently trying to get council to turn up the volume.
The borough uses Akron-based Graham River Productions to help broadcast its council meetings.
Chris Baldwin, owner and president the company, said the Zoom audio was clear and the issue occurred when showing it live on Facebook.
“The two interfaces don’t always get a long,” he said.
Baldwin said the meeting will be uploaded early Tuesday with clear audio.
Gill Hall was dropped by the borough in January 2019. However, the decertification vote didn’t dissolve the department, which owns its fire hall, truck and other equipment.
Council reinstated it as a borough fire company on a probationary basis in April, but was not placed back on Allegheny County emergency dispatching “run cards.”
Run cards include information for dispatchers so they know what departments to call out during an emergency.
Council voted 5-2 Nov. 18 to no longer recognize the 72-year-old, 20-member department as a borough fire company after a lengthy back-and-forth about Gill Hall’s future both that evening and Nov. 16.
Gill Hall vice president Brian Hutson late Monday night echoed Reynold’s sentiments about council’s actions, and said the $20,000 will be put to good use.
“I’m annoyed (about us not being recertified), but we’re closer,” Hutson said. “I think the only reason we’re not certified is the inability of a few council members to see the forest through the trees.
“When we get the money we’re going to invest it back into the company. We have bills. We have things we want to buy. We’re not going to run out and buy everybody pizza and beer.”
At least five of Gill Hall’s firefighters are certified. Several new recruits are expected to start training this month.
Hutson, who has been with Gill Hall for seven nonconsecutive years, is in the process of taking refresher courses to get his certification renewed.
“We’ve done everything that’s been requested of us,” Hutson said. “We have people going to school. These are not some certifications that are done overnight.”
Bucy’s second condition of recertification, access to all stations, might be more difficult to acquire than the training.
Gill Hall houses a fire truck co-owned by JHFR. There is a legal dispute between the companies over possession of the truck.
“Until that is settled, the access to our building is restricted,” Hutson said. He said the legal battle has been raging for approximately a year. It is unclear when that may be settled.
Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at 412-871-2367, [email protected] or via Twitter .
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