Don't move to Throop (Scranton, Dunmore: loans, house, purchase)

[FFjoe26]

I just wanted to express my thoughts about what is going on in Throop, PA. I live in the neighboring town and have been reading in the newspaper the awful treatment the firefighters are getting over there. I cannot believe that nobody of higher authority has stepped in and brought the awful revengeful politics to a stop. The current council that is seated is cutting Throop's fire allotment from $35,000 to $17,500 (cutting it right in half) and in my opinion these 2 companies are not going to be able to survive on each receiving these funds. I mean any money is good money, but to cut the fire departments in half is just not going to work. I talked to a few of the fireman over in Throop and found out that they are doing this because they hate certain members in one department. So they are making the other 2 depts. suffer for this.

So rather than go on and on about this because I don't know much more of the details (but I am trying to find out) That THROOP RESIDENTS BEWARE!!! YOUR FIRE PROTECTION IS IN DIRE STRAITS!!! If I were you, I would find out what is going to happen because speaking as a firefighter for 15 years that these companies are not going to make it out of their buildings when your house is on fire.

PLEASE EVERYONE, HELP THESE BROTHERS OF MINE!!!

[weluvpa]

You should live in Scranton, our mayor loves our police and fire........

Welcome to the politics of NEPA my friend, the other half of that money will undoubtly goto a nice civic project.

Taxes go up and services go down!

[NYRangers 2008]

I can't believe all these places would cut basic services like police and fire. It just doesn't make sense. These are departments that make a city or town a safer place and Throop and Scranton are cutting them. If I'm an outsider considering one of these towns, that alone would keep me away like the plaque. I see Scranton is not the only place with a clueless council.

[scrantonluna]

You've got it all wrong. There are three volunteer depts. in Throop. Two are mostly self sufficient, but the third is miss managed and is a constant drain on the borough. Council was hoping to either hire a chief to oversee all three, or eliminate one and merge the members into the other two. Based on the number of volunteers, the third station really isn't warranted. There are disputes over the purchase of a dodge durango, and the fact that the third dept. wants money from the borough to build a fire hall (the other two already have their own) but their property cannot accomodate both a hall and parking space. The other depts. have been actively seeking grant money outside the borough and have been doing fine, but the third continues to seek handouts from the council.

[SteelCityRising]

Why does a borough with only 3,996 residents need THREE fire departments, anyways? At the rate of having one fire department per every 1,300 or so residents, then Scranton should have about 55 fire departments, right? I live in Pittston Township, which has a population very similar to Throop, yet we have only two fire departments that cover nearly 20 square miles of urban sprawl; we make do just fine. It seems to me as if this is overkill in Throop.

[vonbepp]

Olyphant has 5 fire companies, mainly because of the D&H railway which used to cut the town in half during emergencies........

[FFjoe26]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

You've got it all wrong. There are three volunteer depts. in Throop. Two are mostly self sufficient, but the third is miss managed and is a constant drain on the borough. Council was hoping to either hire a chief to oversee all three, or eliminate one and merge the members into the other two. Based on the number of volunteers, the third station really isn't warranted. There are disputes over the purchase of a dodge durango, and the fact that the third dept. wants money from the borough to build a fire hall (the other two already have their own) but their property cannot accomodate both a hall and parking space. The other depts. have been actively seeking grant money outside the borough and have been doing fine, but the third continues to seek handouts from the council.

I really don't know where you have obtained your information concerning Throop's fire services. You must read that rag of a newspaper too much. I PERSONALLY spoke with members from each of the fire companies in Throop and 2 companies are doing just fine, they have new buildings and one of them has a new fire truck. The third company has a buidling that is falling apart and a fire truck that we will be lucky to see 2009. So this "third" company that you are talking about that wants handouts from the Borough is false. They aren't asking for the Borough to build them a hall, they are getting state funds for that. I spoke with 2 members in that company and they are finanacially sound and don't need "handouts" from the Borough. You said the other 2 companies have been seeking grants outside the Borough and the "third" company has also. A couple of the guys there told me that in the past 4 years, they have acquired over $80,000 in grants and have just received approval of a $130,000 grant from the federal gov't. Also as far as the command vehicle that was bought, almost EVERY township, city or borough in Lackawanna County has one. If you knew anything about the fire services you would know that it greatly cuts expenses and costs for the fire companies by responding to a scene first especially if it is a false alarm. I would rather have one vehicle resond, rather than 3 trucks, which burn a large amount of fuel and you also have to factor in safety.

So unlike you, before I run my mouth about this issue I seek information straight from the issue at hand. I spoke with all 3 companies and not one company had anything bad to say about the other. The simple fact here is that it is politics as usual in NEPA and these companies in Throop are getting the blunt of it. It is ashamed...

[scrantonluna]

My source is just as good as yours, and what I'm hearing is what I'm hearing. Your reasoning is that "they are doing this because they hate certain members in one department." Sounds like an excuse to me. Why does a struggling volunteer department need a command vehicle? AND, the reason to have one in the first place, is to have first responders on scene as soon as possible, NOT to evaluate the scene before sending further men and equipment. If that is how things are being operated, and that is NOT the norm in my experience, that particular dept. WILL be sued sooner or later. False alarm or not, reponse is mandatory. IF the command vehicle should get there and find that a false alarm is present, they COULD cancel out any other units, but they have already been dispatched, so where's the savings? Even after being cancelled most companys will still arrive and double check, and some companys, unless cancelled by a supervisor, INSIST on checking the scene regardless for liability reasons. You must be a volunteer, you're sure talking like one.

[FFjoe26]

OK, why yes I am a volunteer firefighter and I am not ashamed to say I am. Unlike PAID firefighters, I put my life on the line 24 hours a day, UNPAID...my life isn't just on the line during a paid "shift". So lets get that right out of the way first and foremost.

Obviously, volunteer and paid departments do operations totally different in some aspects. I guess you mistook what I said about companies responding to false alarms. In Olyphant, there are many businesses who experience false alarms...many of which are ongoing...That doesn't mean that one of those times can't be a real alarm. Many times, especially during the daytime hours it is extremely difficult to get a truck out to "investigate" the scene sooooo that is where a command vehicle comes into play. While I agree that the importance of a fast car is to get a first responder on the scene first, but you also have to factor in bringing 6 companies, 6 trucks and usually 4 men per truck to a false alarm... I can see PAID firefighters going to EVERY single call because you are getting PAID for those services and like Scranton & Dunmore they need all the work they can get. I am not knocking Scr/Dun at all, I have a lot of respect for those paid firefighters and I actually know quite a few of them but you can't compare the operations of a volunteer and paid dept. in this area, it would be like comparing apples and oranges. And one last note...before I wrote anymore of this I wanted to make sure my FACTS were straight and went to the source about the command vehicle and this so called "struggling" fire dept. I was wondering why you would think this company is struggling? Stuggling in what aspect? That they have dirty politics hanging over them and ONLY them and not the other 2 companies or struggling financially because the last I checked they don't even have any outstanding loans and the other 2 companies do...so I hope you are getting your information from a reliable source, not a disfuntional politician because if Throop is anything like Olyphant ALL politicians are dysfuntional in some aspect especially when they have no clue about fire services and protection.

[ProudMom911]

I have to agree with what Joe is saying about what is going on in Throop. His facts seem to add up.