Peters-North Strabane Fire Study Greenlighted

Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to conduct a joint fire services study with —authorizing Maryland firm Public Safety Solutions Inc. to complete the work.

The study is expected to take about 120 days to complete, and the results will be available in time for the two municipalities to consider its recommendations during budget discussions, North Strabane Manager Frank Siffrinn said after the meeting Tuesday.

Peters Township Council on Monday also approved the study.

The cost of the study is $28,800—and will be split equally between North Strabane and Peters.

“A fire services study conducted by PSSI would be state of the art. It would suggest service delivery strategies and options that would provide a comprehensive blueprint for the participating townships and fire departments to use in planning for a fire services delivery system that will meet the customer service needs into the future,” company president Leslie D. Adams said in a written proposal to North Strabane about the study.

The joint services study project team will include 12 consultants— two of whom served as volunteer fire chiefs and fire chiefs that worked for departments composed of both paid and volunteer members.

In its proposal, PSSI indicated that the purpose of the study is to determine if “realistic alternative methods exist to provide fire services with increased effectiveness, cost efficiencies and economies of scale.”

The study will consider several options, including partial consolidation, functional consolidation, full consolidation and regional partnerships, according to the proposal.

“The study is designed with the overall objective of making recommendations to maintain or exceed the current level of public safety while identifying and quantifying potential cost-saving measures,” the document continued.

The scope of PSSI’s work will include analysis of the North Strabane and Peters’ fire services, administrative structure, functions and equipment.

The study will culminate in a detailed written report that will “contain a timeline with suggested priorities, milestones, anticipated obstacles—if any—and anticipated outcomes.”

“It’s gonna tell us what we have and what we need,” North Strabane fire Chief Mark Grimm said when reached after the meeting. “The study is a good thing.”

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