Williamsport City Council Approves Reopening Of Operation Agreement Between Old Lycoming And Williamsport Fire Departments After 23 Years

Harrisburg PA

14 May, 2022

9:24 PM

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By Jeremy Stout, NorthCentralPA.com May 13, 2022 Williamsport City Council voted May 13 to reopen an operating agreement between the Old Lycoming Volunteer Fire Company and the Williamsport Bureau of Fire. The original agreement between the two entities was made in 1999 and no changes have been made to the agreement since then. The alliance has provided two city firefighters to operate an engine out of the Dewey Avenue township fire station and to cover portions of Newberry since it was first started. The original agreement called for two Williamsport firefighters operate from the Dewey Avenue Twp. station to cover parts of the western section of the City. Old Lycoming provided a firetruck to the city. Sam Aungst, Williamsport fire chief, said, "There're a number of points in [the agreement] that we would like to address." He spoke in favor of regionalization. Aungst said that he has had multiple discussion with the chief of Old Lycoming on reopening the agreement, and that there's interest between both parties. Aungst said that the goal is to increase the participation of Old Lycoming volunteers on Williamsport trucks. "The initial thought was to have three guys on that truck at all times," Aungst said, "We hadn't really seen a whole lot of ridership over the years." Aungst said that in seven years he's only seen one person who participated in the ride-along. "Other then that we've never had anyone else ride along," Aungst said. Aungst said that one thing that needs to be ironed out is the liability insurance for both departments after one Williamsport firefighter got into a minor crash with a city police vehicle while driving a truck from Old Lycoming. Old Lycoming then sent an email stating that the firefighter would no longer be able to operate any of their trucks. "We need to come up with a better solution than that," Aungst said. The motion passed unanimously five to zero. Both Bonnie Katz and Elizabeth Miele were unable to attend. Police Chief Justin Snyder also was in attendance for the final reading of an ordinance creating the position of police chaplain. NorthcentralPa.com provides the region with reliable, relevant, and real-time news, covering weather, community news and events, crime, police activity, local, regional, and national alerts, and PennDOT-reported road construction and conditions. We report on local and regional politics, offer a platform for nonprofits to report their news and events, and share obituaries. Scanner reports let readers know what's happening outside their homes the minute it happens.