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Westchester Fire Department reports propane leak response, aging ladder truck and routine budget escalator
Summary
Assistant Fire Chief Justin McClure reported a propane leak response at the Chester County History Center, said the department’s 40-year-old ladder truck is out of reserve service pending repair or replacement, and noted a 3% contract escalator affecting the fire protection budget shared by six municipalities.
Assistant Fire Chief Justin McClure told the Westchester Borough Public Safety Committee that September brought an uptick in calls and described a propane leak response during homecoming that required a controlled flaring operation with the Chester County hazardous-materials team.
Why it matters: The fire department said a reserve ladder truck is effectively out of service because repairs became cost prohibitive; the department is pursuing replacement or repair. The department also noted multi-jurisdictional budget arrangements that will raise operating costs under an existing escalator clause.
McClure said the incident on homecoming involved leaking propane tanks at the Chester County History Center, with the response centered on the Chestnut Street side. "We had to deal with and we do, via an operation called flaring, which is where we, in a controlled manner, burn off the propane," McClure said, and added that street closures were required while the department and the county hazmat team rendered the tanks safe.
McClure described apparatus needs: the department’s reserve ladder truck is 40 years old, has become cost-prohibitive to repair and is being pushed "to the finish line" with the expectation of returning to service soon. Two capital projects were listed for 2025: a boat and an ATV. McClure said the boat project is expected to finish in 2025 but the ATV trailer and associated skid unit will not be ready by 2025 and the ATV project will be extended into 2026.
On the budget, McClure said the fire department is entering year three of a five-year fire protection contract with five neighboring municipalities (Birmingham, West Town, East Bradford, Thornberry and West Goshen). He said the contract includes a 3% annual escalator agreed by the six municipalities. He stated, "While this year's operating budget was $797,944," the transcript did not provide an unambiguous next-year total; McClure noted the 3% escalator but the precise 2026 figure was not clearly recorded in the meeting transcript.
What happens next: The department said it will continue equipment work and return with status updates; no capital appropriations or contract changes were voted at the meeting.
Notes and limitations: Specific replacement cost estimates and a definitive 2026 budget line for the department were not provided in the meeting record.
